Japan Homework
Japan kids – This week we want you to continue reading The Master Puppeteer, but instead of answering any questions online, this week we’d like you to spend some time at home working on the articles for our book. Most of the topics listed below do not currently have a page on TAPopedia. Some of them have a page, but the information on there is very incomplete. Some of them have a page that is poorly written and filled with incorrect information. Please pick a topic and help get it done by next week.
England Book Club: The Hound of the Baskervilles – Part 3
Looks all spooky, right? Like maybe Scooby Doo should go investigate?
The author of the Sherlock Holmes books often used the setting of his stories to create a particular mood. Pay careful attention to the way he describes Baskerville Hall in the night time when Watson and Sir Henry first arrive there. Then, focus on the words he uses to describe it the next morning – in the day light. Watson even makes a comment on the psychological effect the change in light has.
Think about when you were a little kid (or maybe even now) the basement is scary when the lights are off, but once they’re on – there’s nothing frightening anymore. The power of suggestion plays a huge role in how we look at things, and light vs. dark suggests an awful lot to our mind.
Japan Book Club: The Master Puppeteer – Part 2
This we’ll read chapter 3 and chapter 4 of The Master Pupeteer.
This book isn’t just about puppets. The author, Katherine Paterson (who you may know from the book The Bridge to Terebithia) is a master writer, using Japanese history and the art of puppetry has a backdrop for a much deeper and more meaningful story.
In these chapters, Jiro leaves home to begin an apprenticeship at the puppet theatre. After reading books like The Big Wave, Bushido, and Hiroshima you’ve gained a better understanding of Japanese traditions and the Japanese mindset. Apply what you learned about Japanese culture in those earlier books.
Tell me why Jiro does what he does. Why does his mother act the way she does? What is the hierarchy at the theatre? How do all of these things connect to the other books we’ve read?
England Book Club: The Hound of the Baskervilles – Part 2
This week we’re going to read chapters 3 and 4 of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
In the beginning, Sherlock Holmes was presented with the legend of The Curse of the Baskervilles. He seemed to dismiss the story as a mere fairy tale, leading the reader to believe that Holmes does not believe in supernatural stories.
However, in the next chapter Holmes is told a story of something that had just happened recently that suggests the Hound of the Baskervilles might have some truth behind it.
Right away in the book Holmes shows us how his mind works – solving the mystery of who left a walking stick in his home. Dr. Watson, who is a smart man, explains his theories on the walking stick, but then Holmes shoots some of those ideas out of the water with his own ideas. The author did this on purpose to show you how Holmes comes to his deductions – now we’re going to see him figure out the mystery of the Baskerville’s curse and the mysterious hound.
At this point, the best thing you can do for yourself is get a better idea of the setting of the story. Most Holmes stories take place in the big city, but this one takes place in the English countryside – the moor. Research the moor. Find out what it is. Look at pictures of it.
The moor is almost a character in the story, because the way it looks, the way it feels, helps create the mood of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Japan Book Club: The Master Puppeteer – Part 1
This week we’re starting a new book, The Master Pupeteer. This book tells the story of a young boy growing up on Osaka (hey, I know some people that are going there) during a time of great turmoil. Jiro, the story’s protagonist, is trying to help his father – a puppet maker who works with the local Bunraku puppet theatre, but there just isn’t enough work for Jiro’s father.
People all over the city are starving. Times are very difficult. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) the common people have a hero. A Robin Hood type character named Saburo is stealing from the wealthy merchants to give to the poor commoners.
Jiro soon finds himself in the middle of everything.
This week we’re only going to read the first two chapters of the book. Then answer the following question.
1. Using context clues in the first two chapters, try to figure out when this story takes place. Don’t just take a wild guess – figure it out.
2. What clues helped you figure out the book’s time period?
England Book Club: The Hound of the Baskervilles – Part 1
There were a total of four Sherlock Holmes novels and 56 short stories. The Hound of the Baskervilles was the third book. The author, Arthur Conan Doyle, liked to use real crimes or unexplained, almost supernatural ideas as inspiration for Holmes’ mysteries.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is almost the opposite. About 70 years after the most famous Sherlock Holmes story, there were similar stories being told in the Devon and Sommerset regions of England. These stories were also of a mysterious ghost animal that no one could explain. This animal was called The Beast of Exmoor.
Bunraku
Take a look at this video about the Japanese art of Bunraku puppet theater (there’s a second part to watch on YouTube).
The next book we’re reading, The Master Puppeteer, is a mystery that takes place in a Bunraku theater. On top of that, we’ll actually get to see a performance of Bunraku when we’re in Osaka.
After watching the video, use the comments section to tell us what you think about this ancient Japanese art, as well as what you have to say about getting to see it live in just a few months.
Sherlock Holmes
Before we do that, let’s find out a little bit about Holmes, his partner Dr. Watson, and the rest of the characters, the stories, and the settings of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Japan Book Club: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes – Part 2
This week we’ll finish Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. It’s a short book with a powerful message.
Since this book tells the story of a young girl who was just a toddler when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it’s a different story from the last one we read, Hiroshima.
As you’ll learn in the book, despite appearing healthy immediately after the blast, ten years later, Sadako develops leukemia because of the radiation.
Instead of discussing the decision of dropping the bomb on Japan, and whether or not that was the right move, let’s try to focus on the positive.
In Hiroshima, there is a statue in the Peace Park to honor Sadako. People from all over the world bring paper cranes to place beneath the statue.
The TAP teachers think it would be nice if we could bring some very nice cranes too. Not the squished, rushed through, kinda ugly ones we made in class last week, but some really nice colorful ones.
Some people even write a message or poem either to Sadako or just to symbolize peace around the world on their paper before folding it into a crane.
Maybe we won’t be able to fold 1,000 cranes, but with 32 students in our group, we should be able to get quite a few.
Your assignment this week is to tell some people Sadako’s story, then ask them to fold a paper crane with you – you can show them how. Get as many as you can. Encourage people to write a message or poem on their paper.
When you’re done, come here and post about the experience. How did people react to you? Were people receptive to your idea? Did anyone write a great poem? How did you convince friends or family members to make paper cranes with you?
England Book Club: The Wind in the Willows – part 6
This week we’ll read the last two chapters of The Wind in the Willows (Chapter 11 – Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears – and Chapter 12 – The Return of Ulysses).
In chapter 11, Toad finds out that his house has been taken over by Stoats, Weasels, and Ferrets.
In chapter 12, Toad and his friends fight to reclaim Toad Hall.
