The trip to Little Tokyo was one of the best things I have done for my kids during the semester. They had to work on their researches and presentations, before even confirming the field trip.
We walked the shops, touched Japanese products, and ate Japanese food. Upon arrival we walked to a plaza and joined the people practicing Tai Chi. For many students this was the first time they had the opportunity to practice any movement related to Asian practices.
I was highly surprised when one of the students wanted to show the TaiChi master a Taekwondo routine and got the applause of the people surrounding us.
The faces on the following pictures have been blurred to protect the participants, identity online
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I will call this one Asia Outside My Classroom
02/10/2008 04:15 AM
#1
I will call this one Asia Outside My Classroom
That's neat. I'm thinking of doing that kind of activity. Did you have an after-activity critique? How did the students react to the trip? I like to bring my students to Korea Town and Chinatown, in addition to Little Tokyo. That could be a complete East Asia lesson. Thereafter, I can ask them to draw what attracted them most. Very creative, indeed. Good job!
They had to do a memory check of all they did, starting from the first day we started talking about the filed trip. They had to write about the research, the presentations, the notes they took, the videos we saw, and their personal opinion of the trip. They had to glue somethng from the trip, like a receit, a candy wrapper, a brochure and if possible a picture. That way I assure that they remember why we ended up there on the first place. I am a believer that Field Trips really open the students minds. I am glad you are going to take students there also. I have taken classes to China Twon 2 times and both time the kids behaved well. They do good if they have to work a lot before the trip. They appreciate trips more like that, when they know they really deserve it. :o)
Thanks for the idea on memory check. I teach students with MR (mental retardation) and memory deficit is always a concern. I have been quite successful in having this students draw what they remember from the lesson. Usually a flag, a map always had a 700 to 800 batting average of success. As MR students they're usually unable to remember the process because of limited recoupment capacity. In any case, they are most able to recall things they're normally exposed to. Like those little but significant artifacts you mentioned from the trip (e.g., candy wrapper, receipts), I think they will make a very good culminating task project from the field trip. In my lesson about China, my students drew a long river with some boats and fish in it and they labeled that "Yellow River" for their culminating task. I think the boats and fish are objects they're more familiar with. Thanks again.
What an amazing experience. I would love to take my students there but I don't think they are ready yet. I'm hoping that by next year, we can have cultural field trips there; luckily, I had a lot of parents who took their sons and daughters to the Lunar festival. Exposure is so important and at a young age, even more impressionable.
I just found an announcement for the 7th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival of Southern California. It takes place in Little Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday, April 5-6, 2008. Details are at www.cherryblossomfestivalsocal.org.
A project that I have had success with is designing a travel brochure after a field trip.
It can be as simple as a tri-fold 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. It includes:
front page: title, graphics, and student name
inside: pictures or drawings of people and places that the student saw or remembers or that have been cut from an actual brochure that s/he got on the field trip; list of the key sites to visit; paragraph about why it is an interesting field trip and who would want to go there
Back cover: map of the area with a key to the sites visited; directions on how to get there;
name, address, telephone number of the museum visited and the hours open
It is amazing how elaborate some of the art work can be.
There is another local event worth noting in the Los Angeles area. This is the first one that I have observed that is Taiwan-specific. It is the Taiwanese American celebration at TaiwanFest-LA in Downtown across from Union Station Saturday and Sunday May 10-11, 2008.
The promotional material reads:
Enjoy performances by Ten-Drum Arts Percussion and diabolo juggling along with 3-D paper carving demonstrations. Exhibits include Taiwanese aboriginal attire, handicrafts and paintings. There will also be 170 booths featuring delicious food and fascinating goods.
Admission to the event is free for the first 5,000 visitors who show their valid Metro pass or Metro Rail ticket at the Customer Service/Ticket Window.
For those who might use a mini-geography lesson with classes while in Downtown L.A., there is an interesting signpost at First and Main. It is a tall pole showing all of Los Angeles' sister city relationships with an arrow pointing in the direction of each city together with the distance from Los Angeles. Of the cities posted, four are in East Asia, Guangzhou, Taipei, Pusan and Nagoya.
In addition to the basic questions of what country, where on a map, etc., students might be asked questions such as what prompts city officials to enter into sister city relationships, who gets tax-paid trips, etc.