5/16/2013 12:51:23 PM
Topic:
Yellow Peril
nguillen
Posts: 20
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Each year, as a part of my visual rhetoric unit, I show students examples of American propaganda during WWII. Some of the images that get the biggest response of outrage are Dr. Seuss's anti-Japanese propaganda. This website has a nice collection of these resources. http://www.tofugu.com/2013/02/20/dr-seuss/
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5/16/2013 12:43:40 PM
Topic:
Huntington Gardens
nguillen
Posts: 20
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Has anyone been to the Japanese Garden at The Huntington since the renovation concluded? I've never been and I'd love to hear any thoughts on effects of the project.
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5/14/2013 6:52:35 PM
Topic:
Pavilion for Japanese Art At LACMA
gsharpe
Posts: 61
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I love the Japanese Pavilion. I took my AP World History kids here last year. It's a great place to go on a field trip. The docents are fantastic and there's a 1 hour art portion, where students create bamboo ink painting, known as sumi-e painting.
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5/14/2013 12:56:13 PM
Topic:
Yamashiro
nguillen
Posts: 20
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In April, I had the opportunity to go to Yamashiro, an old Japanese (fusion) restaurant in Hollywood, right above the Magic Castle. The food was rather overpriced, but I was completely blown away by the architecture of the building, itself. Yamashiro--which means "mountain palace" is perched high up on a hill. It was built in 1914 to house the Bernheimer brothers' collection of Asian artwork. The building itself is arresting and provides a marked contrast to the houses that line the streets on the way up the hill, but its shape and form are stunning. While I have never been to Japan, to my untrained eye it appears as though a great old building had been hoisted off the ground in Japan and plopped down on a hill in Hollywood. I would encourage you to go and check out the building. The central koi pond is beautiful, as are the murals in the inner courtyard. It's not a museum, but there is definite history here.
http://yamashirorestaurant.com/about/yamashirohistory/
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5/14/2013 12:32:02 PM
Topic:
China's Lost Girls
nguillen
Posts: 20
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This year I had my students do independent research projects. Many students were interested in researching the Family Planning Policy in China. I wish I had known about this film at the time! I'll definitely take a look at it and recommend it to next year's students if they decide to focus on this topic for their research.
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5/14/2013 12:29:14 PM
Topic:
Pavilion for Japanese Art At LACMA
nguillen
Posts: 20
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I was surprised to see that there is very little in this section about the Pavilion for Japanese Art at LACMA. This portion of the museum is somewhat isolated from the main exhibits. It occupies its own little corner just east of the Hammer Building (where you can view LACMA's collection of Korean Art).
Some of my favorite pieces in the Japanese Pavilion are the paintings on scrolls. A few weeks ago, I visited as was able to see a series of paintings--mainly of nature--from the 19th century. Among my favorites was Deer an an Autumn Landscape. The muted pallet of this particular work is lovely to look at, with very faint pint flowers adding subtle bursts of color. I also appreciated the composition, as the images was balanced beautifully on the canvas, despite the fact that the subject matter does not appear perfectly in the center of the scroll. Finally, Mori's craft is on display in his ability to create the appearance of soft fur on the backs of his deer. This was just one of many scrolls that exhibit a sort of austere beauty.
I highly encourage you to check out the Japanese paintings at LACMA.
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5/14/2013 11:11:58 AM
Topic:
Asian Propaganda Posters
nguillen
Posts: 20
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This site has a wonderful collection of beautifully painted images--they really appear to be works of art. I assume the titles of each are essentially translations of the characters on each poster, but I'm not 100% sure.
The 10th image down is particularly interesting when thinking about the idea of the international communist community coming together.
http://io9.com/gorgeous-strange-and-intense-propaganda-posters-from-458834920
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5/14/2013 11:08:00 AM
Topic:
Asian Propaganda Posters
nguillen
Posts: 20
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Upon doing some research for my lessons for next year, I was pleased to come across this resource--on Pinterest of all places. I do a lot with propaganda in my class when looking at visual rhetoric. I typically focus on WWII propaganda, but I really like the idea of timing this unit with the US History teacher and focusing on communism, maybe while he's teaching about the Cold War. This collection of propaganda posters (which appear to me to be mostly Chinese and Japanese) will also allow you to access their various urls around the web, as well.
http://pinterest.com/nosistem/asian-propaganda/
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5/14/2013 10:20:11 AM
Topic:
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
nguillen
Posts: 20
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I really love documentaries. This film--which many are likely familiar with--tells the tale of Jiro Ono, a world-renown sushi chef, working in a very small sushi restaurant in Tokyo called Sukiyabashi Jiro. The film really focused on the intensity with which Jiro approaches his craft, his devotion to the subtleties of taste and smell, and his constant quest to improve himself.
I think this film could be a great study of tone and language in my AP English Language class. The story of Jiro's craft and success is told by many people in his life: his two sons, his apprentices, former apprentices and the food writer who appears to be one of his greatest champions. While they all ultimately appreciate Jiro, it's clear that he is not the easiest man to work with. Because of this, I think it would be interesting to analyze the word choice--to the best of our ability since the film would have to be viewed with English subtitles--of the different figures in the film and consider how their relationships to Jiro influence what they say about him and how they say it.
I think some of the scenes of the fish market would also be valuable to an environmental studies class. There is one scene of tuna up for auction that could be really powerful in a discussion of overfishing. There is also a segment at the fish market where a vendor is being interviewed about the the lack of fresh shrimp available at the market because of their scarcity. This could also be tied into an economics class in terms of supply and demand and cost. Jiro's restaurant is very expensive--with prices beginning at $300 per plate. One could facilitate a discussion about the scarcity of high quality fish leading to these prices; one could also approach this discussion from the perspective of the size of Jiro's restaurant--I believe there are less than 10 seats available--and the difficulty of getting a reservation as leading to the high prices.
edited by nguillen on 5/14/2013
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5/11/2013 12:47:43 PM
Topic:
Poetry pairing: Tiananmen Square
lstribling
Posts: 15
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This lesson pairs two poems with articles about the protests in Tiananmen Square. It can take three to six days, depending. It involves reading informational material and poems, as well as watching a video and listening to some oral accounts from the events. I
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5/9/2013 4:20:29 PM
Topic:
Teaching the Vietnam War (Conference)-10/4/2013
Ying Jia
Administrator
Posts: 240
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The New England History Teachers Association is pleased to announce its conference on "Teaching the Vietnam War: New Approaches, Perspectives, and Resources"
Date: OCTOBER 4, 2013
Location: DODD CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, STORRS , CT
Workshop Sessions to Include:
"Using White House Tapes: Inside Primary Sources"
John Tully, Central Connecticut State University
"New Multimedia Sources to Teach the Vietnam War"
Brad Austin, Salem State University
"Incorporating Vietnamese Sources into Classrooms"
Matthew Masur, St. Anselm College
"Stories are What We Live In:' Collecting, Analyzing, and Using Oral Histories of the 1960s"
Jeremy Greene, Chelmsford High School, &
David Salmanson, Springdale Chestnut Hill Academy
"Teaching Multiple Perspectives through the Music of the Vietnam War"
Stephen Armstrong, President, National Council for the Social Studies
"Oliver Stone, Vietnam War Movies, and American Foreign Policy"
Stephen Armstrong, President, National Council for the Social Studies
Other Workshop Sessions to be announced
More details to follow on our website:
http://nehta.org/blog/2013/04/nehta-fall-conference-teaching-the-vietnam-war/
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5/5/2013 3:33:54 PM
Topic:
web resource and professional development
abrown
Posts: 26
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This organization has a lot of materials on Asia, though that is not their sole focus.
http://www.primarysource.org/
And they link to "China Source" which they share with Harvard Asia Center.
http://www.primarysource.org/onlinecurriculum and http://www.primarysource.org/chinasource
You will need to request a password for access to this part of the website.
edited by abrown on 5/5/2013
Without the password, there are tons of great teaching resources such as this one about "What is Modern?" which compares Europe and China.
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/chinawh/
edited by abrown on 5/5/2013
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5/5/2013 3:28:29 PM
Topic:
Asia for Educators
abrown
Posts: 26
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I already reviewed another, but I also wanted to mention this website: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/
They also publish a magazine and do professional development.
The section on geography looks very interesting: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/geography/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/geography/
edited by abrown on 5/5/2013
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5/5/2013 3:26:45 PM
Topic:
Asia Society Website
abrown
Posts: 26
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This was the website I was planning to review. I recall a great unit on the Silk Road which I think came from a publication from the Asia Society. All that I found so far was this article: http://asiasociety.org/countries/trade-exchange/silk-road-spreading-ideas-and-innovations. I can't find that, but there are other interesting tabs on the website.
They have a section for education: http://asiasociety.org/education and this will take you through (a winding path) to the curriculum units including "A Visible Trace" and other secondary classroom suggested lessons and units.
http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/term
On their main page they have a variety of random, but interesting articles, including one about Afghanistan by William Dalrymple: http://asiasociety.org/new-york/william-dalrymple-not-learning-past-afghanistan
Though I think there is good information in this website and that the organization does a lot of work that could be useful, I am finding the website a little difficult to navigate. Though I can browse and look for interesting articles, the lesson plans are very difficult to locate as is the "educator" section. To find that, you need to really look . . .
If you click on the link "for kids" there is a more interactive website: http://kids.asiasociety.org/
This is primarily geared toward elementary teachers and students, but it has a lot of fun topics from biodiversity to new year's celebrations.
For older students, there are also a few resource: http://asiasociety.org/education/students/term?page=1
Note: This website is not just for East Asia, but includes all of Asia.
Once you find them, there are some GREAT teaching materials:
Afghanistan Geography: http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/afghanistan-geography-destiny
Comparing Religions: http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/comparative-religious-teachings
Silk Road
Trade: http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/trade-silk-road-cities
Belief Systems: http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/belief-systems-along-silk-roads
Confucious: http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/chinas-great-sage
Two lessons on population and population density:
http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/how-big-big
http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/how-much-there-eat
And the connections between Gandhi and the American Civil Rights Movement: http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/secondary-lesson-plans/thoreau-gandhi-and-martin-luther-king-jr
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5/5/2013 12:44:17 PM
Topic:
Teaching Red Scarf Girl
abrown
Posts: 26
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I was just looking for a spot to post a resource about this Facing History and Ourselves Resource Guide for Red Scarf Girl. Here is a link:
http://www.facinghistory.org/publications/teaching-red-scarf-girl
Though you already have a great plan for a lesson, maybe it will spark some more ideas of help with strategies for teaching some of the concepts--including identity and community.
edited by abrown on 5/5/2013
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5/5/2013 12:38:48 PM
Topic:
Teaching Red Scarf Girl
aaxelson
Posts: 30
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I have attached my lesson plans for the novel Red Scarf girl. The purpose for these lessons is to teach China’s Cultural Revolution and the nonfiction novel Red Scarf Girl. This fits into my English 9 course requirement of nonfiction/informational texts. It will be taught while students are learning about The Cultural Revolution in their Geography class. Students will use their literary analysis skills to tackle themes of discrimination, injustice, conformity, and obedience. Students will also have prior knowledge on communism, from their Geography class. Students will also be able build upon their understanding of discrimination and intolerance from other we have read this semester (Night, Lost Boy Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan) and relate themes in this book to those books (which are all examples from history) as well. Before this unit is started, students will have watched China: A Century of Revolution (especially part two), by filmmaker Sue Williams, http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/
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5/5/2013 10:20:38 AM
Topic:
NK News - North Korea Perspectives
aaxelson
Posts: 30
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Very relevant and interesting! I watched a documentary on North Korea once that followed young girls that prepared all year for a ceremony for their leader. It was called a State of Mind. A great resource if you want to introduce North Korean culture into your classroom. It was seriously eye opening! http://www.amazon.com/A-State-Mind-Daniel-Gordon/dp/B000C8STLM
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5/5/2013 10:14:30 AM
Topic:
China's Lost Girls
aaxelson
Posts: 30
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I'd really like to see this film. I am very interested in this topic. I once watched a documentary that showed how many young boys are often kidnapped to sell to rich families that want boys, and ever since I've been captivated by this policy and the effects of it. The show VICE on HBO just did a documentary on this as well. The last lecture of our class, Clay informed us that this actually turned out to be an unnecessary policy. Sad to think it was unnecessary, because it seems to have a lot of negative consequences.
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5/5/2013 10:10:08 AM
Topic:
Hiroshima - Why the Bomb was Dropped
aaxelson
Posts: 30
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Wow, thank you for posting. I do debates with the history teacher every year as part of an interdisciplinary assignment, and this is one of the topics. This is a great resource to use in the classroom, and to especially, show those students who are assigned the debate of whether or not we should have dropped the bomb.
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5/5/2013 10:05:34 AM
Topic:
Film Review
aaxelson
Posts: 30
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I'd like to check this out! Sounds really interesting, and you could use it in the classroom to show how characters can portray themes and symbolism. Thanks!
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