Title: Thanksgiving at Obaachan's

Grade Level: 1, 2, 3

Keywords: Gratitude, Jodo Shinshu

Objective:

• Student will gain appreciation for religious, cultural, family heritage and traditions.

Materials:

• Book: Thanksgiving at Obaachan's by Mitsue Brown

• Whiteboard or butcher paper & markers

• Writing paper  & pen/pencil for each student to express the familiy get-together

• Pencil and colored pencils for drawing

Preparation:

• If needed/helpful, preset the writing paper & pencil for each student.

• If using butcher paper, have blue tape to tape the paper to the wall. (please use a flat wall)

Method:

1. Opening Gassho

2. Show the book to the students. Ask if they can guess what the story is about. Ask what does the word "Obaachan" mean? 

3. Read aloud the story, Thanksgiving at Obaachan's. As you read, ask questions: Are there things in the story that remind them about their Thanksgiving/New Year's Day? Define and discuss Japanese words used in the story.

4. Discussion: The young girl in the story tells about her Thanksgiving. Ask "Who do you think the girl is?", "Are you like or different from that girl?" "Why did the author write aoubt her Thanksgiving?" "Is there another important holiday that you celebrate and have a familiy gathering?" "How do you feel about your family gatherings?"

5. Pre-Writing: Reveal that students will be sharing their own stories through writing and drawing. Brainstorm and draw circle maps on the whiteboard or butcher paper.

   1. Which family get-together is important to you? Why? List the events and/or holidays.

   2. Who are the family members that attend?

   3. What are the things that you do at the event? What do you eat? What will you always remember?

6. Writing: have the students write down their answers to the questions above

7. Illustrating: Students can illustrate their stories.

8. Conclusion: Ask each student for their thoughts about the book, their story and the Buddhist message

9. Summarize & Review

10. Closing Gassho

Evaluation:

• During Review, ask the students what were their responses that they found memorable. Then summarize/conclude for the whole group.

Note:

• This lesson may be simplified for early 1st graders and K by having the students simply asking (and writing down on a board) their events and having them illustrate their event.

Author:

Orange County Buddhist Church Dharma School