Feudal Japan - Ninja

Ninjas: Masters of Stealth and Secrecy by Joanne Mattern

Discussion:
Origins of Ninja
Employment by Samurai and other warlords
Training, skills, religious beliefs

Activity:
History journal

Feudal Japan - Samurai - Bushido

Samurai: Warlords of Japan by Arlan Dean
How to Be a Samurai Warrior by Fiona Macdonald and John James
Read-aloud: Sword of the Samurai by Eric A. Kimmel

Discussion:
Bushido - the Samurai code of honor
Buddhism, Shinto influences
Meditation practices

Activity:
Continue Samurai costume

Feudal Japan - Samurai - Armor

Samurai: Warlords of Japan by Arlan Dean
How to Be a Samurai Warrior by Fiona Macdonald and John James
Read-aloud: Sword of the Samurai by Eric A. Kimmel

Discussion:
Parts of the samurai armament
Design and construction
Evolution

Activity:
Continue Samurai costume

Feudal Japan - Samurai - Shogunate

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Samurai: Warlords of Japan by Arlan Dean
Read-aloud: Sword of the Samurai by Eric A. Kimmel

Discussion:
The Genpei War and the beginning of the shogunate
From a temporary to a permanent position
How the shogun controls the samurai and the emperor

Activity:
Continue making Samurai costume
History journal

Feudal Japan - Samurai - Origins

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Samurai: Warlords of Japan by Arlan Dean
Read-aloud: Sword of the Samurai by Eric A. Kimmel

Discussion:
Origins of the Samurai - Asuka and Nara Periods
The Samurai as a part of the army during the Heian Period
The Samurai become warlords

Activity:
Begin making Samurai costume
History journal

Medieval Japan - Heian Period - Fujiwara Clan

Life in Ancient Japan  by Hazel Richardson
Read-aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin

Discussion:
How the Fujiwara clan rose to power
Administrative monopoly
Political intrigue - Sei Shonagun

Activity:
History journal

Medieval Japan - Heian Period - Social Structures

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Read-aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin

Discussion:
A highly stratified society
Rank and class
Clergy, nobles, commoners, slaves

Activity:
History journal

Medieval Japan - Heian Period - Literature

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Read-aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin

Discussion:
Invention of the novel - Murasaki Shikibu
Types of poems - Manyoshu (Collection of a Thousand Leaves)
Poetry slam - Sei Shonagun and life in the imperial court

Activity:
History journal
Poetry reading

Medieval Japan - Heian Period - Foundation

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Japan by Barbara A. Somervill
Read-aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin

Discussion:
Moving the capital from Nara to Heian (Kyoto)
Decline of Chinese influence; increasing imperial isolationist policies
Structure of governance - the capital vs. decentralized rule in the provinces

Activity:
History journal
Map study

Medieval Japan - Nara Period

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Japan by Barbara A. Somervill

Discussion:
Emergence of a centralized, imperial court at Nara; mass conversion to Buddhism
Influence of the Tang Dynasty in contemporary China
Smallpox epidemic

Activity:
History journal
Picture study - Art of the Nara and Asuka periods

Medieval Japan - Geography and History Review

Japan by Barbara A. Somervill
Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Read-aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin

Discussion:
Geography of Japan - major islands, mountains, bodies of water, early sites of civilization
The Yayoi (300 BCE - 300 CE)
The Yamatai

Activity:
History journal
Map study