Teaching Resources

Obon is one of the most important annual festivals in Japan and takes place in the summer. It is based on the Buddhist belief that the spirits of ancestors return to their family home at this time of year.

A list of external resources about the atomic bombings to help educators find information and content to teach young people about the bombings and their impact.

The Sports Day combines all the elements of the individual lessons, allowing students to experience an authentic Japanese undokai (Sports Day). Use the sample timetable including in the lesson plan as a guide to planning your own event. 

Students are introduced to two Japanese characters which make up the word kaizen, meaning ‘to improve’ in Japanese. Students will then complete elements of an obstacle course and reflect on their own performance and identify areas where they can make small tangible improvements. 

Students look at the importance of working with others and how effective teamwork can improve performance. The students will take part in several physical activities which test and strengthen their ability to work well in teams.

This lesson highlights the importance of humour and having fun at a Japanese sports day. Students must think creatively and work collaboratively with their team to devise an activity for the opposing team that meets the criteria they have been given.

In this lesson, students will realise the importance of effective communication in pair work as they take part in physical activities which test and strengthen their ability to work well in pairs. 

In the first lesson, students are introduced to the Radio Taiso exercises that are performed by the whole school as a warm-up before sports day. At the end of the lesson, the students’ own Radio Taiso performance can be recorded and played back at sports day in the future. 

The Japanese Sports Day (undokai in Japanese) is a popular event in the school calendar; it’s a fun-filled day with an emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. Hold a Japanese Sports Day at school or at home using one of our specially created packs.

Tanzaku are coloured strips of paper which make during the Tanabata Festival. People usually write a personal wish on tanzaku and hung it up on bamboo. Make your own tanzaku with coloured paper/card by following our instructions.