ymi_trans1 activity1

		No. ymi_trans1a01
	The Deai Students and Transportation Activity 1 : The World and Japan

Date:	Country:	Author(copyright):	Themes:
2003/1	Canada	Yazawa Michiko 矢澤理子 Alberta Learning (Ministry of Learning, Alberta)	Transportation Nature and the Environment
Overview:
Students confirm the location of Japan on a map of the world, and note that the center of a world map differs depending on culture.

Worksheets and other materials:

World maps (made in students' own country, Japan, and from other countries)

A blank world map made in students' own country on which the U.K. and Japan have been removed

Paper cutouts of the seven continents, the U.K., and Japan

A map of Japan, paper cutouts of the five islands

Ask students to draw a map of the world. Afterward, they should compare drawings in pairs or groups and make corrections to their works within the group.

* Students should come to understand how incredibly difficult this task is. Direct their attention to the inaccurate positioning or lack of the seven continents, to their ability to draw only those areas related to their own culture, and to the tendency to exaggerate proportions.

* Because students are likely to draw their world maps from the perspective they are accustomed to seeing on maps produced in their native country--with their own country in the center--when they later encounter world maps from other countries (like a world map made in Japan with Japan in the center), they will become aware of the common tendency to place one's own culture in the center and will discover that people's awareness of the world differs depending on their culture. The teacher should guide the students' discussion to help them consider the meaning of this "discovery" in more depth. This activity is a good opportunity for students to compare their own worldviews with those of others (ranging from their classmates to people of other cultures). Coordinating this activity with a social studies teacher can make it even more interesting.

Pass out to each group of students a blank world map (drawn from the perspective of the students' own country) on which the United Kingdom and Japan have been removed. Have each group of students correct their hand-drawn maps while referring to the blank map. Ask students to express what they thought when they saw the accurate blank map or while correcting their own maps (This can be done in the students' native language, depending on their level of Japanese). Next, instruct the students to draw in the United Kingdom (イギリスをかいてください). Confirm that students have a correct understanding of the island's location and shape. (This will probably be a relatively simple exercise.)

Ask the students where Japan is located (日本はどこですか). (Some confusion is to be expected, but by being faced by the uncertainty of their knowledge, students will become aware of the need to study the geography of Japan.)

Use a question-and-answer format to confirm students' knowledge about Japan, including 1) Japan is an island nation, 2) Japan is composed of five relatively large islands, and 3) the names of those five islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa.

日本は「島国」でしたね。「島国」は英語でなんですか。 Japan is a shimaguni, right? What is shimaguni in English?

どんな島がありますか。 What sort of islands make up Japan?

大きい島の名前はなんですか。 What are the names of the biggest islands?

Pass out paper cutouts of the five islands to each group and have the students attempt to arrange them in the proper shape. Show the students the correct arrangement (a map of Japan) and have them correct their paper cutouts.

Show the students a world map made in Japan. (It is preferable if you have world maps from other countries to show as well, so the students will have a greater selection on which to base their comparisons.) Ask them to point out what is different from a world map made in their own country and have them think about the reasons for that difference.

Option: In case the task of drawing a world map is too difficult.

Pass out paper cutouts of the seven continents to each group of students and have them attempt to arrange the cutouts in their relative positions. Give the students the correct answer (a blank world map made in their own country with the U.K. and Japan removed). Confirm which groups came close to the correct arrangement and have the students make any needed corrections to their maps.

Bring students' attention to the fact that the U.K. is not on the map. Give them a paper cutout of the United Kingdom and instruct them to add it to their maps (a simple task).

Tell students that Japan is also missing, pass out a paper cutout of Japan, and have them try to place it on their maps (a more difficult task).

Point out that the imbalance in the students' knowledge of the world is related to how familiar they are with its different regions.

Show the students a world map made in Japan and confirm what is different from a world map from their own country. Ask them to think about the reasons for that difference.