Using poetry describe the place you want to visit in 3 to 4 sentences
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Japan is a country that is rich in culture, history and tradition. These elements have influenced the way in which the country has dramatically and rapidly become a powerful economic contender with the United States. In view of the vital role that the Japanese people play in the world today and for the future, this unit will play an important role in exposing elementary students to this country and its strong cultural traditions.
Poetry is the main focus of the unit. It will be incorporated into each lesson as either the main objective of the lesson, as a reinforcement to other learning goals or a motivator prior to the main activity. Thus, the students will gain an appreciation for writing, analyzing, reading and listening to poetry, and will also view poems as a motivation for studying Japanese culture and tradition.
I have chosen poetry books at various reading levels. Some of the literature is written specifically for children. The poems are written for an elementary reading level and are beautifully illustrated with related art work. I have also chosen some books that were made by Japanese children using their poetry. This will allow the children to see and read poetry of Japan and will inspire ideas for their own poetry.
Additionally, the unit will incorporate much of the traditional Japanese poetry which is translated into English. Although the texts will be more difficult, I think that it is important to expose the students to “real” poetry at an early age. The lessons will include simple analysis of the poems, which will lead to more complex critical thinking and writing skills. The students will develop their own original poems in response to these poems.
Some of the poems I have chosen are written by modern poets with beginnings around the last twenty years of the 19th century. These are influenced by European and American poetry and have a more romantic style than the classical Japanese poems.
However, traditions of poetry had been prominent ever since literature was first recorded in the oldest Japanese archives. Haiku and Tanka poems, with ancient roots, are highly formalized poems which, with brevity, simplicity and suggestiveness, provide models for young writers in the classroom to create original poems. Both the modern and older forms of poetry will help reflect Japan today: its great land of young people and huge cities rivaling its old landscapes, sculpture and customs.
The students will also read Japanese folk stories, which will teach Japanese culture as well as inspire ideas for poetry writing. Many of the stories were originally written in Tanka form. Another variation will include the use of non-Japanese poetry from American poets. This poetry will be relevant to the study of culture. The narrative literature, together with American poetry, will add diversity to the unit.
If writing, or studying, the related poem is not the specific objective of the lesson, it will be used to reinforce Art, Music, History or Science relating to Japan. The poems will be carefully chosen to supplement each activity and to show that Japanese life and poetry are interrelated.
After successful completion of the unit, the students will have accomplished various goals and acquired skills which reflect the course of study for third grade. Most importantly, however, they will gain an understanding of a different cultural and ethnic group. The poetic tradition of this country will assist in the understanding and utilization of creative expression across the academic disciplines in oral and written communication and social development.
This unit is designed for a third grade class at a New Haven public school. The students in this class at L. W. Beecher Elementary School are predominantly African-American and Latino. They belong to low to middle socioeconomic levels. The students are also diverse in academic levels, including children participating in the talented and gifted program as well as the learning disabled resource program.
Before the unit’s implementation, the students will have written, read and discussed other types of poetry, including rhyming poems, shape poems and poetry that is related to their reading and creative writing themes.
Although the unit is designed for a third grade curriculum, it could be executed in a wide range of age groups, from primary to middle school. The lesson topics and selected poems would be ideal; however, the complexity of the presentation would match the specific learning level. The main objective of the unit would remain the same at each level: to discover the rich culture and traditions of Japan through study of poetry.