Mini projects

 

This is a collection of ideas for simple exchange projects.  They are mainly intended for teachers in Japan whose students want to send something that will give their British counterparts a clearer idea about their lives and interests.  The projects can all be adapted to give students some kind of language learning practice.  An advantage of these projects is that they can be completed by the home school without too much involvement from the partner school. Children in the partner school act as an audience for the work produced.

The Japan Forum	Music Send a tape with some of your favourite songs on it.  You can send copies of the lyrics and try and translate them into your partner's language. Participating schools Toki Shougyou Koutou Gakkou and Kings` school Online resources Famous Personages in Japan: This site contains a list of famous people in Japan.  The information about the stars is written in English by Japanese university students http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/famous/ J-seek.com You can get access to romanised versions of recent Japanese pop songs at this site http://www.j-seek.com/
	Kanji Send students in your partner school some Japanese calligraphy.  You can write names in either kanji or katakana.  You might have to use your imagination a bit to find a kanji that fits.  For example, the original kanji on the left is supposed to represent a first name that is popular in Scotland. Any guesses? Online resources   Mizutani, Norimichi This site contains examples of different styles of calligraphy  http://www.gctv.ne.jp/~suko/usa-index.html
	T-shirt design This is already a popular activity among e-link schools.  Send an original t-shirt design to your partner school.  Designs with Japanese writing on them look particularly good!  Once your partner school receives the designs, they make the t-shirts and send them back to you. Participating schools Shibutami Junior High School and Rawlett School
The Japan Forum	Origami Send some origami to your partner school along with explanations of how it was made. Online resources Joseph Wu's Origami Page  One of many resources on the Internet related to origami.  http://www.origami.vancouver.bc.ca/
The Japan Forum	Greeting cards Send greeting cards to your partner school at different times of the year.  Participating schools Kyouhoku senior high school and Castle Hall school Online resources Animated Cards for Kids:  You can send electronic greeting cards from this site.  It is all in English and the occasions included are holidays that are celebrated in the west such as Halloween and Christmas. Post pet: This site produced by Sony has pages in English and in Japanese http://www.ap.sonystyle.com/postpet/postpet/index.html Topics online: A list of holidays and celebrations from around the world. http://www.rice.edu/projects/topics/internatl/holidays/festivals.htm