Curriculum Development Institute
Reconstruction and Development in Japan after WWII
After World War II, Japan faced the task of rebuilding—under the watchful eyes of the Allies. Using a dice game and creative discussion strategies, class members consider the challenges facing Japan and changes the country underwent...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Japan
The effect of cultural beliefs on the progress and industrialization of a society is an interesting idea to consider, and this is certainly true in this lesson on feudal Japan. Your young historians will read informational texts on...
Curated OER
The Finer Things in Life
Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...
National Endowment for the Humanities
How "Grand" and "Allied" Was the Grand Alliance?
Learn more about the Grand Alliance with a scaffolded lesson plan that includes four activities. Class members use primary sources to complete a map exercise, understand the goals and objectives of each individual nation, and participate...
National WWII Museum
Strategic Decision Making in the Pacific Scenarios
Individuals decide what they would do when faced with a difficult military decision that puts others' safety in jeopardy. The lesson also gives the real-life outcomes of the scenarios that occurred during World War II to give them a...
Curated OER
Advanced Art – Cultural Place-setting Still life
Upper graders view a series of films that depict rituals or celebrations as they occur in different cultural settings. They conduct a cultural investigation about one culture, brainstorm and research objects that have cultural or...
Curated OER
Feudal Japan - It's All Japanese to Me!
Students research the culture of feudal Japan. They discuss shoguns, emperors and clans. They practice writing Japanese letters.
Japan Society
Nature and the Environment in Postwar Japan
Japan has a complex relationship with the environment. Explore this relationship with your class through this resource. Included are thought questions, several activity ideas that range from writing, to discussion, to research, and an...
Curated OER
Lost Names: Scenes From a Korean Boyhood,
What a great resource to share! Based on the book Lost Names by Richard Kim, this valuable lesson focuses on the Japanese occupation of Korea during WWII. Additionally, it employs first-person journaling as a mode of understanding themes...
Asian Art Museum
Experience Chanoyu: A Japanese Tea Gathering
As part of the study of Japanese cultural history, introduce your class members to Chanoyu, the Way of Tea. After a discussion of the history and key elements of Chanoyu, class groups perform the ceremony.
Curated OER
Contents and Containers
There is no better way to understand a different culture than to participate in its traditional or ceremonies. This lesson kicks off with a discussion about a tea container made during the Edo period in Japan. After examining the vessel...
Curated OER
Life in the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints and the Rise of the Merchant Class in Edo Period Japan
Students explore Jananese history through the use of the woodblock print called "ukiyo-e" prints. The audience attracted to the prints, their interests and tastes as well as how the prints reflected the life of the merchant class is the...
Smithsonian Institution
Mobilizing Children
Scholars find out how the government used propaganda to mobilize children to help in the war effort. Lesson exercises include analyzing a quote from Franklin Roosevelt, viewing propaganda images and posters, and participating in a lively...
Curated OER
United States-Japan History
Students compare the histories of Japan and the United States by creating horizontal time lines of the two countries. They conduct research via the internet and available text books to complete their time line. The class discusses the...
Curated OER
Japan's Textbook Case
Students read and discuss "Japan's Refusal to Revise Textbooks Angers Neighbors." They discuss how accurately textbooks account for historical events, then collaborate to write unbiased textbook entries for current events.
Curated OER
Clam-Shell Concentration
Learners discuss leisure activities of old Japan. They depict familiar stories or information through symbolic illustrations. Students decide upon game rules and interact in a positive manner while playing the game. They play...
Curated OER
Impact of the End of World War II on Japan
Ninth graders examine and discuss reasons United States occupied Japan after surrender in World War II, view photographs of Japan at end of War and explore how U.S. occupation affected Japan's political, economic, and social systems, and...
Curated OER
Lesson III: Crisis, Pearl Harbor, Internment
The third in a series of lessons introduced by “A Fence Away From Freedom,” uses the Smithsonian website, “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and focuses on the section of the presentation devoted to the...
Japan Society
The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905: A Turning Point in Japanese History, World History, and How War is Conveyed to the Public
The big question: How did Russo-Japanese War imagery and the press influence Japanese perception of the war? Learners consider this big question as they compare and contrast various artistic media from the period. The lesson is...
Federal Reserve Bank
Natural Disasters: From Destruction to Recovery
What are the major economic implications, both good and bad, of natural disasters? Discover the effect that natural disasters can have on labor market conditions, capital, household incomes, and opportunities for reconstruction in local...
National WWII Museum
Picturing the War in the Pacific Photos, Datelines and Captions
Young historians have the opportunity to see photos from the war in the Pacific and learn more about what each photo represents. Scholars use their knowledge of WWII to match dates and descriptions to real-life photos from the war. The...
Japan Society
The Bubble Economy and the Lost Decade
Explore Japanese society and national identity. Class members share ideas about the Japanese economy and then investigate a series of resources, including an article, a film, a lecture, and a poem, to learn about Japan's Bubble Economy...
Curated OER
Victory in the Pacific, 1943-1945
Students examine the military campaigns of the Pacific theater, tracing the path of the Allied offensives. The lesson presents what the Allies were trying to accomplish and why.
Curated OER
"The Proper Application of Overwhelming Force": The United States in World War II
Students examine the role that the U.S. played in bringing about victory in the two major theaters of the war in the Pacific and Europe. How the various military campaigns contributed to the war's successful conclusion forms the focus of...