Japan Quest
 

Japanese Language Lessons

Click on the job below for quick access to Internet sites and Data Sheets.

Introduction:

You have been selected to visit virtual Japan.  As a tourist, you must take notes on all you learn.  You will be part of a team of four other tourists.  You will visit various Internet sites and learn about Japan and its people.  Each member of your group will have special information that you must gather.  This information will be combined into a report or project.  Your tour leader (your teacher) will help your team decide on a project.

Your task is to learn about Japan and its people.  You will be put in a team of 4.  Each team member will find information which will be added to your team project.  This is a cooperative project.  Your job which is explained below in a table is very important to your team.  You will open the Internet sites pertaining to your job, find information requested on your data sheet, and then use that information for your group project.
 
 

Job	Description
Cartographer/Geographer	Will find maps of Japan.  These will be printed out to be added to their team's project.  Each map will have the web site address on it.  This is important to keep to add to the resource list at the end of your team project. The Cartographer/Geographer will also look for information about the geography and climate of Japan. Geography is the study of the land features of a place.
Anthropologist	Will find information about the culture of Japan.  Culture means those kinds of things that people do everyday. (such as: religion, entertainment, family traditions, national traditions, and anything else that Japanese do in their everyday life.
Historian	Will find information about the history of Japan.  The historian will write a timeline about the major events in the history of Japan.
Educator	Will find information about school in Japan.  The educator's job is to take notes about what schools are like for students in Japan.

Process:
 

Below you will find Internet sites for each job in the team.  You only need to use the internet sites for your job.  Be sure you take notes on the data sheets.  The sheets have been organized to make it easier for you to organize the information you find.  When your team has gathered all the information from the Internet, the next step is to begin your project.  Some of you might do a PowerPoint presentation, some might make a report, some might make a poster on Japan, others may do a project given to you by your tour guide.

Resources:

Cartographer (Map Maker/Geographer Internet Sites
 

Internet Site	Description of Site
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/map/index.html	There's a great map of Japan in this site.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/nature/index.html	This site is about Nature and Climate.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/regions/index.html	The regions of Japan are found here.

Anthropologist Internet Sites
 

Site	Description of Site
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/culture/index.html	This site has information on the culture of Japan.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/language/index.html	Language in Japan
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/meet/index.html http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/outside/index.html	This site has things kids do at school and afterwards.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/sports/index.html	Sports in Japan are found here.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/housing/index.html http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/kimono/index.html	Housing, Food and Clothing in Japan Traditional dress

Historian Internet Sites
 

Internet Site	Description of Site
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/history/index.html	Click on History and find much information about the history of Japan.

Educator Internet Sites
 

Internet Site	Description of Site
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/language/index.html	Japanese language lessons can be found here at this site.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/schools/index.html	Here is information about school in Japan

Conclusion:
 

You will have learned about Japan and the Japanese people. Your virtual tour through Japan has given you an idea about what it is like to be a Japanese student, what the countryside looks like, and a bit about the history of Japan. It is the hope of your tour leader that Japan is now a real place to you.
Evaluation:
 
Below you will find a matrix that your tour leader (teacher) will use to evaluate how well you did on your virtual tour of Japan.  There are 90 possible Points for this activity.
 

Item to be Evaluated	10 Points	20 Points	30 Points
Team Effort	The team  has made some effort to stay on task and work together.	Team has made good effort and stayed on task most of the time.	Team has  made excellent effort and was always  on task.
Project Construction	Project had more than 5 spelling or grammar errors	Project had 3-5 spelling or grammar errors.	Project had two or less spelling or  grammar errors.
Final Project Presentation	Team presented the project to the class.	Team did a good job presenting the project to the class.	Team did an excellent job  presenting the  project to the  class.

Author:  Barb Jones (teacher and technology trainer)
Revised April 03, 2007
Not responsible for links outside this site