Teacher Resources

Japan Kits

Please note: The Japan Kits are in the process of reorganization and updating.

The Japan Kits are a collection of materials to explore aspects of culture and life in Japan. Based on educator input, the Japan Kits have been revised to focus on five broad themes: Customs & Traditions, Contemporary & Popular Culture, Food & Society, Folk Tales, Myths, & Cross-cultural Experiences, and The Pacific War & the Japanese Experience.

The Japan Kits are free to use. The Center for Japanese Studies pays the one-way shipping cost; the user agrees to pay a $50 damage/replacement deposit (refundable) for each kit prior to loan, and to pay the return shipping fee. Remit checks to "The University of Michigan." There is a maximum of 21 days from postdate sent to postdate returned. Reserve a Japan Kit with CJS by calling 734.764.6307, e-mailing Heather Littlefield at hclittle@umich.edu, or by printing the Reservation form and faxing it to 734.936.2948.

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Japanese School of Detroit

The Japanese School of Detroit is a K-12 heritage language school focusing on Japanese language and culture for area students. Please see their website for useful resources on teaching and learning.

Professional Development

• The Japan Society offers courses, workshops and summer study tours in Japan for educators.
• Educator Exchange and Professional Development through ALLEX--Alliance for Language Learning and Educational Exchange (formerly Exchange: Japan).
• The International Studies Summer Institute at Indiana University offers 2-week residential training for K-12 educators.  Please visit their website for details and application deadlines. 
• Funding for educational projects and training abroad are also available to educators through numerous organizations.  

Japanese Resources for Educators

The following resources provide background reading and lessons for teaching precollege age students about different aspects of Japan.  See also links in the general information page (geography, culture, and history).

• About Japan: A Teacher's Resource provides lessons, essays, and a discussion board that enable teachers to gain the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively teach about Japan.
• Arts of Japan - A Reader's Guide gives 450 of the best articles available in English. Most come from three journals for non-specialists: Arts of Asia, Asian Art, and Orientations.
• Asian Educational Media Service at the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
• Ask Asia gives teaching resources from the Asia Society (New York), including comparison tables.
• Asia in the Curriculum provides information on conferences, professional development workshops and provides educators with lessons on Asia.
• Bridge to Japan annotates Japan-related Internet resources.
• Education About Asia gives theme-based online articles from the magazine (Association for Asian Studies).
• Freer Gallery of Asian Art has an Educational Programs Page for teachers.
• Images from Japan is a collection of various photographs of Japanese sights and scenes.
• ImaginAsia - a free family program for children ages 6-12 (Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.).
• J GUIDE has links to practically all Japan subjects. 
• Maps from National Geographic Society in PDF (the Zoom-in feature of Acrobat Reader is handy for PDF display).
• Teaching (and Learning) about Japan, an annotated collection of Web pages on Japan at Cleveland State University.
• Japan Society provides an Annotated Filmography that aides K-14 educators in using anime to teach about different aspects of Japan.
• Japan-Related Book List, compiled from past participation at the Ann Arbor Book Festival
• The Women Online Media Project provides a list of resources for Japanese women, as well as foreign women living in Japan.
• Feminism in Japan provides an extensive list of books on Japanese gender relations..

 

Units & Lessons

All Levels

• Teaching about Japan: Lessons and Resources
  A publication of the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Sciences Education and the National Clearinghouse for United States-Japan Studies.  Available online in PDF format.

Middle School & High School

• Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Education
• Outreach World
• The Japan Project
• Japan Society Teacher Resources
• Japan Past and Present
• Traditional Japanese Music & Dance
• Cleveland Museum of Art
• OSU: Institute for Japanese Studies
• Bridging World History: Early Belief Systems (see video on Shinto)
• Florida State University: Music Cultures of the World (see East Asia and Japan)
• Expanding East Asian Studies
  

Primary School

• Kids Web Japan
• ABC Teach
• Enchanted Learning

Language Resources

• Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese provides information on textbooks, workshops, conferences, programs, and teaching materials.
• Association of Teachers of Japanese provides lessons on Japanese language and culture, job postings, and scholarships for language study abroad.
• Keiko Schneider's Bookmarks provides links to Japanese language and culture resources maintained by a language teacher in the U.S.
• Japanese Teachers Association of Michigan provides members with a bi-weekly online on issues in Japanese language teaching and an online discussion board.  
• Concordia Language Villages is a K-12 Japanese immersion program
• Channel J is an internet TV and movie news website.  Available in Japanese and English.
• Nihongo Web is an interactive, online Japanese language and culture program from the University of Alabama, available for high school and/or college credit, or for those who just want to learn Japanese on their own.
• Japanese Student Life: these culture and language units provide a platform for teaching about Elementary and High School life in Japan while simultaneously teaching the Japanese language.
• Mononoke Hime: this Japanese-English Script may be useful in teaching listening comprehension and word/phrase recognition skills.