Lesson Plan: What is like to be a kid in Yokohama?
Lisa Kissinger – Keizai Koho Fellow, July 2008
Level: Elementary Social Studies (recommended for grade 3)
Focus Question:
In what ways are world communities similar and different?
Objective:
 Identify cultural characteristics of the United States
 Analyze photographs to identify cultural characteristics of Japan
 Compare cultural characteristics of Japan and the United States
Time frame: 2 40-minute class periods
Materials Needed:
 “Stick Man” worksheets (Slides # 62 and 63 in the photo album).
 Projector or computer lab to view Power Point photo album “What’s it Like to Be a Kid
in Japan?”
 Notes for slide show (included in the lesson plan)
 Venn Diagram (Slide #64 in the photo album.)
Activities:
1. Using the “Stick Man” worksheet, ask students to identify activities they like to do, they like
to eat, hobbies they enjoy. (One thought bubble is left blank so that the teacher can add
additional items.) Review with the class. Tell the class that these ideas can describe American
culture. Explain that they will be learning about Japanese culture, and ask them to predict ways
in which American and Japanese culture will be similar or different.
2. Transition the lesson to Japan by locating Japan on a world map. Explain that they will be
looking at photos in order to identify cultural features of Japan. Relate these features to the
previous discussion. If you would like, students can take notes on the photograph using a second
copy of the Stick Man organizer. Identify Japan’s relative location to the United States and
other major world countries.
 Slide #1: Continent Map
3. Locate Japan within the region of Asia. Identify Japan’s relative location to China and other
Asian countries.
 Slide #2: Map of Asia
4. Locate Tokyo and Yokohama on a map of Japan.
 Slide #3 and #4: Maps of Asia
 Tokyo and Yokohama are cities in on the southeastern coast of Honshu Island, Japan’s
main island.
 Tokyo and Yokohama are located on the Tokyo Bay
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5. Show students the slide show “Being a Kid in Japan\index.html” to respond to the question,
“What is like to be a kid in Japan?” Titles provide basic information about the photo.
Topic
Cities have many
skyscrapers,
people, activities,
human-made
features (eg.,
parks)
Slide #
6, 9
Image Details
Tokyo Midtown Tower – brand new building with environmental features
like a green roof, recycled rainwater and louvers on the outside of the
building that open and close based on the amount of natural life. Tokyo
Midtown Tower was built on the grounds of the former Japan Defense
Agency site, feudal palace and U.S. occupation forces.
7-8
Park in Tokyo – park built in Tokyo Midtown development. 40% of this
site is green space like this park.
Tokyo storefront – notice the bicycles, signs and store window displays.
Tokyo is a busy
city with many
people,
businesses and
different
transportation
options!
Train system
Office buildings
Modern
buildings, buses
and trucks
Skyscrapers
10
Skyscrapers
15
Transportation
Transportation
Technology
16
17
Transportation
Technology
18
City life
Hobbies
Transportation
19
Human-made
features
Tradition
Education
21
Education
23-25
Education
26
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11
12, 13
12
Tokyo – notice the many train lines that run between buildings
14
Tokyo Tower – lit up at night. The Tokyo tower is 333 meters high – it’s
taller than the Eiffel Tower! It opened in 1958. They used 140 drums of
orange and white paint to paint the Tower. There are 176 floodlights to
light up the Tower at night. You can see to Yokohama from the Tokyo
Tower!
Here is a photograph of a building in Tokyo’s newest neighborhood,
Odaiba. Odaiba was built on reclaimed land from the Tokyo Bay.
JR Train line going through a building by the Tokyo Dome.
People in Japan like to drive small cars! They save money on gas and
because the cities in Japan are so crowded, it is much easier to park with a
little car!
The parking garages are so crowded they need to stack the cars on top of
each other! You can see the parking deck above the green car. If they
needed to, they would lower that deck, park a car, then raise the deck
again and park a car underneath!
Baseball is very popular in Japan. Here you can see a photograph from a
distance of two baseball diamonds for people to play.
There are many, many, many train lines in Tokyo. Here is a view of a
train stop, looking out from the platform.
What do your gardens look like? This is one of Japan’s oldest gardens,
the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden. This garden is based on designs from
the 1600s. It was built in 1938.
What sports do you play at school? At Yokohama Senior High School for
International Studies, they have eight ping pong tables!
Students can bring their own lunch to Yokohama Senior High School for
International Studies – or they can visit the convenience store located
inside the school. What do you like to eat for lunch? Japanese students
eat snacks, rice, cold fish (sushi) and vegetables.
What do you bring to school? Japanese high school students bring their
pencil case (silver case), their cell phones, notebooks and an electronic
20
22
Tokyo – view from the bus on the highway. Notice we are driving on the
left side (like the British do!)
Tradition
27-28
Tradition
29
Family Life
Grocery
Shopping
Family Life
Breakfast
30
Family Life
Apartment
34-36
Family Life
Apartment
37
School
Sports
Hobbies
38-39
Neighborhoods
40-42
Human-made
features
Food
43-44
Tradition
46
Traditional and
modern life
47
Food
48
Education
49
Education
50-57
Education
58-59
Entertainment
Entertainment
60
61-62
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31-33
45
dictionary to translate in language classes. Many Japanese students at this
high school are taking two languages – some are even studying three
languages!
In July, Japanese people celebrate the Tanabata Festival. Tanabata, also
known as the "star festival", takes place on July 7th when, according to a
Chinese legend, two stars (Altair and Vega) representing star-crossed
lovers are able to meet. One popular Tanabata custom is to write one's
wishes on a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a specially
erected bamboo tree, in the hope that the wishes become true.
It is customary outside of a Shinto shrine to wash yourself with holy
water. These two young boys (with their traditional school uniforms and
leather backpacks) are about to enter the shrine. You can compare your
backpacks to theirs!
This is a very busy grocery store in Yokohama. How many signs can you
read? How does this compare to the grocery store your family visits?
What do you eat for breakfast? Japanese families usually eat rice, miso
soup, a soft-boiled egg and lettuce! What utensils do you use to eat?
Japanese families use chopsticks – but for a special American visitor –
they put out a fork!
What does your dining room look like? Japanese houses are typically
smaller than American houses. This is a dining room and living room in a
three bedroom house.
This family didn’t have a dryer – so they hung their clothes on their
balcony to dry! It was very humid in July, so it took a long time to dry the
clean clothes.
What sports do you like to play? Some Japanese elementary schools have
organized rugby teams. Notice how the teams are lining up before the
match. This is because they will bow to each other as if to say “I am
honored to compete against you.”
Photographs of Chinatown in Yokohama. Notice the different languages
on the signs.
Rice paddies are everywhere. Anywhere that there is flat farmland, you
see rice growing.
Japanese families like to go to restaurants to special meals. This is a
special meal called sukiyaki which is cooked right at the table.
This is a photograph of geta sandals taken at Takayam Jinya, a national
historic site which is a recreation of a local government building from the
1600s.
As you travel in Japan, you will see women wearing the traditional kimono
costume. Japanese women wear kimono like American women would
dress up for a special occasion, like an important festival or party.
People in Japan are very good at producing things with many details.
Notice the drawing – made in sugar – on the plate of fancy desserts!
This sign was hanging in the high school. What do you think it means?
Do you have to do this at your school?
These are some phrases that students are learning in English class in the
Japanese high school.
Photos of the Tokyo Metropolitan Koishikawa High School baseball team
practicing after school.
Photos of the amusement park outside of the Tokyo Dome.
Yomiuri Giant Stadium, Tokyo Dome. There are two professional
baseball leagues, the Central and Pacific Leagues. The Yomiuri Giants
play in the Central League. Two teams play in Tokyo, the Giants and the
Tokyo Yakult Swallows. The Yomiuri Giants are the oldest and most
popular team in Japan – and they’ve won more pennants and Japan Series
titles than any other team. They play in the Tokyo Dome, a covered dome
stadium in the middle of the city. At Yomiuri home games, you'll likely
see the team's mascot, a half Y & G logo, half rabbit. The odd creature
goes by the name "Giabbit" (Pronounced "Jabbit"). Surrounding the
Tokyo Dome are two shopping centers and one amusement park! You can
ride a roller coaster, ferris wheel and take a mini-water slide ride too.
As students are viewing the slide show, help them to analyze the photographs to identify cultural
characteristics of Japan. As they analyze the photographs, they should take notes about Japanese
culture in categories. (The number of categories can vary based on how complex you want the
Venn Diagram to be.)
6. After students have completed their notes they can complete a Venn Diagram or a short
constructed response comparing Japanese and American life.
Special Education Accommodation:
These questions will help students complete the Venn Diagram:
Based on your notes, complete the Venn diagram below by answering the following questions.
1. List three ways life in Japan is different from life in the United States.
2. List three ways life in Japan and life in the United States are alike.
Gifted & Talented Extension:
Review the time difference between US & Japan.
 Japan is at least 12 hours ahead of the United States, depending on the U.S. time zone in
which you live.
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