2013 IIME REPORTCountry [United States]
School[ Scales Mound Junior High School ] Teacher [ Karen Kelly ]JP School [ Tokiwa JHS] Teacher [ Chieko Abegrade ( 8 )student number (15 )]# Subjects, Activities and Times of the lessons
Subject
Conception of the lesson

Times
ChapterSocial Studies

Geography of Japan

Social Studies

History of Japan

Social Studies

Japan today – cultural understanding

1 weekSocial Studies

Describing United States culture (our views and how others view us)

2 daysfrom text
Chapterfrom text

# Theme and Message of the mural
Theme

Cultural understanding

Message

Cultural understanding, comparing similarities of Japanese and American culture# Effects and the Problems
Effects your students have gained

Points for further improvement

The students learned about types of food, games, andinterests. They also learned that teens are very similar all
around the world. Students identified how to describe theUnited States culture and how other people view ourpeople and country. The students were very proud of thecompleted mural and are excited about the mural returning
to Japan.

# Have you made your activity open in your school or in your local area? How was their reaction or reputation?
PR you did inside/out of your school
Reaction/reputation from around
Local newspaper wrote an article about the program and We have received many positive comments from otherincluded a picture of the students with the mural. The students, staff, and community members. Parents ofschool newsletter included picture and an article, I also put the students also said to me how proud they are of theiran article and many pictures on my web page. The mural children and the mural. The class told me they had fun
hung in the school hallway for public viewing for 2 weeks. and think we should do the activity every year.
This is the area of the building where most people from thepublic enter.

# Flow of the Activity
ContentMonthIntroduction

Research

September

October

Composition

October

Painting

DecemberJanuary

Appreciation

January
February

What you did
Posted messages on forum
and mailed letters ofintroduction with pictures
Taught textbook chapters on
geography, history, and Japan
today. Led a discussion
activity on understanding theUnited States culture. Also
shared my travel experiences inJapan (2009) Students createda video explaining ideas about
the United States culture andthen sent the youtube link to
our partner school
We sent messages about how to
divide the mural. Started
drawing ideas. But did not
finalize ideas until the muralarrived.
Students worked on theirindividual designs, some chose
to work during lunch time
instead of going to recess
The completed mural hung in
the hallway for students,
teachers, and community tosee. We included a descriptionof each students painting
explaining why they selected
the item to explain culture.

Your students attitude/reflection
Students were excited to receive letters fromour partner school, they were nervous about
introducing themselves in a letter and worked
very hard making sure grammar and spellingwere correct
Students were very interested in learning andcomparing the culture of the United States toJapan

Students were excited about making a planand communicating with partner school

They enjoyed the casualness of class andwere very amazed, and proud, of how beautiful
the painting turned out. They did not believe
they were capable of painting artwork sowonderful
We were sad to mail the mural back to ourpartner school. We were excited to share
our work but sad we would not have it hanging
in our school any more. We loved thefinished mural

Subject
SocialStudiesclass

SocialStudiesclass

SocialStudiesclass
SocialStudies
class
SocialStudiesclass# Aim of the Lessons and Result
Aim: Rank A to C in order you put emphasis on (A: very much/ B: much / C: not so much)
Result: Rank 5 to 1 (5: very effective / 4: effective / 3: so- so / 2: not so effective / 1: not effective at all)

Expected Effect

Aim

ResultUnderstanding our owncultures

A5

Understanding theother’s cultures

A5A3C3A

4A

5

Attitude in learning

A4Expression ability

A4

Appreciation ability

A5Communication ability
in the class/with partners

IT skills
Creating friendshipin the class/with partners

Collaborationin the class/with partners

How your students have reached itStudents created a wonderful video explaining our culture andselected individual items that mirrored the Japanese item to explain
culture. Example: hamburger and sushi
Sharing information in the forum site, pictures, cards, gifts from ourpartner school showing culture
Students often needed a little encouragement to write more details.
They wanted to just send 1 or 2 sentences, not complete information
Forum posts were shared in class
By posting on forum site and sending cards
Working together as a class designing the mural ideas and painting,working with partner school to decide how to plan the muralStudents were excited to learn about the Japanese culture, I think it
helps that I have traveled to Japan and had wonderful experiences toshare with my students
Encouraging students, working closely with them and giving them
advice on how to paint details and mix paint colors
Talking about the meaning of the painting and complementing the finework completed by the students