Lesson Plan #_2_Class Structure in Feudal Japan

Introduction: This lesson will focus on the class structure of Feudal Japan and how it affected the lives of many under its system. Students will work in multiple stations that will help them infer and analyze the differences between the classes in Feudal Japan. Students will also construct different ideas from different stations to help them analyze the class system in Feudal Japan.

Objectives:Content/Knowledge:

1. Students will be able to interpret the different primary and secondary sources about the class system in Feudal Japan.

2. Students will be able to work in different stations to better expand their knowledge on the class system of Feudal Japan.

3. Students will be state the reasons why the different classes were not tolerated by certain groups of people.

Process/Skills:1. Students will be able to move from station to station in an orderly manner without a

problem 2. Students will be able to work effectively and appropriately within groups.3. Students will be able to analyze the different primary and secondary sources at each of

the six stations.

Values/Dispositions:1. Students will be able empathize the anger and displeasure caused by this class system and

how unfair it was for those in the lower part of this system.

Standards:State – Illinois Learning Standards

1. 16.A.3b: Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and other historical sources.

2. 18.B.3a: Analyze how individuals and groups interact with and within institutions (e.g., educational, military).

State – Common Core Standards1. Grade 6-8: Key Ideas and details: 1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary

and secondary sources.2. Grade 6-8: Craft and Structure: 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in

a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies

National – National Council for the Social Studies Standards1. Standard 5C: identify examples of institutions and describe the interactions of people with

institutions;2. Standard 5E: identify and describe examples of tensions between and individual’s beliefs and

government policies and laws

National – National Standards for World History1. Standard 6A: The student understands major global trends from 1450 to 1770.

Syntax – Procedures

1. Logical/Mathematical:a. Teacher Instructions

1. Station 1 will be a full class station so that all of the students learn about the class structure before they are split into groups of 7 students per station, excluding station 2.

2. The teacher will present a power point explaining the class structure of Feudal Japan. 3. The teacher will also show clips of “Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode Two”4. The teacher will then provide a three circle Venn diagram where they will have to fill out

the similarities between the Shogun, Daimyo, and Samurai.5. The teacher will provide a second three circle Venn diagram that will have the students

fill out with the differences between the Peasants, Merchants, and Artisans. b. Resource

1. Power Point slides2. Venn Diagram

c. Student Activity1. Students will view and listen to the Power Point Presentation on the class structure of

Feudal Japan.2. Students will fill out both of the three circle Venn Diagrams3. Students will have a discussion on the fairness or unfairness of the class structure.

2. Body/Kinesthetic:a. Teacher Instructions

1. The teacher will present students with the Rice Paddy scenario and the whole class will also participate in this station.

2. The teacher will split the class into groups of 7.3. The teacher will assign one person per group to be a Samurai.4. The teacher will assign 2 people from the class to be Merchants, 2 will be Artisans and

the rest will be peasants.5. The teacher will then read the directions to this scenario and hand them paper and colored

pencilsb. Resource

1. Rice Paddy scenario with instructionsc. Student Activity

1. Students will follow the directions of the Rice Paddy scenario.2. Samurai will walk around the classroom taking rice.3. Peasants will make as much rice as they can, with paper, before the samurai approach

them and they will also try to hide as much as they can without getting caught 4. Artisans will create goods that Samurai want. 5. Merchants will trade the Artisan’s good’s with the Samurai for rice and share half of

what they earn with the Artisans. 3. Visual/Spatial - Naturalist:

a. Teacher Instructions1. The teacher will bring in different art pieces or images that have meaning to this lesson.

2. The teacher will set up a type of Museum in the Gymnasium, if possible, and have students take a field trip to the gym to view the images. If the gym is not available, the next location will be another classroom in the school.

3. The teacher will then ask students to analyze and interpret what they see in the images and how it depicts each class in Feudal Japan.

b. Resource1. Images that will be placed in the Gymnasium

c. Student Activity1. Students will walk down to the gymnasium or another classroom.2. Students will view images depicting the different classes of Feudal Japan.3. Students will then write down their analyses of what they saw in the pictures.

4. Musical/Rhythmic:a. Teacher Instructions

1. The teacher will provide the students with information on what a Haiku in the form of a handout.

2. The teacher will give the students a handout containing six haiku by Bashô. 3. The teacher will then assign students to write their own Haiku on the class structure of

Feudal Japan with the theme how they view this system.b. Resource

1. Six Haiku by Bashô c. Student Activity

1. Students will read the six haiku by Bashô 2. Students will read the handout on Haiku and the directions to the assignment.3. Students will then formulate their own Haiku with class structure being their theme.

5. Interpersonal:a. Teacher Instructions

1. The teacher will provide a prompt for students to hold a debate on the class structure of Feudal Japan.

2. The teacher will use information from the Power Point and from what the students experienced from the Rice Paddy scenario

b. Resource1. Power Point2. Rice Paddy scenario

c. Student Activity1. Students will hold a debate on the class structure of Feudal Japan.2. Half of the students in the group will represent the Shogun, Daimyo, and Samurai and the

other half will represent the Peasants, Merchants, and Artisans.3. Students will be required to fill out a worksheet with valid point for their debates.

6. Verbal/Linguistic - Intrapersonal:a. Teacher Instructions

1. Teacher will provide the students with writing prompt for a journal/diary entry.2. Teacher will inform students to use information from the Power Point and other

information that they learned from any other station they completed. b. Resource

1. Power Point 2. Rice Paddy scenario3. Video

c. Student Activity1. Students will write a journal/diary entry as if they were a peasant during the Feudal Japan

era.2. Students will use information from station one and two and from any other station they

have completed in order to support their entry.

Station 1: Logical/ Mathematical

Students will view a Power Point presentation with information on the class structure of Feudal Japan and will also view clips from “Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KljfHk39FQs&list=TLiY4zDmAXyYdY4j_xjkNnsrRA3QtsvnRv

Name:

Date:Three Circle Venn diagram

Directions: Fill out the three circle Venn diagram with the information that you obtained from the Power Point. The first Venn diagram will be for the Shogun, Daimyo, and Samurai. The second Venn diagram will be for the Peasants, Merchants, and Artisans. Be sure to label each circle with the class level that you will be talking about.

Station 2: Body/Kinesthetic

Rice Paddy Scenario

Welcome to the rice paddies! Rice was an important crop in feudal Japan. The peasants who grew rice had an important job to do. There was a system in place to make sure the peasants did their job well, so that enough rice could be grown for the needs of the nobles. Today, we are going to experience that system first hand by playing a game called SPAM, which is short for Samurai, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants

ROLES: Break your students into groups of 7. One per group: Appoint one student from each group to be the Samurai. From the class: Select 2 students at random to be Merchants From the class: Select 2 students at random to be Artisans.

Inform the rest of each group of students that they are Peasants and that they are growing rice. Peasants are to print the word RICE on a piece of paper in block letters and draw a rice stalk on each paper. The Samurai will be around to collect it. When asked, they must surrender all rice that the Samurai can see or knows about. Inform the Peasants that they must also try to hide rice from the Samurai so that they will have enough to eat and to trade. Don't give the peasants any further direction. They can grow (draw) the rice any way that works for them.

ROUND ONE: For the first (trial) round, have the peasants draw as much rice as they can in 5 minutes. At the end of this short period, subtract 1 rice for each peasant from this number. This will be their base. Each time the Samurai comes along, the group must have at least this much rice to give to the Samurai. If they do not have the required amount, the Samurai then selects one student peasant and takes them out of the group. This signified that they have been executed and can no longer work. The group must still grow the original amount of rice for the next round, but the executed peasant no longer participates.

EXECUTED PEASANTS: One a student peasant is "executed" (removed from the group), they are assigned a new role, that of "child". All executed peasants must sit out one round before returning to their original group in their new role as "child", provided their group is still in existence. Babies cannot work. Children can, and did.

ARTISANS: Artisans are to create (draw) goods that the Samurai would want. (Swords, Armor, Musical Instruments, etc.)

MERCHANTS: During each round, the merchants take the goods the Artisans have created and trade with

the Samurai for rice. The Samurai sets the price and only gives as much rice as they want to. The merchants then return to the Artisans and share the rice they have traded for. Between rounds, if the peasants have managed to successfully hide some rice, they may

trade for goods with the merchants.

SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS:

Timing: Each subsequent round should last the same amount of time as the first round.Crop Quality: If the rice drawn after the first round is drawn poorly, the Samurai will not accept it. The Samurai is the only judge of what is acceptable quality.

Stealing Rice: Peasants caught stealing rice by the Samurai are "executed" and their rice confiscated. This does not change the quota for the group. Quotas of rice remain the same per group throughout the activity irrespective of the number of people in each group during any one round.

Food for the Peasants: At the end of each round, the teacher checks to see if the group has created and successfully hid enough rice so that each member of the group has at least one rice. If they do not, remove from the group each member that does not have rice. (They have starved, and are now dead.) The quote of rice for the group remains unchanged.

Angel of Death: During the third round, and each subsequent round, the teacher selects a group at random and representing "the angel of death" (fire, flood, epidemic, insects, etc.) takes away 1/2 of the rice they have created.

PURPOSE OF THE LESSON: The purpose of this lesson is to show that peasants could not win, and that the system was unstable.

CLOSE CLASS: At the conclusion of the game, ask your students if they feel this system could function successfully over time. Ask: Could the peasants ever win? Was their life a pleasant one? How do you think they felt about the Samurai?

Source: http://lessonplans.mrdonn.org/SPAM.html

Station 3: Visual/Spatial/Naturalist Students will walk to the gymnasium or another classroom where they will view and analyze the following images.

After students view and analyze these images. They will write what they saw in the images and tell me what class each picture represented.

Station 4: Musical/ Rhythmic

Six Haiku by Bashô

Te wo uteba kodama ni akuru natsu no tsukias I clap my handswith the echoes, it begins to dawn —the summer moon

Susuhaki wa ono ga tana tsuru daiku kanahousecleaning day —hanging a shelf at his own housea carpenter

Hototogisu otakeyabu wo moru tsukiyohototogisu (little cuckoo) —through a vast bamboo forestmoonlight seeping

Kareeda ni karasu no tomarikeri aki no kureon a bare brancha crow has alightedautumn evening.

Akebono ya shirauo shiroki koto issunin the twilight of dawna whitefish, with an inchof whiteness.

Kirishigure Fuji wo minu hi zo omoshirokiin the misty rainMount Fuji is veiled all day —how intriguing!

Source: From Bashô and His Interpreters: Selected Hokku with Commentary, by Makoto Ueda (Stanford University Press, 1991) 102, 314, 317, 374. Translations for "Kareeda ni karasu no tomarikeri aki no kure" and "Kebono ya shirauo shiroki koto issun" provided by Haruo Shirane, Professor of Japanese Literature, Columbia University.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1450_basho.htm

Name:Date:

Haiku Assignment

What is a Haiku? Well a Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese Poetry. The Definition for Haiku is an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively usually having a seasonal reference.

After reading Basho’s six Haiku, I want you to create your own Haiku. I want you to write 3 Haiku with the theme of class system in Feudal Japan. Write about the peasants, samurai, shogun, artisans, merchants, or daimyo, it is all up to you. Remember to include some sort of nature theme in your Haiku.

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Station 5: InterpersonalName:Date:

Instructions:

The upper class (Shoguns, Daimyo, and Samurai) and the lower class (Peasants, Merchants, Artisans) will hold a debate on why they think there needs to , or not, change in the current system. They will argue if the current system is fair or not and they will bring up good and striking points against the other class. This needs to be settled in a calm fashion and without violence.

Students will use information obtained from the Power Point, the Rice Paddy scenario, and from the video clips. Remember to write down points against the opposing side on the space provided below. Also write down your counter arguments against their points

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Station 6: Verbal Linguistic/Intrapersonal

Name:Date:

Instructions: With all of the information gathered on the class structure of Feudal Japan from the Power Point and other stations that you have completed, I want you to write a journal or diary entry on the following:

You are a peasant living during this time period were the class structure was in full effect. You have lived through a lot of hardships and are really frustrated. It is almost time for the Samurai to arrive and collect the rice that you have produced. You have been sneaking rice for your family and you have not given all of the rice to the Samurai. You are afraid that you will be caught soon, what will you do. Write in your journal/diary about what you have lived through as a peasant and what hardships you have faced. What will you do? Will you give all of your hidden rice or continue hiding rice with the fear of being caught?

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