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Crow Boy
by Taro Yashima (Viking)
Themes:Japanese Culture/The Five Senses/Tolerance
Level: Grades PreK-4
Length 13 minutes, iconographic
CROW BOY
By Taro Yashima (Viking)
Themes: Japanese Culutre/The Five Senses/Social
Acceptance
Grade Level: K-3
Running Time: 13 minutes, iconographic
Summary
CROW BOY, the film, is true to the book, CROW BOY, by
Taro Yashima. The story takes place in Japan, where a boy
nicknamed Chibi hides under the schoolhouse on the first day
of school. As the school year progresses, the other children
learn that Chibi is afraid of the teacher and the other students
who poke fun at his strangeness. Chibi spends most of this
time alone, and entertains himself by studying the tiniest of
details, including the wood grain of a desk, the cloth of a
boy’s shirt and , of course, all of the sights available through
the classroom windows.
When Chibi reaches the sixth grade, he is fortunate enough to
have a teacher who appreciates his ability to use each of his
five senses to learn about the world around him. One day, the
teacher announces that Chibi will imitate the voices of crows
as his talent show performance. Everyone is amazed as they
listen to Chibi imitate mother, father and baby crows, crows
calling to each other happily, etc. As the children listen, they
come to realize that Chibi must live in a place that is very
isolated and far away, as that s the only place where he could
have heard these crow sounds.
With a greater understanding of Chibi and the distances he
had to travel by foot each day to get back and forth to school,
the children come to appreciate him and regret thinking him
strange and treating him unfairly.
The story ends with the children occasionally meeting in the
village since the end of school, and respectfully calling Chibi
by a new name, Crow Boy.
OBJECTIVES
• Children will explore Japanese culture.
• Children will understand that they can learn many things by
using their five senses.
• Children will learn to respect individual differences.
BEFORE VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Share the book CROW BOY with children.
Talk with children about the ways each of them is similar to,
and different from, their classmates.
Encourage children to discuss their favorite classroom activi-
ties, sports, things they like to do at home, etc., as a way of
helping them understand the ways in which they are similar,
and, at the same time, unique individuals.
Take a listening walk outdoors with children. Encourage
them to use their ears and listen carefully in order to identify
the many different sounds they hear. Later, take a touching
walk, a seeing walk, and a smelling walk. In each case, have
children identify those things they can feel, see or smell as
they explore the outdoors. When children are ready to view
the video, tell them that the boy in the story, Crow Boy, is
someone very special because he explores the world with
each of his five senses all the time. Encourage children to
watch the video closely to discover just what Crow Boy
learns about the world by using his senses and what a special
individual Crow Boy is.
After Viewing Activities
Have children dramatize the story of Crow Boy. After the
dramatization, ask the child who portrayed Crow Boy:
• How did you feel when the children teased you and called
you names?
• How did you feel at the end of the play?
Ask the children who played Crow Boy’s classmates:
• How do you feel about the way you treated Crow Boy?
Talk with children about the importance of showing caring
and compassion toward others.
Discuss the signs of Japanese culture that were evident in the
story. Ask:
• How were the homes, style of dress, signs, vehicles, etc.
different from what we see in our country?
• What would you like most about living in Japan? Least?
Later, try to visit a museum with objects representative of
Japanese culture available for children to explore. As children
explore the exhibits, encourage them to try and identify
objects they may have seen in the video.
Talk with children about the printed words and signs they
saw. Ask:
• Does Japanese printing look like ours?
• How is it different?
If possible, share some documents, signs, or other written
materials printed in Japanese, with children and display them
in the classroom. Provide children with black crayons and
construction paper that they can use to invent their own let-
ters. Have children describe their symbols and the letters they
represent to their classmates.
Other films and videos about Japanese culture are available
from Weston Woods include:
THE STONECUTTER by Gerald McDermott
SUHO AND THE WHITE HORSE written by Yuzo Otsuka
& illustrated by Suekichi Akaba
Other films and videos about being different are available
from Weston Woods include:
MOON MAN by Tomi Ungerer
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