Hello Teachers_

							Hello Teachers,

Now that Labor Day is behind us, I feel as if the school year has really begun. I've collected what
I believe are some very intriguing and amusing items for this week's edition. I hope you agree.

Let me take this opportunity to urge you to sign up -- if you haven't already signed up, that is-- up
for the Kansas City Japan Festival Teachers' Workshop "Beyond Origami: Art Driven Lessons on
Japan" to be held at Johnson County Community College on Saturday October 6 from 8:30-12
noon. More information on what it's all about and how to register can be found below in the
Teachers' Workshop section of this newsletter. Hope to see some of you there.


I. IN THE CLASSROOM
        a. Reciting Poems to the Moon
        b. Wilkommen in...South Korea?
        c. Hippu-hoppu means "hip-hop" in Japanese

II. EVENTS AND EXHIBITS
        a. Images of the Journey -- Spencer Museum of Art
        b. Nelson-Atkins Celebration
        c. International Career Day, KU
        d. Chinese Health Posters

III. TEACHERS' WORKSHOP
        a. Kansas City Japan Festival K-12 Teachers' Workshop


I. IN THE CLASSROOM

a. Reciting Poems to the Moon (K-12)
The Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival always falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the
Chinese lunar calendar. This year, that lunar date falls on September 18 on the solar calendar. In
China, the Moon Festival is often an occasion for family reunions. Chinese families like to get
together to eat the moon cakes and watch the moon. For those Chinese people who are out of
town or living overseas, the Moon Festival is a time of remembrance: they and their far-off loved
ones can go out and gaze at the same moon and feel a connection. In addition, there is a custom
of reciting poetry to the moon. You and your students might try them both: 1. Either read aloud
some of the translated poems found at the second link below or write your own and recite them to
the moon on the night of September 18 or 2. arrange with loved ones far away to go out on the
evening of the September 18 and look at the moon and think of each other. You could do both.
I've also given you a link to an easy recipe for Moon Cakes, a treat to eat between poems!

Moon Festival Information (Poems link on this page)
http://www.chinapage.com/Moon/moon-festival.html
Moon Festival Legends
http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/midfallstory.htm
Easy Moon Cake Recipe
http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/china/easy_chinese_mooncakes.htm

b. Wilkommen in...South Korea? (Gr. 6-12)
Alpine cottages nestled in the mountains of...Namhae County in South Korea? Sounds
incongruous and, in a way, it is. But this is German Village, a community of German style homes
inhabited by Germans and Koreans who spent most of their lives in Germany. Many of the
residents are either German nationals or South Koreans who went to work in Germany. Many of
them lived there for 30 or more years. The Village was built, in part, as a means of luring retired
Koreans back home. South Korea is also planning an American Village. Some people are
skeptical about the idea of creating a niche group just for retirees. They think that the children of
these people won't want to live here and that eventually the German Village will become a
"Korean Village". What do your students think of this kind of planned community? Would a niche
group of Americans who has spent a major portion of their lives in Korea live in, say, a Korean
Village here in the US? What sort of things might be included in an American Village in Korea? In
a Korean Village in America?
TODAY'S LESSON PLAN:
IT’S YOUR MOVE: Exploring Culture and Immigration

BASED ON THE ARTICLE:
In a Corner of South Korea, a Taste of German Living, By NORIMITSU ONISHI,August 10, 2005
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20050810wednesday.html
This link takes you directly to the lesson plan itself: to access the article, click on the graphic in
the upper right hand corner.

c. Hippu hoppu means "hip hop" in Japanese
Move over Eminem and Black Eyed Peas, Loop Junktion and Rip Slyme are coming through…at
least in Japan. Hip-hop—or hippu-hoppu in Japanese—is the fastest growing category on the
Japanese music scene and these two bands are at the top of the Japanese hippo-hoppu heap.
The movement migrated to Japan in the late 1980’s but remained mostly underground until 1995,
when Japanese hip-hop groups began opening for American acts. Loop Junktion, whose
members include the 26-year-old “MC” Yamajin and keyboardist Takumi.k.dog, was first formed
back when the boys were all attending Boston’s famous Berklee College of Music. Rip Slyme has
been around for 10 years. Here are two websites that will give you and your students some
information about these two Japanese bands. It might be interesting to have the students
compare Japanese hip hop sounds with American hip hop sounds -- there are audio links listed
below. Also, I wonder what your students think of the quote by Rip Slyme's RyoZ that the appeal
of hip hop is that “you don’t have to know how to play an instrument and you don’t have to sing.”
Do they agree? And finally, what are your students' thoughts on the comparison of rapping in
English and rapping in Japanese that appears in the Rip Slyme interview?

http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/592/music_beat.asp
http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/490/music_beat.asp

Here is a website that will give you and your students a taste of Rip Slyme's music: Scroll down
and click on a sound icon and it will bring up a window with a selection of songs.
http://wmg.jp/artist/ripslyme/
And here is a site that will give you and your students a taste of Loop Junktion's music. Scroll
down to number 11 and click the sound icon.
http://www.loopjunktion.net/


II. EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS

a. Images of the Journey
June 4—September 25 2005
Asian Gallery
This selection from the Spencer's Asian collection invites the viewer to experience "virtual" travel
through interaction with images of tourist destinations. Check out the website for information and
operating hours: http://www.spencerart.ku.edu/

b. Nelson-Atkins Celebration
September 17, 10-4
Celebrate the official opening of the Nelson-Atkins Ford Learning Center with activities that
include a Chinese acrobat and a Cherokee flute player. Check the website for details
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/education/flc.cfm
c. International Career Day at KU
On October 6, the Office of International Programs at the University of Kansas invites area high
school students who are interested in learning about international career opportunities to the
International Career Workshop. Participants can learn about job opportunities from area
international businesses, not-for profits, and government agencies. If you are interested in
bringing your students to this event, please check out the registration procedure at the website
below.
http://www.international.ku.edu/events/ICW/05/index.shtml

d. Chinese public health posters
This is a link to an on-line exhibit of posters from China that address public health issues such as
the plague and cholera. They are wonderful and exotic -- so different from our own approach to
health awareness. It's a work in progress so not all the posters are translated yet but it's definitely
worth a cybervisit.
http://clendening.kumc.edu/dc/cp/index.html

The exhibit is also mounted at the University of Kansas Medical Center Clendening History of
Medicine Library. Go to their website http://clendening.kumc.edu/ to find out their hours of
operation.

III. TEACHERS' WORKSHOP

a. The Greater Kansas City Japan Festival 2005 K-12 Teachers' Workshop
October 8, 9 a.m.-12 Noon
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park
Set this date aside for a workshop entitled "Beyond Origami: Art-driven Lessons About Japan".
The workshop will consist of lectures by KU Faculty and workshops including one on making a
Samurai helmet and one of Japanese brush and ink calligraphy. The workshops are led by KU
faculty and K-12 Art teachers. Admission is free. To sign up, please send an email to me at
rhacker@ku.edu. Space is limited and places are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Kansas Standards addressed include History Standard, Benchmark 1 and Extended Benchmark
2; Art Standard 6, Benchmark 2. Participants in the workshop receive free admission to the Japan
Festival and are free to explore other presentations once the workshop is over. Visit the Japan
Festival website at: http://www.gkcjapanfestival.com/


As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions about ways I can make this e-mailing
more accessible and useful to you in your lessons. So, let me hear from you. But please
remember: if you want to send comments or open a dialogue with me, write to me by sending
your note directly to me at my e-mail address (rhacker@ku.edu) and not by replying to this email
which inevitably ends up as a List Error message. Thanks.

If you prefer not to receive notices about East Asian Outreach opportunities for K-12 Educators,
remember to send an e-mail directly to me (rhacker@ku.edu) or call me to request removal from
the list. My e-address and phone number are listed below.


That's all for now. Keep in touch.

Randi



Randi Hacker, Outreach Coordinator
Center for East Asian Studies
1440 Jayhawk Blvd. Rm. 200
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045
785/864-3832
rhacker@ku.edu