Glastonbury Foreign Language Program
Curricular Unit: The Chinese Legacy in Japan (Japanese)
Grade: 7
Subject/Topic Area(s): China's Tang Dynasty: the manifestation of the Chinese legacy in contemporary culture -- Buddhism, kanji and the origin of the Japanese writing system, architecture, tea and the tea ceremony
Key Words: dou, sadou, shoudou, kanji, obousan, daibutsu, kinkakuji, otera, Chuugoko, ryouko suru, abunai, omoshiroi, furui, Shoutokutaishi, To

Standards:

Major standards— 1.2, 2.1, 2.2
Supporting standards— 1.3, 3.1, 3.2, 5.2

Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals):

In this unit on China 's legacy in Japan , students will learn about the influence of China on Japanese Buddhism, writing, and the tea ceremony.

Number of days for activity: About 5 weeks

Materials and resources (including technology and multimedia):

Kanji packet drawn from various sources
Calligraphy brushes, ink, paper
Japanese teas, tea ceremony utensils
Ima! 1 text, Chapter 6, pictures and vocabulary on Kyouto and Nara
Japanese guest to talk about tea or teach brush writing
Pictures of Japanese homes, temples, and other buildings influenced by Chinese architecture gathered from Internet

Identifying Desired Results

•  What essential questions will guide this unit and focus teaching/learning?

How does the Chinese legacy manifest itself in contemporary Japanese culture?
How does the Buddhist legacy manifest itself in contemporary Japanese culture?
How does the Tang Dynasty's influence manifest itself in Japanese culture?

•  What enduring understandings are desired?

Student will understand...

Why this is an important period in Japanese history
The beliefs underlying the traditional arts in Japan

•  What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?

Students will know…

How Chinese influence first came to Japan
Who brought it and disseminated it
How it has influenced Japanese life

Students will be able to…

Compare two cultures via historical evidence, read brief sections of related text in the target language for comparative purposes, handle realia in a culturally appropriate manner, describe past events

Vocabulary:
obousan, hotoke, Chuugoku, fune, abunai, abunakatta, omoshiroi, omoshirokatta, fude, shodou, shuji, mattcha, sadou, yu, o mizu, fukusa, chakin, chasen, chashaku, ochoudai itashimasu, chaji

Relevant structures:
ryouko suru (other noun + suru - verbs of Chinese origin), kanji used in verbs and lesson-related vocabulary

Grammar:
present progressive (Vte + imasu), making suggestions using ~ mashou verb ending
i adjectives -- plain ~i ending and past ~katta ending
uses of the particle de – by means of for transportation, to indicate the utensil used to do something, indicating activity in a place

•  What do they already know that will help them learn new information? Where and when did they learn it?

~masu/masen, ~mashita/masen desita verb endings, usage of the particles wa, o, ni
(Grades 4-5)
basic kanji (2-6)

Determining acceptable evidence

•  What evidence will show that students understand?

Performance Tasks:
Students will demonstrate the correct way to hold the calligraphy brush and the proper posture for brush writing. They will be able to say why it is important to learn posture and the appropriate way to hold these items. Students will read an excerpt from a Japanese text and answer comprehension questions verbally and in writing.

Quizzes, Tests, Prompts, Work Samples:
Quizzes -- matching characters with English equivalents or with correct reading in Japanese

Unprompted Evidence (observations, dialogues):
team games, Bingo, dialogues based on question and answer patterns used in lesson

Student Self-Assessment:
questionnaire on their understanding of the lesson

Lessons:

•  Lesson 1: Sadou, the Way of Tea

•  Lesson 2: How did Buddhism come to Japan ?

•  Lesson 3: The Daibutsu of Nara

•  Lesson 4: Where does the Japanese writing system come from?

•  Lesson 5: How can writing be like meditation?

Links to Relevant Web Sites:  

Assessment Blueprint (Performance Tasks)

Task Title:
Approximate Time Frame:
Standards:
Purpose: check those that apply Formative – Summative –
Description of Task:



Evidence of desired understanding:

Criteria of judgment:

Evaluative Tools: check those that apply
Analytic Rubric –
Holistic Rubric –
Criterion (performance) list –
Checklist –

Assessment Blueprint (Other Evidence)

•  What is being assessed?

•  Describe the assessment.  

•  What is the purpose of the assessment?      

•  Criteria of judgment/evaluative tools: