Jenny Murphy
Choptank Elementary
School
Cambridge,
Maryland
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Jenny Murphy
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Introduction
In 1492, when Columbus set out to discover a sea route to China, Japan was not a unified nation. It was just a collection of feudal kingdoms much like those you studied in your Middle Ages unit. Your teacher has instructed you to go to the Media Center to find a book that describes the period from 1150 A.D. to 1600 in Japan, but as you enter the room you are engulfed into a whirlwind. When you are finally thrown clear, you find that you have been transported back in time to Feudal Japan. The only other person around is an old woman who strangely resembles Miss Murphy. She hands you a worn manuscript page. It says - "IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, YOU MUST LEARN THE WAYS OF THE PEOPLE!"
The Task
Congratulations! You have now begun your trek back in time. By now, you have encountered other time travelers. You will join up with some of these travelers to form teams that will work together to put your survival plan into action -
Each team member will use
information from a variety of resources, both on and off-line, to do
their research. You must be historically accurate or the
consequences could be fatal. Remember to take notes as you
go along. These notes will become part of your daily journal
describing your daily life and ultimately, be combined with the other
team members experiences to become a survival kit for future time
travelers. The kit will consist of two parts - the journal
which will be left when you depart and a game for your friends back
home. Both items will be used to evaluate your work and that of
the group.
The Process
Before you and your fellow travelers begin your journeys into your new identities, you will want to brainstorm some ideas about what types of information you might already know that pertains to your new life and what topics you will need to research. To help you, these are the resources ALL teams will need to review to get a basic background on life in Feudal Japan.
A schedule of activities follows:
Week 1:
- The class and the teacher will discuss the creation of a rubric to
be
used for evaluation of the entire project.
- Look at examples of different types of rubrics.
- Create a class designed rubric that is appropriate for this
project.
- Complete the individual and group evaluations for this
task.
Week 2:
- Brainstorm with your Teammates to explore previous
knowledge
and to decide what information you need to know to
complete
the project.
- Read and take accurate notes from the required readings and
the
other resources listed below.
- Search materials relevant to your new life and take
notes.
Week 3:
- Share information you have found with other team members
and
the other teams.
- Discuss with your teammates what a journal or diary should
look
like and what information should be included.
- Discuss how your team is going to compile the journal -
hand
written, word processor, etc.
- Finish and bind your journal. Japanese stencils are available
as
well as other materials you might need to accomplish this
task.
Week 4:
- As an entire group, we will discuss the pieces that go into
creating
a game - what the game board will look like, how the game
pieces
will move. The goal is to complete your journey through time
and
return to your starting place - the Media Center.
- The game pieces will be based on the group you
researched.
Therefore, each team will be responsible for deciding on a
symbol
that best represents their team identity.
- Each team will also create 20 color coded cards based on
their
research. The events that befall the players will be dictated
by
the luck of the draw and what your team chooses to include
on
the cards.
- Create the game.
Resources
There are many sources that will help you with your project. The ones listed below will guide you through your journey. In order for everyone to get a chance to use all of the materials, the resources have been set up in stations, just like milestones you see along the side of the road when you are on a real trip. Check the schedule on the wall to see the days destination for your team.
Web
Sites:
Buddhism
Emperors
Samurai
Shintoism
Shogun
Samurai-history
Japan
Religion
in Japan
Books:
294.3 PEN Buddhism by Sue
Penney
398.2 MAR Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe
Martin
398.2 SAN Samurai's Daughter by Robert San
Souci
910 CIR Circling the Globe Vol. 8
915.2 DAH Japan by Michael Dahl
915.2 PIL Focus on Japan by Mavis Pilbeam
952 KAL Japan - the culture by Bobbie Kalman
952 KAL Japan - the land by Bobbie Kalman
952 KAL Japan - the people by Bobbie Kalman
952 MAC A Samurai Castle by Fiona MacDonald
952 NAR Traditional Japan by Don Nardo
952 RIC Japan by Adele Richardson
952 TAM Journey Through Japan by Richard
Tames
952 WHY Countries of the World - Japan by Harlinah
Whyte
952.025 DOR The Japanese by Claire Doran
Video
294.3 BUD Buddhism: The Middle Way of
Compassion and
study guide.
Evaluation
Participants will be
graded both individually and as a group. This will be done
using the rubric that was designed by the class during Week 4 of the
project and it will pertain to your notes and group
journals.
The class will also access
the game board according to the following guidelines -
Conclusion
By compiling your journal and developing a game based on your journey, you, your team and the class will have learned about life in Feudal Japan. You will have also learned to use a variety of resources to help you successfully complete your task just as real researchers do. By creating Quest in Feudal Japan, you and your team have gained a more realistic understanding of what life was like in a different time and place in the world. It has also allowed sharing of information within the class as well as with everyone who plays the game in the future.
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