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Unit 2: Asian RootsGrades 1-2 Lessons: What is the Immigration District? The Immigrant Experience, Celebrations and Traditions of the International District, Contributions of the People of the International District, Changes in the Community, Holding on to Tradition with Folktales, Travel to the International District |
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| Introduction: Seattle’s International District, just south of downtown, is a unique community. It is the only community in the continental U.S. in which Vietnamese, Chinese, African American, Filipinos and Japanese settled together to build one neighborhood. This unit studies this model of cooperation and friendship by learning about the people, their celebrations, the history and how changes in technology have affected them. Students use materials from the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s Immigration Box to learn geography and understand what the immigrant experience is like. We see the contrast of peoples in our investigation of the holidays and celebrations of the International District. We will come to understand the preservation of traditions and values in our study of folktales. With cameras, students travel to the community on a field trip and take pictures of important sites. They will use these pictures to prepare a slide show presentation. The unit ends with a celebration of the traditions studied and the blending of cultures in the “international |
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Desired Academic ResultsEssential Academic Learning Requirements in Social Studies HistoryEALR #1 The student examines
and understands major ideas, eras, themes, developments, turning
points, chronology, and cause-and-effect relationships in U.S.,
world and Washington State history. EALR #3: The student
understands the origin and impact of ideas and technological developments
on history and social change. GeographyEALR #1 The student uses
maps, charts and other geographic tools to understand the spatial
arrangement of people, places, resources and environments on the
Earth’s surface. Overarching Understandings • The International
District is a small community within a larger community, with people
belonging to many groups What the Students Will Understand • Where the International
District is located Overarching Questions • What traditions
and values are being encouraged through celebrations, holidays and
folktales? Unit Questions • Who is an immigrant?
Where did your family come from? To what groups do you belong? |
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Assessment: The Evidence That Will Demonstrate Student UnderstandingPerformance Tasks and Projects • After listening to several stories tell of the immigrant
experience, students will use a map to orally retell the story of
how and why one character came to the United States, and what life
was like after s/he arrived. Other Evidence • Informal
class observation and discussion |
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Learning Experiences and InstructionKnowledge and Skills •
Create a PowerPoint presentation Field SitesTai Tung
Restaurant Tai Tung is the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the International District. Call ahead to make reservations. Uwajimaya Wing
Luke Asian Museum |
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LessonsPart I: What is the International District? 1. Begin the unit by reminding students of the workings of a community. What is a community? What is our community? Where is it? Who makes up a community? Are the people of a community all alike? The first activity in the Immigration Kit teaches students to see that communities, or other groupings of people, are diverse. They are made up of people belonging to many groups. By asking students questions, they see for themselves how many different “groups” people in the classroom represent. Tell students that we are going to learn about an international community not far from our school. Define the word international. The people of this community all come from many different groups. While they all emigrated from countries in Asia, they speak many different languages and have different reasons for immigrating. Talk about what it means to be an immigrant. 2. The second lesson in the kit is a mapping lesson that teaches students the geography of the Pacific Rim and the countries from which many immigrants came. Talk about how people from these countries might have reached Seattle. What modes of transportation could they have taken? 3. Discover the uniqueness of the International District. It is a community where Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Laotians, and Vietnamese settled together and built one neighborhood. Learn more about the community by reading about its history in www.historylink.org. The community is a model of ethnic cooperation. In 1946 the Jackson Street Community Council was formed to support neighborhood businesses and social services. Leadership in this organization rotated among each of the ethnic groups in the community. Visit the map section in www.historylink.org/cybertours/id/index.htm it has an interactive map in which students can click on a site, see a picture of the feature and read a short description. 4. The next lesson in the kit looks at the history of Asian Immigration to the Pacific Northwest. There is a timeline of photographs of scenes depicting Asian immigrants in the area. There are also four cards that explain different immigration laws; the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1924 Immigration Act, the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act and the 1965 Immigration Act. This lesson is followed by a 10-minute video called Faces of America, which uses oral interviews, photos and historical information to show the immigrant experience of Asian Americans. Part II: The Immigrant Experience 1. The next five literature-based lessons come from the Immigration Kit from the Wing Luke Museum. They tell stories of the immigrant experience, each focusing on one country at a time. Start with Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. This story reveals how one can find home in more than one place. When the grandfather is in Japan, he misses California. When he’s in California, he misses Japan. This lesson comes with photographs of early, local Japanese immigrants, a 1920s men’s shirt with a paper collar, a traditional haori (man’s jacket), and passports from Japanese immigrants. 2. Halmoni and the Picnic, by Sook Nyul Choi, is a story about a traditional Korean grandmother and a much more “Americanized” granddaughter. The story illustrates the hardships faced by those who immigrate at an older age. Many immigrant families consist of multiple generations. The balance of traditional values and contemporary American culture is often an issue. The lesson includes a girl’s hanbok, (traditional dress), information about traditional clothing, Korean language flash cards and an audio tape of phrases. 3. Read The Lotus Seed, by Sherry Garland. This book shows the abrupt upheaval of a family from Vietnam. The family is typical of the earliest wave of refugees from Vietnam; high ranking officials with the South Vietnamese government and their families, who were fortunate to escape in airplanes shortly after the fall of Saigon in 1975. (Other later waves of Vietnamese refugees, known as the “boat people” fled by whatever means they could find, often in old fishing boats.) The lesson is accompanied by a very young girl’s shirt, called an ao dai and a lotus seed pod. 4. The main character in Who Belongs Here? By Margy Burns Knight, is a recent Cambodian refugee in the United States. He has a rough time adjusting because the students at school tease him. Other immigrant groups and their similar experiences are mentioned, illustrating how immigration has affected their lives. Students may want to role play the situation in the book. The kit also provides information on how immigrants become naturalized, including example test questions. The story Everybody Cooks Rice shows a multicultural neighborhood in which a girl, while trying to locate her brother to tell him that dinner’s almost ready, visits her neighbors while they’re all preparing meals with rice. It brings home the idea that people from different places have both differences and similarities. The end of the book is full of recipes. 5. My First American Friend was written by Sarunna Jin when she was in the third grade. The story is about making new friends and adjusting to a new culture. Included in the lesson are Chinese phrase cards and audio tape and the video, "Angle Island: Island of Secret Memories". 6. Revisit each of the stories and the experiences of the characters in a short discussion. Have students use a map to orally retell the story of how and why one character came to the United States, and what life was like after s/he arrived. Part III: Celebrations and Traditions of the International District http://www.internationaldistrict.org/events.asp
/http://www.pbs.org/kqed/chinatown/ lhttp://www.chinatown-online.co.uk/index2.html 2. Check out Celebrate! in Southeast Asia, by Joe Viesti and Diane Hall from the Teacher Resource Center at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The resource has information about the festivals and celebrations of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The first celebration in the school year calendar is the Hmong New Year. The highland Laotian Hmong Community celebrates their New Year in the fall by featuring art, exhibits, games, crafts, traditional performers in stunning costumes and demonstrations of Hmong needlework and quilting. 3. The Immigration Kit from the Wing Luke Museum has great resources for celebrating the Chinese New Year held in February. Read Dragon Parade by Steven A. Chin. The story is about a Chinese immigrant who organized the first Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco in 1861. Use the Chinese New Year Packet which includes a short slide show of a Dragon Parade, a small statue of a dragon, a paper lantern, a money envelope, information for the teacher and several art activities. Obtain a copy of Lion Dance by Kate Waters and Madelin Slovenz-Low or watch the Reading Rainbow video. Make individual paper bag lions or one large class lion to be used in a lion dance and hung on the wall. Make Chinese lanterns. Explore Chinese characters and brush strokes using Chinese brushes and black paint. Add these to lanterns and write the characters for “Gong Hay Fat Choy!” or “Happy New Year!” Make a Chinese dragon using butcher paper. Take the artwork and dragon on a parade through the school to have your very own dragon parade. Or, have each student make their own dragon mask. 4. The next celebration, soon after the Chinese New Year, is Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. Follow the lesson in the Immigration Kit. It uses a non-fiction book called, Hoang Anh, a Vietnamese American Boy by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith. This book describes an immigrant boy and his life in California and culminates with the celebration of Tet. 5. The Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival takes place in April. It celebrates Japanese culture and friendship between the Japanese and the United States. Invite a guest speaker to come into the classroom to talk about the event. Learn about Seattle’s sister city Kobe. Find out when and why this partnership began. Why is this important? Arrange to be pen pals with a Japanese elementary school. Exchange letters, drawings and photographs. When students take their field trip to the International District be sure to visit the Kobe Terrace Park. It has Japanese pine and cherry trees and a stone lantern that were gifts from the people of Kobe. 6. The summer festival is a two-day street fair in July in which all the different “groups” in the international district celebrate their community. They listen to music, buy and sell crafts, view art, see cultural acts, eat food from all the different restaurants in the community and browse the business booths. Use this celebration as a model for having one in the classroom at the end of the unit. 7. The last celebration of the International District weaves in traditions from people in the International District and traditions of the Seattle community. The Chinatown Seafair Parade occurs during Seattle’s Seafair Celebrations. Seafair is a long tradition in the Seattle Community. Its mission is to connect and celebrate the community spirit of the Puget Sound. Some of the events include a Milk Carton Derby, Miss Seafair competition, Torchlight Run, Torchlight Parade, fleet arrival and tour, hydroplane races, an air show and community festivities. In each community in the city of Seattle, there are events celebrating Seafair. The International District is no exception. They celebrate with a parade. The parade consists of a colorful Chinese Girls’ Drill Team, Seafair clowns and pirates, the Miss Chinatown Court, a fabulous 100-foot Chinese Dragon twisting and waving through the street dancing vigorously, along with many other entertaining groups. Talk about the significance of this celebration. This is a new tradition to the people of the International District, compared with the older traditions the people celebrate after having learned about them from their ancestors. What are the people of the International District celebrating? What does this mean? To what groups do they belong? Their participation demonstrates their membership to the larger Seattle and Puget Sound communities. 8. Discuss the celebrations the students studied. What values are being promoted by these celebrations? How do you know? Have students orally compare and contrast the celebrations studied. Have students write and draw about a celebration their family observes. Tell how this celebration is the same as one celebrated in the International District and tell how it is different. Part IV: The Contributions of the People of the International District The contributions of the people of the International District are included in this unit to promote understanding and appreciation for diversity in our community. It is important for students to see how the larger community, Seattle, King County and Washington State benefit from their contributions. Separating it from the rest of the unit, however, is not necessary. Contributions are seen throughout this unit when studying the history of immigration to this region, learning about the traditions and celebrations that are observed and investigating how the needs of the community change over time. This is a gigantic topic that students will learn about in greater depth when they study the Early Asian Immigration unit for 3rd and 4th grades. If a class in your school is studying this unit, have them share their projects with your students regarding the contributions early Asian immigrants made to this region. Research the contributions of Asian immigrants listed in the History Link website. It provides much information about Asian-Americans who have been elected and appointed to government offices, maintained businesses and served the community. 1. Begin by talking about how we make contributions to our community. Why is it important to help the community? What are some examples of contributions people have made to our community? To our school? What are examples of contributions you make to your community, school or family? Talk about how the people who put together the Immigration Kit from the Wing Luke Museum that we’ve enjoyed so much contributed to our classroom. Students can begin thinking about contributions an element of being a citizen of a community by drawing and writing about it. Visit www.densho.org to hear and read testimonials from Japanese Americans about their experiences. This is a collection of irreplaceable first hand experiences and memories that by Asian Americans. You will find text and short video interviews from several individuals. Ask students to think about the contributions they think they’ll see when they take their field trip to the International District. List their ideas on the board. Ask them to think about what they learned from the www.densho.org website. What contributions do you remember seeing and reading about? Tell students that we are going to see some of the contributions members of the International District community have made. Local contributors to think about and research could be Wing Luke, Goon Dip, Gary Locke, Kichio Allen Arai, and Liem Tuai. There are many more. Consider looking at businesses, theater groups, artists, architects, non-profit groups or contacting Wing Luke for oral histories. Part V: Changes in the Community 1. Talk to students about how our community has changed overtime. How have changes in technology brought about changes in our community? Relate this to transportation technology and remind them of what they learned in Kindergarten when they studied Getting to Know Your Community. The International District has also experienced many changes. Investigate the concerns of people from the International District when Interstate-5 was built. Many were fearful that it would have devastating consequences because it would travel through the heart of the International District. How has the community adapted to this change? What are their thoughts about the freeway now? Be sure to look at the art on the pillars of the highway along Jackson Street when you take your tour of the community. 2. Investigate the concerns of the people in the International District when the Kingdome was proposed. Changes in technology allowed the city of Seattle to build the largest concrete dome in the world. What brought about the need for such a facility? What changes in the community caused it to see the need for two new stadiums in place of the Kingdome? How did the International District adapt to the stadium? What are their thoughts about the destruction of the Kingdome, the building of Safeco Field and the plan to build a new stadium? 3. The students’ knowledge of grocery stores makes including Uwajimaya a fun piece to study. Uwajimaya is both the largest Asian grocery and gift store and the largest Japanese bookstore in the Northwest. And it has plans to expand. It started as a Tacoma fish market in 1928. It thrives just walking distance away from Viet Wah, the largest Southeast Asian supermarket in Seattle. How does this demonstrate the changes in the needs of the community? Part VI: Holding on to Tradition with Folktales
This next section looks at the folktales of the different countries from which people of the International District immigrated and studies the traditions and values that intended to be passed on through storytelling. There is an endless supply of folktales published. Consider using Kamishibai story cards to study Japanese folktales. Kamishibai are traditional cards used to tell a story. They also serve as a great writing activity where the class can write its own Kamishibai by creating new cards. See a short list of highly recommended folktales at the end of this unit. After reading many folktales, have students work in groups of three or four to act out a favorite. Students need to be able to explain what value is being taught through the folktale. Perform your folktales for another class. Part VII: Travel to the International District 1. Students should be familiar with the sites in the International District after having spent time on www.historylink.org/cybertours/id/index.htm. Read through the information on the walking tour pamphlet available at the Wing Luke Museum. Find the sites on the map.
2. Talk to students about your expectations for the slide show. Help them get comfortable using the camera. Talk about what types of things might make good pictures for a slide show. What information will you need to know about the object you’re photographing? How will you record that information so that you don’t forget when it’s time to make the slide show? 3. Visit the Wing Luke Asian Museum. This is a one-hour tour that ends with an art activity. Take a walking tour of the International District. Visit Uwajimaya. Eat lunch at the Tai Tung Restaurant. See the gifts from our sister city at the Kobe Terrace Park. 4. After students return, develop the film and complete the slide show of a tour of the International District. Students will need help scanning in photos and creating this multimedia project. Have students present it to another class. Have students self-assess their projects by answering these questions: What did you do to help the group? What part of your presentation were you happy with? What did you learn? What would you do differently next time? 5. Conclude the unit by having a final celebration modeled after the street fair. Celebrate the cultures and traditions studied in the unit as well as those of the students in the class. Invite parents to prepare a favorite family dish. Sing songs, play games and present skits or folktales to parents. |
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ResourcesTeacher ResourcesBurke Museum of Natural History and Culture(206) 543-5590 The China Box East Asia Resource Center Elmer, Margaret and Beall, Charlotte. Kamishibia for Kids Seattle Asian Art Museum’s Teacher Resource Center Social Studies School Service Wing Luke Asian Museum Guest Speakers Living Voices through the Wing Luke Museum Cathy Spagnoli, author of Nine-In-One Grr! Grr! Websites www.askasia.org/index.htm www.historylink.org www.seafair.com www.wingluke.org www.chinatown-online.orguk/
www.densho.org Folktales and Other Children’s Literature Blia Xiong adapted by
Cathy Spagnoli. Nine-In-One Grr! Grr! A Folktale from the Hmong
People of Laos. San Francisco. Children’s Book Press.
1989. Demi. The Empty Pot.
New York. Holt. 1990. Demi. Liang and the
Magic Paintbrush. New York. Hold, Rinehart and Winston. 1980.
Lum, Darrell H. Y. The
Golden Slipper A Vietnamese Legend. Mahwah, N.J. Troll
Associates. 1994. Sakurai, Gail. Peach
Boy: A Japanese Legend. Mahwah, N.J. Troll Associates. 1994.
Waters, Kate Madeline
Slovenz-Low. Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year. New
York. Scholastic Inc. 1990. Video Lion Dancer, Reading Rainbow |
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Art ProjectA Famous Japanese Woodblock Katsushika Hokusai Artist Background: Hokusai was born in 1760 near
present day Tokyo. His family was poor and he was apprenticed to
a woodblock engraver. The woodblocks he created were called ukiyo-e,
pictures of the amusements of everyday life in Japan. Over his lifetime,
Hokusai made more than 10,000 woodblock prints and 40,000 drawings. Lesson Ideas Share the book by Deborah Kogan Ray, mentioned above with your
class. It will give them lots of information, insight, and a familiarity
with Hokusai’s style. ResourcesHokusai, The Man Who Painted a Mountain by Deborah Kogan Ray is a great biography of the artist. It is in the Highline School District system and the King Library System County Library System. Prints of the Great Wave Off Kanagawa can be found in art books, poster shops, card shops (Papyrus), and art museum gift shops. Websites http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hokusai/ http://spectacle.berkeley.edu/~fiorillo/welcome.html |
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AddendumSuggested reading list regarding Asian immigration, as well as student projects including a unit on Taiko Drumming,and background information. |
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TAIKO DRUMMING“If you can say it, you can play it." Traditional sayingOverview: Taiko is known as the modern art of traditional Japanese drumming in a group ensemble that uses martial art like movements and "ki-ais" (shouting to encourage high energy.) The performance may also dramatize Japanese folktales and use props. Drums were used in ancient times to signify the boundaries of a village. Peasant events such as the rice harvests or dance festivals were celebrated with drums. Drums were used to pray for rain and other religious ceremonies. Drums lead warriors into battles in order to scare off the enemy. They were included in Japanese folklore. In one example, by drumming, the Sun God would come out of its cave. Japanese culture has celebrated the athleticism of traditional drumming techniques for thousands of years. Taiko became popular around the world in the 1950's and came to the U.S. in 1968 by Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka, who wanted it to be a common household word, like chopsticks and sushi. Taiko means "big drum," but there are many shapes and sizes. The dojo or band can include other rhythmic instruments. The sound made by striking the drum is defined by a syllable, and to play the rhythmic phrase the student copies a pattern of Taiko syllables. Uchite (Taiko drummer), can wear loose fitting happi (short coat), with an obi (belt), hachimaki (headband), and tabi (shoes with big toe separated). The crest symbolizes Taiko and can be reproduced upon their clothing and drum. It stands for thunder. How to get started without the real Taiko drums? 1. What sizes are the drums? There are basically three sizes: - Odaiko
- Big Drum - Jozuke
- Medium Drum - Shime
- Small Drum Use clear packing tape to make a drum surface, or simply turn container upside down. 2. What
do I use for bachi? DRUM VOCABULARY Dojo - Japanese
term for school or group in training Syllables: Practice: 1. Students
can make up their own phrases, solo or with a partner, and share
with class. Warm-Up to Taiko 1. Start class in a circle. Each student has a pair of sticks or bachi. All hit rhythm sticks together seven times counting in Japanese. On “8” or hachi, students are silent, with their bachi apart, while one student says: “SU” (which means rest). Go around circle until all have had a turn. (ichi, ni, san, shi, go roku, shichi, hachi, “SU.”) On “SU”, use the diaphragm in the body’s upper abdominal, in order to get a strong, sharp sound. (Can be done by simply clapping.) 2. Without sticks, teacher and students participate in stretch and strength exercises. All participate while counting to “10” in Japanese for each exercise. (ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi, kyu, jyu) Students may even offer their own ideas for an exercise to share with the class. Since Taiko uses a strong stance, try lunges (one leg bent, one straight) while making large circles with arms. Try some kicks, turns, punches, balances, and jumps. 3. Students work in partnerships to make a 10-count exercise. The two should try to integrate their movements together. They may mirror each other, work side by side, or compliment each other’s movement. (Emphasize that Taiko uses movements while beating the drum.) Students may elect to show their exercise to the rest of the class and teach it. Eventually, the activity can be coupled with the actual Taiko drum rhythms. 4. The bulk of the class time is spent practicing drumming. Start with the easiest and add more rhythm sentences along the way. Try putting two together and add some movements. Rotate students to the three different sized drums. With all the noise it can be beneficial to create a signal to gain everybody’s attention. 5. Clean up the drums and sticks and have students form two lines from each corner of the gym. Have students run to center, then to opposite corner, alternating one person at a time. Try adding a jump or turn in the center. 6. Finish class with a circle and a bow.
1. Make
a practice drum. Learn the Japanese names to all the parts. Resources Books Bernson,
Mary Hammond and Betsy Goolian. Modern Japan: An Idea Book for
K-12. Publication Manager/Social Studies Development Center/
Indian University/ 2805 E. 10th St./ Suite 120/ Bloomington, Indiana
47405 Coerr, Eleanor. Sadaka and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Picture version. Miller,
Kathryn Shultz. A Thousand Cranes. 1988. Weikart, Phyllis S. Teaching Folk Dance/Successful Steps. Materials from High/Scope Press. 1-800-40 PRESS. Music recordings: Rhythmically Moving. Websites Education@seattleinternationalorg
www.taiko.com
www.seattlekokontaiko.org/
www.studyguide.sundance.org/taiko
www.origami.as/home
www.rhythmweb.com/taiko
www.hyogobcc.org |
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