Crafts of Japan

By:

Patricia Clay, East High School, Salt Lake City School District

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

  • Complete the four Japanese crafts taught: Carp Kites, Origami (Paper Folding), Watercolor with Haiku, and Gyotaku (Fish Printing).
  • Explain the history and purpose behind each craft

Guiding questions:

(if applicable.)

Standards addressed:

From https://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/standards

  • Content Standard #1: Understanding and applying media, techniques and processes.
  • Content Standard #2: Using knowledge of structures and function.
  • Content Standard #3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.
  • Content Standard #4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.

Utah State Office of Education, Visual Arts Core Curriculum:

  • Standard 1: Students will assemble and create 3-D design by manipulating art media and by organizing images with the elements and principles. (Making).
  • Standard 2: Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating 3-D design. (Perceiving).
  • Standard 3: Students will create meaning in 3-D. (Expressing).
  • Standard 4: Students will find meaning in 3-D design through settings and other modes of learning. (Contextualizing).

Notes:

Focus of Lesson/Unit: Students will learn the historical and artistic background of each of the four crafts and will complete each of the crafts.

Grade level: 9-12 (These could be completed by 1-8 as well, changing the complexity and concepts.)

Subject area(s): Visual Arts, specifically 3-D design or crafts.

Featured students skills: Understanding the historical and cultural background of each craft and learning the specific skills needed to complete each.

Suggested time: Two to eight days for the various crafts, depending on the complexity and depth of each taught.

Advance preparation: Teachers need to study the history of each, explore the methods used, gather the materials needed, and practice the techniques and make samples to use in their teaching. This can be done using the internet, various craft books and books on Japanese art and crafts.

Materials:

Materials can be found on the following sites for each lesson:

  1. Gyotaku (Fish Printing): artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3436
  2. Origami (Paper Folding): www.japan-zone.com/culture/origami.shtml
  3. Fish Kites: www.diylife.com/2008/05/05fish-kites-for-childrens-day/
  4. Haiku: just about any site for haiku explains basic format

Plan for Assessment:

  • Develop task(s) for students to determine they have mastered the material and demonstrate the understandings and skills they gained: students completing each assignment/project and being able to do a self assessment on what they have learned (small description of their process and outcome)
  • Students can have an art show, sharing and explaining their projects; older students can put up a display for the school on Japanese art and culture.

Implementation:

  • Teachers can decide how many of these lessons they implement and to what depth, depending on time and materials.  For my craft classes all four lessons will be taught.
  • Teachers can use the above sites for gathering lesson materials and to go further in depth if desired.
  • Step by step lessons can be found at above sites.

Extensions and Cross-Curricular Ideas:

  • Activities for further study can include more study on the history of each craft or having the students teach younger students.
  • All of these crafts can be taught as part of a history lesson, or in language arts, as in the poetry section, having students paint watercolors to go along with their poems.
  • I also include food and snacks with the activities, bringing in Japanese crackers and cookies.

Resources and References:

Bibliographic information for teachers to build own content knowledge or for resources used in lesson/unit can be found in libraries, in craft stores, and on the internet. Also, Japanese cultural centers have speakers and people who will come and share with classrooms.