Give your students an authentic taste of Japan. Japan‑in‑a‑Suitcase is a traveling educational program that gives elementary school students a chance to experience Japanese culture, customs, and contemporary life. Choose among four topics — each aligned to grade-level TEKS — that will ignite your students’ curiosity and open their minds and hearts.
“We really enjoyed having you and the wonderful presentation on Japan. Our students are still talking about it…We want to include this for next year. At lunch yesterday, the students experienced eating with chopsticks. Some of them did quite well! Even our principal received instructions on chopsticks from the participants. It was a fun conclusion to our introduction to Japanese culture.”
-Dallas teacher
Book or Volunteer: mihoko@jasdfw.org
Kids’ Arts in Japan: Origami and Calligraphy
3rd – 5th Grade
How does a flat piece of paper become a three-dimensional animal? Can a single word be a work of art? Students will learn the history of ancient art forms that are popular with children in Japan even today. They will make their own origami creations and write Japanese calligraphy with a brush pen.
School Life in Japan
3rd – 5th Grade
Who cleans Japanese schools? Why isn’t there a cafeteria in most schools? Students will discover the answers to these questions and more through a presentation of Japanese school items. They will learn to count to ten and write simple Japanese “letters” with a brush pen.
guidelines
- Maximum 30 students per presentation
- Presentation length: 50 minutes
- Maximum of 2 presentations per day
- Between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm
- Teacher must be present at all times during the presentation
- $100 first presentation, $50 subsequent presentations at same school/same day
Content
All presentations include:
- Introduction to Japan’s geography
- Basic Japanese words & greetings
- Oral presentation with photos & objects
- Hands-on activity
- Teacher resource materials
Learning Partners
Japan-in-a-Suitcase is an approved program of Learning Partners – A Program of Big Thought, a nationally recognized collaboration that provides high-quality arts and cultural activities to all Dallas Independent School District elementary students each year.
Presenter
A native of Nagasaki, Japan, Mihoko Ishikawa has been a Japan-in-a-Suitcase presenter since 2008. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of Japanese culture at Japan-America Society events, at community festivals, and in classrooms throughout the year.
