World Neighbor 2 - Japan (everyday life in a Japanese child's day)

Greeting + Calendar Circle + 'Konnichiwa!' (bow gently). Each child greets a partner with bow and konnichiwa. Teacher: 'Today we visit Japan.'

• Play konnichiwa audio
• Demonstrate respectful bow
• Point Japan on MG-7

Japan is on the Asian continent - east of China and Korea. Japan is a chain of islands - the 4 largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Tokyo is the capital and one of the world's largest cities. The official language is JAPANESE, written with three scripts (hiragana, katakana, kanji). Today we look at one Japanese child's everyday day. Same 5 questions: HOME, SCHOOL, PLAY, FOOD, LANGUAGE.

• Allen Say lived between Japan and California. He shows us both.

  model Read aloud; pause at scenes of everyday Japanese tea, shoji screens, school uniforms. 'Notice - this is everyday life, not festival life.'

  prompt Read excerpts from 'Tea with Milk' (Say 1999) - Allen Say's mother's everyday life across Japan and the US.
• Yuki is 6 years old. She is real. She is OUR neighbor on the planet.

  model Teacher: 'This is Yuki's day in Osaka. Notice the randoseru - the special backpack. School starts at 8am. Lunch is bento (a packed lunch box) with rice, fish, vegetables, and one small treat.'

  prompt Examine everyday-life photo set from a Japanese child in Osaka - HOME (apartment with futon and shoji), SCHOOL (school children walking with randoseru backpacks), PLAY (origami), FOOD (bento box or rice + miso for breakfast), LANGUAGE (Japanese greeting card).
• Same 5 questions; different answers. Same child, different country.

  model Teacher and class jointly add 5 Velcro tiles: HOME (apartment with futon, shoji); SCHOOL (randoseru + gakkō); PLAY (origami or pokemon); FOOD (bento or rice + miso); LANGUAGE (konnichiwa / arigatō).

  prompt Fill in JAPAN row on MG-9 grid.

• Tell me ONE everyday detail from a Japanese child's day.
• Greet a partner in Japanese (konnichiwa + bow).

M-1-S-CUL-13-A Chart

MG-9 grid as continued from L12. Today JAPAN row added: HOME (apartment with futon and shoji); SCHOOL (randoseru + gakkō); PLAY (origami); FOOD (bento or rice+miso); LANGUAGE (konnichiwa / arigatō). 6x6 Velcro pockets populated.

MG-9 Chart

Mounted on classroom wall at child-eye-height; bilingual picture-card overlays available for Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Russian, Haitian Creole, French, Korean, and Urdu.

M-1-S-CUL-13-B Photograph

5 photographs (5x7) from a real Japanese family in Osaka with consent: (1) bedroom with futon; (2) school child wearing randoseru backpack walking to gakkō; (3) origami crane being folded; (4) bento lunch box opened; (5) Japanese greeting card with hiragana script. Source line per photo: 'Family in Osaka, JP, 2025, with consent.'

• In pairs, examine the photo set. Add a sticky note to MG-9 with one observation.

  scaffold Sentence frame: 'In Yuki's home, I see ___.'
• Fold ONE simple origami (a crane or boat) as a hands-on Japanese tradition.

  scaffold Step-by-step picture card

• Locate Japan on the world map AND name one everyday detail.

• Mount completed JAPAN row of MG-9
• Preview: tomorrow we visit GHANA

• Tonight, ask a family member: 'Have you tried Japanese food at home? Which?' Bring one sentence.