Important Locations
Themes and Topics
Objectives
Vocabulary
Materials and Resources
Instructional Procedures and Activities
Before even reviewing information about the The Tale of the Heike, students should first read and familiarize themselves with this chapter and the events that let up to this chapter.
Students, right before lecture, should start by refamiliarizing themselves with the stories in this chapter by reading the episode summaries page for chapters 8 and 9 before the lecture begins. This should give a the students a chance to refresh their memories of the chapter and some of the themes.
Then, one should start the lesson by having the map of locations in front of the class and then, using current images, introduce the modern-day locations of the Uji river and Ichi-no-tani, as this would be useful information and it would give the students a chance to be involved with the lecture through images instead of simply being spoken to about the chapter. This information can be found on the Google site under Book 9. On these pages should be some background information: where it is in modern day and it gives an idea of how the landscape plays a role in the battle.
After reviewing the map, students should review the important vocabulary terms as that will give them good background information on objects and ideas in the stories before they are discussed in lecture. This can be done by slides of images of these key terms in order for the students to not only understand but also visualize what is being discussed. Visualization and participation is always key to a meaningful and well received lecture.
Then the purpose of the Take of the Heike should be introduced to the students. The instructor can then continue with lecture under the themes page on the Chapter 9 Google site. Here, students will learn about the important overall themes in this chapter but can also relate these themes to the entire book of The Tale of the Heike. (i.e. Buddhist chants before death, loyalty/honor, sacrifice, etc.) These slides have important parallels and key moments in the chapter as part of the information provided. It would then be good to ask the students to make parallels to modern examples or other, non-Heike historical examples of the themes (What are some famous last stands?, What other famous, female warriors do you know of?, etc…).
It is up to the lecturer to decide when they would like to do this fun activity during the class. It could be done at the beginning, the middle, or the end. There is a Kahoot quiz that is under the Book 9 activities page as part of the Google site that would be a fun, engaging activity for the students. This activity gives you the option to have students either participate individually or as a group. This is up to the instructor’s discretion as to which options they choose to take for the activity. The instructor can use this as a sort of participation grade by making students use their real names as their names on the Kahoot. This quiz can only be graded on a participation basis as the final scores may not properly reflect which students know what information.