The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.

Craft your own fairy tale based on Momotaro, a Japanese story referenced in Kyoko Mori's Shuzuko's Daughter. A list of nouns guide learners in writing their own story, and predicting what might happen in the novel.

Young learners discover kamishibai, a popular Japanese storytelling art, and explore how these Japanese folktales illustrate the country's cultural themes and values through discussion and storyboarding. 

Students study Japanese folk tales focusing on the traditional values and key elements. They compare the Japanese values with their own. They discuss Japanese art before designing a set of kamishibai on which they write a summary of a...

Students read both Japanese and American folktales and respond to teacher generated questions. They compare the folktales and determine if there is a lesson to be learned. They draw story card to retell the story to the class.

Students listen to examples of Japanese folktales and identify universal themes. Students construct a 'kamishibai' - a traditional Japanese storytelling prop - and dramatize a folktale through puppetry.

Students write from differing points of view, and act out stories in pantomime as another student narrates.

Students write descriptive paragraphs of characters after reading a Japanese folktale in which characters represent by good and evil.