Menu
close
Anonymous.
AnonymousThe hobbling in "The Izu Dancer" by Yaunari Kawabata is that from foot binding or the effects of her dancing?
This would be an interesting story to read with my students. I enjoy the hints and questions on the side to help steer their focus.
Anonymous@lchisholm - I don't think that the hobbling was from foot binding. As far as I know, foot binding was not practiced in Japan. The Japanese even went as far as to ban foot binding when they took over Taiwan.
This was a great, sad story. It highlights the problems problems of relationships between class divisions - not unlike Romeo and Juliet. I do not know if the the author was in love with the little dancer, but there was definitely a connection between them. I could see myself pairing this with Romeo and Juliet in my classroom in a hope to show my class that Asian writing discusses the same basic principles as western writing.
AnonymousAs I've stated, most of my students are second language learners and those who aren't tend to be low-level readers. I have found great success with using graphic novels with my students. Think about how each of us learned to read - through picture books. The use of graphic novels allows for students to engage in complex storylines which pose complex dilemmas for their characters and do not make students feel like they are choosing "dummy" books - those small picture books made for low-level readers about Athletes. I feel my job as the teacher is to encourage students to consume these as outside reading and to provide non-fiction readings to help them understand the plots or character motivation - scientific research on whether or not people do fall in love at first sight. I will definitely be looking into investing in some Japanese "literature" and suggest to my librarian that the school do the same. P.S. There's been research done to suggest that showing movies with closed captions also increases student literacy - students hate it at first but then come to enjoy it.
AnonymousIt's never ceases to amaze me how little I know and how much there is to learn about. I love sitting in a lecture and having a little aww moment when I find out what something I have always seen but never thought twice about means. Growing up and to this day my favorite restaurant in the mall is Edo Japan it's neat to know its named after the original capital of Japan that is now Tokyo.
cgao"In a Grove" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
"The Izu Dancer" by Yasunari Kawabata
"Kokoro" excerpt by Natsume Soseki
Folks - we're having trouble uploading to the forum at the moment. If you're anxious to read this in the interim, Google Books has Kokoro here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=2ZdpBbNZajIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=kokoro&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eaH5Ub2gJYrhiAK-0oGwDg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=kokoro&f=false The excerpt Prof. Miyake chose is the start of the book, pages 1-37. The chapter name is "Sensei and I."
Another way: http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=BWJ0YZHaY-IC&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&source=gbs_atb&pg=GBS.PA6
Akutagawa's "In a Grove": http://fullreads.com/crime/in-a-grove-by-ryunosuke-akutagawa/ (web, 6 pages)
Kawabata's "The Izu Dancer" http://www.goodreads.com/ebooks/download/14030.The_Dancing_Girl_of_Izu_and_Other_Stories?doc=28653 (pdf download 1.1 mb)
(Also: http://books.google.com/books?id=MuYMT5Ar1HMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)
edited by Clay Dube on 7/31/2013
AnonymousI also think using graphic novels helps students increase their literacy. Using many, many, different forms of literature...even labels on commercial products, can help students make connections in all areas of learning. I think students can better understand the world. I've thought of using excerpts from the graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman in connection with the novel Night by Eli Wiesel. When students see and read narratives in many different presentations and forms of writing, it makes them more open to the many, many ways of understanding something. Now that I know there are some serious themes behind the story lines of the magna graphic novels, I'm going to check out some novels that have similar themes that my students can focus on and at the same time be exposed to a new form of literature.