Providing students with the opportunity to study different cultures increases their global understanding and helps foster tolerance of cultural differences. In this lesson, grade 3-5 students read folk tales from Japan, Wales, and Africa and depict the stories visually for purposes of retelling. Students also research the countries and share a…

This report describes an intervention to improve American kindergarten children's understanding of Japanese culture. The intervention consisted of a curriculum unit presented in a kindergarten class of 14 American and 7 Japanese children in Brookline, Massachusetts. Before and after the intervention, the American children's knowledge of Japanese…

This teaching unit consists of eight folktales from China and Japan, skill-development exercises, and follow-up activities. It is designed for the upper elementary grades (3-6), and is easily adaptable to a broad range of age levels and abilities. It can be used in several curriculum areas, including: (1) social studies on China, Japan or Asia;…