Japan Festival Boston Poster
Thematic unit curriculum in World Language Education organizes learning around central themes, allowing students to explore language and culture in a meaningful and integrated way. By connecting vocabulary, grammar, and cultural content through engaging themes, students can develop language proficiency while making real-world connections. This approach encourages students to think critically, communicate effectively, and gain a deeper understanding of the target language and its cultural context, making language learning both relevant and immersive.
Level 1: Curriculum Map
Unit 2: My Community Circle
Unit 3: My School Community
Unit 4: Technology in My Community
Unit 5: Food for a Healthy Community
Unit 6: Community Art
Level 2: Curriculum Map
Unit 1: Personal & Public Identities
Unit 2: Science & Technology
Unit 3: Contemporary Life
Unit 4: Families & Communities
Unit 5: Global Challenges
Unit 6: Beauty & Aesthetics
Japanese Language Proficiency Test From the Japan Foundation.
Authentic Resource Activities for World Language Teachers A spreadsheet of Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese resources compiled by Julie Caldarone.
Japan National Tourism Organization A tourism available in Japanese, English, and many other languages.
For websites offering authentic resources in a variety of languages, see this website's Resources for Teaching and Learning.
The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus Analysis of the forces shaping the Asia-Pacific and the world.
Japan-Guide.com An English-language tourism site.
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire A website about the PBS program of the same name, containing supplemental resources.
Japan National Tourism Organization A tourism available in Japanese, English, and many other languages.
Nipponia Quarterly Web Magazine A web magazine introducing modern Japan to people all over the world.
Kanji Alive A free study tool for reading and writing kanji.
Collection of Japanese Plans (assembled by Julie Caldarone)
Visualizing Japan From MIT Visualizing Cultures project, these lessons reconstruct Japan's past with historical visual images.