Lesson 4
Lesson Plan Download pdf
Plenary (10 minutes)
Where is Japan? Can you point it out on a world map/ globe etc? Briefly discuss its position and make comparisons with the UK – both island nations off a major continent, Japan is located much further south than the UK.
Stick the following kanji characters (see flashcards) on to the Japan map (printable version included in the lesson which could be enlarged):
| 雨 | あめ | ame | rain |
| 晴れ | はれ | hare | sunny |
| 雪 | ゆき | yuki | snow |
| 曇り | くもり | kumori | cloudy |
Other good Japan maps can be found by clicking on the following links:
https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/
http://earth.google.com (for satellite images)
Language awareness point
Can children guess what the kanji mean? Can children spot the ‘sun - 日’ and ‘rain - 雨’
Talk about the weather in Japan and refer to various photos. How do the seasons compare to those in the UK? Is Japan hotter or cooler? Is the weather the same all over Japan? What about in the UK? How does the weather vary between Scotland and England for example? Why is Hokkaido so much colder than Britain? (make reference to the Gulf Stream). Show children the ‘Where is Japan?’ presentation for images and questions.
If you want to take the lesson further, make the teru teru bozu rain doll activity with the children (see worksheet for instructions or visit https://www.japansociety.org.uk/resource?resource=36 for an instructional video)
