Language Arts

I'm wondering what would be considered "asian lierature." Asian american (which could just be american)? About Asia? Which country? Asian characters? Original text? translation? Historical? Religious? Literary?

What should we be teaching our kids? How to read and write, why you and others read and write, and how words have power- I believe. I don't think English class is a place to teach culture and I know I am unable to accurately teach about the multitudes of cultures in the world. I'm taking a two week course to find out more to help me understand my students and their families better, but I am sure I will not be an expert. I'd like to find literature to suggest to my students if they have an interest so they can connect more to their learning. I may use excerpts or passages or poetry to show how different authors use the same technique or express similar ideas, but I always hate being told what to teach- especially if I feel I don't have to knowledge to teach it truthfully and well.

While I like strolling along the streets of Shakespeare and Fitzgerald, I think that teaching literature based on theme allows us to incorporate Asian American authors. I have taught the classics along side multiculturalism. For example, I look at identity and the importance of tradition in my senior English class. Specifically, I like to focus on women. We read "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel, "Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston, Selections from "Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan, "Macbeth" by Shakespeare, and "Only Daughter" or "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros. I have the students look at the traditions in these societies and what they expect from women. Are women supposed to stay at home and keep quiet? Or can they create an identity that may break apart from family and society? By the time we get to the end of the unit, my students are able to trace the common thread of the theme and look at the importance of identity. Their final essay incorporates several works from the unit and the students explore the importance of identity. Can a person be an individual and stay true to traditional roles placed on women? These are the points I ask my students to consider. I get some amazing essays from my kids. :-D

What are some ways in which to incorporate language arts and Asian literature into classroom activities when teaching very young children (3-5 years)?

I begin by explaining to the children that for the next week we are going to be learning about a different country (i.e., Japan).

The classroom environment is set up to incorporate Japanese pictures, art work, books, foods, modern and traditional/clothing, and the different Japanese holidays etc.

I may devote one day to Japanese clothing. I discuss both the traditional/modern clothing that is worn in the Japenese culture. I read stories and show the children different pictures of the type of clothing.
Because young children cannot write, what are some ways that teachers can measure
what they are learning or thinking?
I get a good idea of what children are learning by having them draw pictures of what has either been discussed or read. The children dictate in their own words what they have drawn and I write underneath their drawing what they have said. I am always astonished and amazed as to what the children retain and what they say about the culture that we are studying. Because young children are so inquisitive and eager to learn, I feel it is the responsibility of the teacher to expose them to many diverse cultures. Therefore, the time to start teaching children about cultures and diversity starts before they can read or write.

I don't think the idea is to teach about all these cultures. I think it is up to us (English teachers)to seek themes and help students understand how these themes appear cross-culturally. The relationship of children to their parents, the idea of traditions and how they play a part in the lives of adolescents, the value of education, the female in society and how her role is changing/not changing, etc.

The point of these classes is for the teacher to acquire a better understanding and perhaps have a chance to relate better to some of the pressures on the students we teach. I now understand a little better what may be going on with one of my Indonesian students who hasn't seen her father in 10 years, or why some of my Korean students are sent here (to the US) to be educated) without parents.

I think the idea of connecting with other languages and using that as a way to teach English is helpful. What can we learn from our students about the differences between their home languages and how their grammar and constructions differ may help define our instruction. I find that the use of prepositions is really difficult for my Korean students and I wondered how these concepts were dealt with in Korean. I still don'thave a good idea, but my kids did say that studying expressions to learn how to use prepositional phrases was helpful.
how does this translate (haha) into Asian literature. How do we know what the translator is working from?

Have you ever heard of the Cinderella story? Of course! We all did! :-D This story is a children's classic in all countries. The versions of the story changes in each country based on its tradition, values, and culture. Teaching the Cinderella story to children (age 3-5) is quite an around-the-world experience. As for sticking to the American classics, even though it teaches the depth of Hawthorne, Melville, and Shakespeare's work, but that also limits their cultural diversity. Children these days need to learn what is around them and be able to judge for themselve what values they want to uphold. This can be achieved depending on how we as teachers find a way to get them exposed; that is to teach them multi-cultural literature.

Thuy

“Don’t we have enough to do just teaching our kids how to read and write?”

Phew. Ultimately my answer to this question would have to be yes. Because I teach the DRW (Developing Readers and Writers) classes, I have a great deal of experience with trying to “just teach my kids how to read and write.” But the catch is, if they don’t have anything to read or write about that catches and holds their interest, all my efforts are of no use. “See Spot run.” (and I put this in quotation marks because this is not exactly what my students read, but how others view the program) only gets us so far. There is the point where the student has to make a personal connection to reading and writing, to exploring and discovering the world through books, and that is no easy feat to accomplish with a group of kids who have struggled all their lives and are as far as they’re concerned, not capable of reading. For these kids, I’m sad to say, the classics are a thousand years away. It is not that they can’t read them, for they very well could with help, as could most high-schooler, it is that they do not want to read them. They are a classic and therefore they are boring. But when you bring in literature that is unique, and to a certain extent, exotic, their ears perk up and pretty soon, if you pitch it right, they are sneaking off to slip the book in their backpack.

I have to agree that the definition of “Asian Literature” is also a tough one for me. Does Asian-American literature count?

Part of our ninth grade curriculum is reading a text titled: Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. The text is about one family’s internment at camp Manzanar in California during WWII. While I would see this as a great opportunity to discuss Japanese culture, how it is transformed in America, how it is further transformed by the internment, and how Americans thus view the Japanese, I am not sure this would qualify as teaching Asian literature. While it would be a great example of hate and discrimination, and one’s attempt to hold on to what little culture is left, does it qualify as Asian when it is set in America?

2. What examples can you cite where dialects or accents and customs help to identify where, within a nation, a person comes from? How do authors/filmmakers use dialects/accents to signal something about a character or situation?


The question of dialect is one my students pick up on very quickly. They seem to have an inherent understanding of what a person from a certain country or region sounds like, how an educated person speaks as compared to a non-educated person, how people of different races and ethnicities use language, as well as how people from different social classes express themselves. You see this knowledge, unfortunately, when they attempt to stereotype or tease an individual or a certain group. And sadly, their most common attempts are toward Asians.

When reading a text like Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, students immediately respond to the dialects and manners of speech presented through each character. “Why do they talk so funny?” is a common question. “They sound like hicks,” is another common statement. Many students struggle to read dialogue in dialect, while others get right into it, turning their class clown charm into center stage theatrics.

So far, the deepest we have gotten into the tool of dialect is to discuss how it presents race, class, educational background, and regional information about a character. Changing the question to how an author/filmmaker uses this seems a bit too obvious or simplistic. The author does it through the use of dialogue, correct? Now why, is perhaps the more important question. Why did John Steinbeck want George and Lennie to sound like hicks, and Lennie more so to sound “slow”? What effect did this have on us as a reader? What information did it provide?

Why is the use of a certain dialect so critical to some texts/films that some countries rather pull programs from the air rather than have the wrong dialect represented? What is so powerful about dialect? These are the questions I would raise to my students.

This school year, I have been teaching AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).
It is taking students from the "middle" who have been neglected because we primarily focus on low and high performing students and many times the middle is forgottened.
They are exposed to colleges/universities, study strategies, note taking and organization that will benefit and enhance their studies particularly in college.
It prepares them to be just as competitive as students who are taking higher level classes such as Advanced Placement.

One strategy I teach my students is the Cornell Note taking.
Instead of just reading a passage or lecturing, students have to take notes, share them with each other and write a summary of what they learned.
I find this style of note taking effective for my students.

1. It teaches them to be attentive listeners.
2. It helps them conceptualize what they learned through taking notes by means of a summary at the end. It also keeps them accountable with what they have learned.
3. It serves a great study guide.
4. It helps them to organize their thoughts.

It is hard to explain the anatomy of Cornell Notes so I will include a link:

http://cssdesigns.com/learningtoolbox/cornell.html

http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/cornellintro.pdf#search='cornell%20notes'

These are two great sites that will do a better job of explaining what Cornell Notes are.



lc

Cornell Notes are a great way to help students improve their comprehension because it forces them to interact with the text they are reading and taking notes on because it requires not only that they distinguish between main information and details, but to formulate the questions that the information answers. This serves the same purpose as having students come up with their own questions to review material before exams. However, getting students into the habit of doing this consistently, helps to improve their overall comprehension. It is a skill they will always be able to use.

In the beginning, it can be helpful to supply a sort of study guide for note taking, where you supply some questions without information, and some information without text. That way students can have the experience of finding information that answers a question and creating a question that corresponds to given information. This way students ease into the process and get an understanding of what is being asked of them.

I have used cornell notes with my DRW students and they have proved very useful.

Teaching students to take taking is probably the most simple part of this system.
The greatest difficulty is having them formulate questions.
I teach Cornell Notes into three sections as they are evident in Cornell Notes.
I first have them write notes, they compare their notes in their collaborative learning communities and they take it home to present a more comprehensible/organized copy.
Then, I grade them with a feedback on ways to improve them.
Then have them write a quick summary.
Once again grade them and hand them back with a feedback of ways to improve.
During this time, I also acknowledge what I like and sometimes what I don't to the class obviously with the student's permission.
I then read a story on Goldilocks and the Three Bears to help them learn about High Order Thinking Questions.
I particularly use Bloom's but Costa's is just a smooth as well.
If you look for the Goldilocks story with Bloom's there are many sites for it.
It is pretty cool.
They kids figure out what level the questions are.
After that, the students then write questions based on their notes to serves as study guide.
It is a long tedious process especially the latter but it is worth it.
The kids eventually, even naturally take notes Cornell style without me saying, "Let's take our paper out and take Cornell Style Notes."



lc

I used many of the tools available at this website.
Here is the link:

English Companion -> Teacher Tools

I want to highlight the bookmarkers for Critical Reading.
I bought a ream of card stockk and copied them front and back then, I asked Kinko's to cut them.
Now I have 4,000 copies that will last.
I have kids turn in their bookmarkers as an indicator that they read the book.
It provides a sense of accountability rather than taking their word.



lc

There is a section in this passage that is titled"On the the Third Day
of the Third Month." This would be a good impetus to combine a both
an English and Art Lesson. In English students could predict what they
feel might happen, offering the reasons. Joining with the art teacher,
students could drawa diptych, first half of their prediction and the
second half the reality of what actually did happen.This lesson could
also be expanded to the third day of every month. Thanks

Poem: Dead Roe Deer
Posted: 11-10-2004 05:58 PM
I found this be a very sad poem, the deer,a metaphor for the girl who, I believe has been raped and left to die by the awful man who took advantage of her. It appears to me that life never changes. This poem was written so long ago and still we are faced with the same problems in society today. I would be curious to what ramifications the culprit faced in contast to today's world.

This is amazing. Hey, i have my students take Cornell too. Although they only use cornell notes in Social Studies and it's mostly teacher guided. HOwever, i will start to use your method. Sounds great. I really want the students to learn how to take Cornell notes on their own, but just couldn't find the perfect solution after two tries, and they were difficult, especially with ESL students. But i will definately implement this method. Great job Choi. Thanks.

As I was reading Japanese Tanka poems (5 lines, 5-7-5-7-7 syllables), I kept imagining taking my students outdoors for a poetry-writing session. These poems (like Haiku) look closely at nature, something our students rarely do. To have students really observe and write about a detail in nature would be an excellent exercise.

These poems also have another layer, a metaphorical meaning. It would be interesting to see if students could create a layered meaning in such a short poem.

I like these poems since they offer alternative to the Haiku. I teach 11th & 12th grade students, and this might be a "step up" from the Haiku...even though Tanka poems preceeded Haiku historically.

Reading Japanese poetry gives me several ideas for student assignments. While the linked poetry concept is complex (Renga), I believe it could be used to build cohesiveness in small groups. It is similar to the continuing story we have in the U.S., where one person starts a story and each person has to add a part. Renga are far more prescriptive, but the basic idea is that one person begins a poem with 3 lines (Haiku-like), and passes it to the next "poet." This person must add a verse (2-3 lines of 5-7 syllables); the added verse must link to the first verse.

I could see using this model as an interesting one-two week project. Students would take the poem home each night and add their verses, then pass it to the next poet the following day. If we used colored envelopes to hold the verses and provided nice parchment for the eventual finished poem, this could excite the students (I think). Perhaps we could hang them scroll-like in the classroom.

The Japanese Renga have rules -- Autumn and Spring may be mentioned at most 5 times; Love must be separated by at least five verses; etc. We could, perhaps set up some "rules" for the class poems...

And, to fully teach the form, I would have students read Japanese poetry (Renga, etc.) in class during the unit.

There are many similarities which can be drawn through The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean and
Romeo and Juliet By Wm. Shakespeare.

For example:
- parental control
- family duty
- duty to marry per parental arrangement
- despair to escape unwanted marriage
- betrayal

The Kite Rider, features a young boy forced by porverty/uncle to enter the circus life as a kite rider,
not a flyer, is an interesting look into 13th century China.

It is an easy read and a nice foil to the tough language of Shakespeare. Labeled ages 12 and up but many high school students would find challenge in it. Can use excerpts if time is limited( Chapter 5 = Wedding).

Includes map of 13th century Cathay and the protagonist's journey w/the Jade circus.

Here's an interesting, detailed breakdown regarding references to the seasons. Since seasonal images appear often this would be a good tool for students to use when trying to ID/write them.

http://www.lizadalby.com/

You've probably heard of Liz, the American girl who studied to and became a Geisha the wrote the book titled Geisha.

Students could use this info as they write their own Japanese style Poetry (haiku, tanka, rengu, etc.). Here is a website with some more info.
http://www.dcate.net/JapanesePoetry/history.html

Also on Liz's site is her research on Kimono which helps to demystify the intricacies of their use. I remember several references in the texts we read for this seminar wherein one's kimono made/broke them in the eyes of others. Students could compare Kimono rules to today's fashion rules to which many are real slaves. For instance, the intensity of a shoe's whiteness, clothing size/drape, seasonal colors, accessories, etc.

I always found it rewarding to look around for different perspectives and examples to support universal themes. Talking and writing about them gives me the opportunity to show my students that it is essential to understand the differences between the many types of cultures and peoples in the world, but what matters the most is that we are connected by universal themes and forces, and giving them the opportunity to read those Asian texts will give them an opportunity to explore how nature, emotions, history, and human interactions shape our arts.

A few years ago I taught 6th grade and used a Vietnamese Cinderella Story, where the ending was slightly different, magic was used differently to assist the heroine, and a fish's bones were the crucial element for the turning point. There were differences, but the main story was the same, and we had a great time using Venn Diagrams and other visual organizers to help us think and wonder how countries in different parts of the world came up with a very similar story.

My major is English, and I love that type of literature, but I also look forward to exploring the way all cultures relate to each other.

Here's a way to get kids writing, communicating and sharing cultural information. This website allows students to choose penpals from 136 countries (including Korea, Japan, China). Also, there is a page for teachers to find groups of pen pals for classes to exchange communication with.

This will appeal to youths as they are so internet happy. Can instruct students to focus on topics covered in class (English, history, etc.). Since there seems to be a deficit in Korean curriculum, how about tapping into it here? The Korean kids are mad for Harry Potter. Students could investigate reading habits/likes of other cultures. Through this activity, kids can learn/understand things through the POV of others per the standards.

Go to
www.penpalparty.com

Students need practice writing. Require students to print out their correspondence for proof. Also, you could use these to proofread/edit to improve language skills. Students can explore how kids in other countries learn English as a second language too.

I found this poem by Mao Zedong very useful to students. This was Mao's war or revolution cry:
So many deeds cry out to be done,
And always urgently.
The world rolls on,
Time passes.
Ten thousand years are too long;, Seize the day, seize the hour,
Our force is irresistible.

I was reading Poems in Chinese by Buddhist monks and was very fascinated by the depth and profound wisdom.In the book; Anthology of Japanese Literature edited by Donald Keene, you will be able to compare these poems with other religions poems. A good source for literature, let's make use of it.

There is alot in Asian literature that will make every historian or language art teacher want to investigate.There is for example in Chinese literature, the origin of Chinese books and printing, wine,tea drinking, architecture, chinese opera, festivals, food, folk arts to mention afew. That is why we should be bothered and provoked to want to learn more about Asian literature.

I use cornell note taking too. It's the surest way know whether your students are concentrating and undersatanding. This a good strategy.

This poem...it is very visual, and something I can use in my class, because sometimes I have students illustrate a poem or song of their choice and I always need one to use as an example:

So many deeds cry out to be done,
And always urgently.
The world rolls on,
Time passes.
Ten thousand years are too long;, Seize the day, seize the hour,
Our force is irresistible.

This is an interesting resource for both adults and students in the age of computers. Students find themselves mysteriously attracted to technology and are bound to produce some type of writing while communicating. My dream classroom would include a desktop or laptop computer for everyone of my kids. I can always dream...

Robert Marzano in Classroom Instruction that Works, compiles current research and identifies 9 research-based strategies. #2 is summarizing and note taking. Her outlines several other strategies to explicitly teach the skills that are so necessary. I have many students who can draw pictures and retain information. Marzano's work offers some interesting suggestions. Thanks for your insites, too.
Linda

I am amazed by the depth and extent of information here. I have been reading posts and find I'm making so many notes that I could easily get overwhelmed. But I appreciate this information. I'll let you know more as I use this.
Linda

Well, I teach 8th grade English and found it beneficial for the students to compare and contrast how different cultures deal with the same themes - such as woman's roles in the society and generational relationships - and with the character motivations - what role the culture plays in shaping the characters.

i would like to open the discussion on the validity of haiku, and the importance of establishing this as a precedent in the minds of our students as we begin our study of the haiku. naturally, i have done a great amount of research in this area, but i am interested in determining what others think of this. pound and the imagists have their urgent demonstration, but when we view young people studying this genre, i wonder if we might focus instead on delineating two genres:

american haiku- for those interested in proper rhythm and syllabication without losing meaning

haiku-the imagistic quality of the kanji, so much a part of the initial expression in japanese must be preserved

...i know the opinion of the japanese speakers about this, but what of the english speakers? what is your perspective?

Some more literature suggestions, for high school students' literature circles or independent reading (also great for teachers to read). Gail Tsukiyama, who has written many great stories about Asia, wrote a novel called Women of the Silk. It is about women in rural China, in 1926, who are employed at a silk factory. The women are there mostly to earn money for their families; their families sent them there because they could not provide for them. What was most interesting in the story was the description of the hairdressing ceremony: a ceremony in which women choose to be single for life, to not marry. The women in the story are survivors--they are rejected by family and forge a way on their own. Another great one is Amy Tan's Bonesetter' s Daughter--it starts with a Chinese American woman, Ruth, dealing with her aging and ill mother. Throughout the story, Ruth discovers her mother's story, what the mother suffered in China, and in the end, gains a better understanding of her mother, and, of her own identity. One more: though this one, I think, would be best left for the adults. It is Nora Okja Keller's Comfort Woman. It is much like Bonesetter's Daughter, in that it is an American daughter trying to understand her mother's past. In this case, Beccah, the daughter, learns that her mother Akiko (the Japanese name given to her--she is Korean) was a comfort woman during WWII. Like Ruth, when she understands what her mother has gone through, she understands her mother better--and her self better. The reason that I say it's probably better for adults is there is a bit of graphic detail in the description of the camps that the comfort women resided in, a bit of detail about what they suffered. But a very powerful read!

Any thoughts about designing emersion lessons for “Mandarin?” We are trying to design a step-by-step to put into our elementary lesson unit.

jharrington,
I hope that you will post some of your ideas on the web soon. Perhaps when we make our web-sites. We are also working on an elementary unit including Mandarin language arts. Perhaps we could share resources?[Edit by="cashb on Jan 11, 8:35:01 PM"][/Edit]

How did you learn to use the Cornell note-taking style? Have you found it useful for some classes vs. others?

Do you know where I may find out more information about this style of note taking? I have used a close-procedure with the students, but not very often. It seems to hlep them, but I would like to have something else to compare it to.

jem

I teach second grade and we complete a unit on Folktales with our students. I came across the story Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel, which discusses a Chinese tradition of naming their first-born child. My students really enjoyed listening to this story. They were able to choral read along with me. They enjoyed repeating the tongue-twisting name of the character in the book. Sharing folktales with your student is an excellent way to incorporated different countries and cultures.

I came across another book to incorporate in your school called Chinese New Year by Tricia Brown. This book discusses Chinese New Year traditions that have been around for 5000 years. It also discusses hoe this holidays relates to Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Easter, and Halloween. Photographs taken in China accompany the book. It can give the students a realistic view of China and celebrating Chinese New Year

Teaching Language Arts with the old Western favorites would work if we lived in a single cultured country. Fortunately for our students we are a multicultural country and therefor have the opportunity to draw from a wider array of literature. I think that it is just as important for students to be exposed to literature of different cultures as it is to teach a student how to read or write. Using multicultural literature lends itself to teaching life and character lessons, as well as, English lessons. Gaining an understading of the diversity among us is a wonderful way to tie curriculum. We shouldn't stick to teaching one subject at a time. I truly feel that teachers should use every opportunity possible to teach cross curricular lessons, so that students can experience why it matters to learn a particular subject anyways. I have used several Asian novels in y classroom: Red Scarf Girl and The Clay Marble are two of my Middle School Favorites. Explore your options in literature! You won't be sorry that you opened your mind and a door for your students to explore further.

My students (7th and 8th) are facinated with Asian lit. They enjoy fiction but are primary interested in the biographies and autobiographies. I teach World History using lit. and primary sources from each culture/era as the primary curriculum. This not only satisfies cross-curricular instruction but provides and introduction of world lit to my students, providing a refrence base and giving them perspective. What better way to learn about something then from the people who actually experienced it.
I've found that my students are much more involved/interested in the lessons. I also try to stock my classroom library with lit from the cultures/era's that we study. There is always a waiting list for these books, especially the ones about Asia.
-Julia Shepherd

So do my students. They show a lot more interest in learning about Asia and its literature than any other. I wonder why? When I gave out a research project on Asian countries, they were enthusiastic about learning about Asian culture and most (95%) turned in the project.

Maybe it has to do with the fascination western cultures have "always" had with Asia. We know so little about it that it keeps its mistique. I don't know about you, but I think that when I teach about Asia I let my excitement show a little more than I do with other cultures.
-Julia

I've used a book in my curriculum titled, Dragonwings by Laurence Yep. It tells the story of a young chinese boy who leaves his mother and grandmother to meet the father he never knew in the land of the white demons (United States). The interesting thing is that it takes place in San Francisco and it details very richly what life would be like for a young boy to move here in a land full of people whose language and values are very different from his own. It was the first time I've read a book that helped me to see how much different life would be if you moved here and had never seen or spoken to a caucasian before. The fact that the chinese call them white demons is one indication.

The book concludes with the Great Quake in San Francisco. Life for the poor immigrants was devastated by the quake, more so than for people with money to rebuild. The story also gives a rich detailing of the young boys ancestor and his father's dream to one day build a flying machine so he can remember his past life as a dragon.

I think the current climate in the political arena about immigration is a perfect segue to introduction students to immigrants from different places to remind them that people from all over the world come here for a better life.

"Don't we have enough to do just to teach kids to read and write?" But teaching students to read and write with any real efficacy and permanent effect on their lives is also, very much, teaching them to think. And you can't learn to thiink effectively without extending your range of things to think about. Even within the canon of Western Literature we have to dip into other languages in translation (Latin, Greek, French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech) to teach some of the standard authors (Ovid, Homer, Maupassant, Dostoevsky, Dante, Cervantes, Kafka, Kundera). So, the question for most of us who teach English is not, I think, why bother with Asian literature? The question is, why don't we teach more (or some, or, in some cases, any) Asian literature?

More and more Asian-American literature is being taught (Amy Tan et al.) and some actual translations from Asian literature have been staples for years on California secondary reading lists (e.g., Yukio Mishima's The Sound of Waves). But if I decide I want to take the plunge and teach Murasaki's Tale of Genji, for example, how I am going to get sufficient texts, even for a small class? I would have a hard time justifying the purchase of an expensive book that, initially, at least, only one teacher might use. (I have been department chair of English for the last three years at my school and I have not felt justified in making such expenditures.) But let's say, for the sake of argument, that I get a green light to order the books, or LAUSD comes up with a one-time-only grant for the purchase of Asian literature in translation. Would I then teach it in AP English Literature or World Literature? Probably not, and for several important reasons. First, although I have read bits and pieces of Genji, I have not read the entire novel. Second, although I have learned a great deal about the Heian Period from the lectures of Professors Yamashita, Miyake and Ptelka, I feel that I have just barely scratched the surface and have much more to learn before I could begin to teach a novel as complex as Genji in its historical and social context with anything like the level of confidence and general success I experience in teaching Great Expectations or The Grapes of Wrath. Context, as Professor Yamashita said, is the key to making sense of history, and history is the context of literature. No individual work of literature can be fully understood without reference to its historical context. Some sub-genres, such as haiku, are of course more accessible and many English teachers have taught haiku (or American-style haiku) successfully for many years without bothering overly much about the historical and social context of the Japanese form. But teaching about Asian literature, done correctly, must necessarily incorporate teaching about Asian history and society, subjects touched upon very, very lightly and briefly in most Social Studies classes and hardly at all in English.

So there we are. Why bother about Asian literature? Because we must, if we want to teach literature in its full scope (and not just contemporary Amercan literature). Why don't we teach more Asian literature in our English classes? Because most of us are not really prepared to do a good job. The USC East Asia Seminar is a giant step in the direction of getting more of us aware of what we have to learn to do a good job. Then there is the issue of money and texts. Even if I'm ready to teach Asian literature, where can I find the money to buy what will be perceived initially as specialized texts that "nobody else will teach"? Perhaps as the importance of Asia in the US grows with every passing day more money will become available for these expenditures. Perhaps if the US government turns its attention from making war in Asia (Afghanistan et al.) to teaching about Asia (happy thought), lots more money might become available. However, in anticipation of that golden age, I must get to work and read the entire Tale of Genji (and much more Asian literature) and put my money where my mouth is.

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on Jun 14, 2:14:14 PM"][/Edit]

I have recently acquired a wonderful book, "How to Write Haiku and Other Short Poems" by Paul Janeczko

I find it very well put together. It not only goes into How to write them, but what Haikus are and even some of the history behind them, as well.

It is written very freindly for middle school and elementary students, but may be a bit juvenile for High schoolers.

It goes into the history, then what should be written. It doesn't just break it down by sylables and lines. It discusses the importance of the content of a Haiku. It discusses the importance of seasons and where to get ideas for good Haikus.

It also looks at Senryu, Haibun, Renga and Tanka.

I hope you enjoy it, I sure did.

Lisa Monie-Peralta

Cornell Notes are great. I'm glad the district has adopted this method. It is particularly important to pick one strategy and follow it through as students progree from grade to grade. It is so refreshing to teach 7th grade and for students to enter already knowing how to take Cornell notes. It allows me to focus on the content and material, rather than focusing on teaching students how to take notes.

Greetings,

A great book for elementary students is Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes. My fifth grade teacher read it to us and I still remember it to this day. It is the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako, who survived the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima but was exposed to radioactive material. In the story she developed leukemia and she has a goal of making 1000 paper cranes. This story reveals many aspects of Japanese culture, familial relationships, traditions, and qualities such as loyalty and honor. In the end Sadako dies before making all 1000 but her family and friends rally to complete all 1000 to honor her.

John Yamazaki