Outreach
Pre-K through 16 Educational Outreach
Lesson Plans/Curricula [all files in PDF format]
JAPANESE STORY TELLING (KAMISHIBAI)
Background Information
Kamishibai is a form of Japanese storytelling dating back to the 1920’s. It was a form of street storytelling where the storyteller(s) traveled by bicycle carrying their miniature theatre, storycards and candy. The Kamishibai storyteller would tell 2-3 short stories using the stage and storycards. In the traditional Kamishibai the storytellers would often leave the story with an exciting ending (like the modern day “cliff hanger” often used at the end of a television series season) that would be returned to when the storytellers returned to the village on another day; this strategy kept the children excited to come and hear the Kamishibai storytellers over and over again.
Rationale
Exposing children to Kamishibai will enable teachers to expose children to new concepts in the language arts while also providing them with a meaningful opportunity to explore a different culture. How a teacher chooses to use the Kamishibai in the classroom will determine which language arts standards will be addressed. One advantage of using the Kamishibai to explore language arts is that the activity allows children at many different developmental levels to be successful using the materials.
Lesson materials produced by Stacy Lewis and Jamie Winkovitch of the
University Child Development Center, University of
Pittsburgh .
Kamishibai Lesson
MONGOLIA LESSON PLANS
Teacher to Teacher
Lesson Materials on a Sense of Place
By Heather Dengel, Burgettstown High School
On March 1, 2006, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History was the sight of the workshop, Sense of Place: Land and Cultural Identities around the World. Teachers had an opportunity to attend a breakout session on Mongolia. The overall objective of the session was for teacher participants to be afforded opportunities to learn about the rich cultural heritage of Mongolia and provide them with materials to implement into their teaching assignment. In addition, teachers in attendance contributed to the ideas that were later developed into lessons for the Asian Studies Center (ASC) website. This article explains those lessons that I developed for classroom use.
"A Sense of Place: The Nomadic Life of Contemporary Mongolians" [Article by Erica Dolhopf and Marion Sikora - Pitt Honors College Students]
The rationale of lessons #1 and #2 is for students to make comparisons between Native American and Mongolian cultures. These lessons would be complimentary to an existing unit of Native American studies. The lessons could also be used independently for a focus lesson on Mongolia with the comparison component eliminated. The third lesson and many of the extension activities best relate to primary usage. Therefore, each lesson provides ample opportunities for adaptations to be made dependent upon the teacher’s objectives, learning situations, and levels of instruction. The flexibility of the lessons allow for their usage in several disciplines including Literature, U.S. History, World Cultures, and Industrial Arts.
Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3
Heather Dengel teaches World History and Cultures to ninth graders at Burgettstown Middle-High School. She is also an alumni of the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA) and has participated in two NCTA study tours to China and Japan.
ATTACK THE MOVEMENT!
In spring of 2004, Attack Theatre of Pittsburgh worked with teachers at Falk School to develop a Children’s Movement Workshop. Michele de la Reza, Peter Kope, and Jill Stifel visited Falk school to introduce their workshop to a group of first and second grade children. They led the children in warm up activities, followed by imaginary tours of Pittsburgh and Tokyo , Japan . On the way, children learned Japanese words, and “toured” the Tokyo subway system, Tokyo ’s rush hour, and made a climb up Mt. Fuji . They also learned the origin of Attack Theatre’s name, which comes from the dance phrase “attack the movement!” We encourage you to contact Attack Theatre about bringing this innovative workshop to your school (Tel. 412-371-1624 or contact@attacktheatre.com).
The following lessons plans and accompanying photos were produced for the Asian Studies Center by Falk teachers Jessica Miele and Laura Hunt.
CREATIVE EXPRESSION: MAKING PUPPETS
Inspired by Indonesian Puppet Play with Gamelan
Jamie M. Wincovitch, Acting Head Kindergarten Teacher
University of Pittsburgh Child Development Center
Each year, the University of Pittsburgh Indonesian Gamelan Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Andrew Weintraub, puts on a performance of Indonesian orchestra. College students work with visiting Indonesian performers, musicians, and puppeteers to produce a new concert each year. In recent years, the ensemble has provided free matinees for school groups. During one of these matinees, Jamie M. Wincovitch of the University Child Development Center conceived of a lesson plan based on her children’s experience at the matinee. The following lesson is offered as an idea of how to teach an exciting unit following a field trip to a cultural performance. Please consider bringing your school group to one of these matinees!
Making Puppets Lesson
