Lesson Plan I: Create a Travel Guide

Introduction to Students:

Imagine you are in Tokyo. You have been looking forward to trying out various Japanese food, and sure enough, there are so many different kinds of food here. You have decided that as you explore the food here, you will create a travel guide so that you can tell about the food you find interesting to others. Explore virtual Tokyo and collect information that you include in the travel guide.

Time:

This lesson is intended for three 45-minute periods.

Preparation:

Teacher registration:

If you want to let your students use the notepad, the tool that your students can use to take notes on what they find as they explore virtual Tokyo, you need to register your students. If you do not want your students to use the notepad, you do not have to register, and have your students log in as guests.

If you want to register:

1. Click “Register your class” in the homepage
2. Register the teacher
3. Register your student as groups: the optimal size of groups is 4 students. Give group names and passwords that are easy to remember. These names and passwords are for identifying the saved information that students collect over multiple exploration sessions, not for the purpose of security.

Day 1 (the first 45 minute period)

Explore virtual Tokyo: <Instruction to students> Today is the first day of your Tokyo exploration with your group members. You will meet with your group members and assign each member a role. Then look around virtual Tokyo. Do you see anything you want to include in the travel guide?

• Form groups of 4
• Go to the URL that your teacher gives you.
• (optional) Your teacher gives you a group name and group password. Login using that information.
• See learners’ roles page and assign each member a role (geographer, historian, culinary specialist, and ethnographer)
• Understand what kind of information you collect for your roles
• Begin your exploration (go to Explore virtual Tokyo) First, find Japan on the world map.
• Each member at least spends 5 minutes at the computer (other members watch) and share what he or she is finding from the casual exploration for inclusion in the travel guide
• Pick one dish from each scene to include in your travel guide.

Day 2 (the second 45 minute period)

Research about Japanese food and eating places: <instruction to students> Now that you are more familiar with the different places in the virtual Tokyo, serious investigation begins. You accumulate information that you think you want to include in your travel guide, then write up an exciting travel guide that will help foreign tourists in Tokyo.

• Collect information for your role
• Inform others of the useful information for their roles if you see any
• Select information that you want to include your travel guide
• Write your travel guide using the information you have collected
• Add any personal comments, too

Day 3 (the third 45 minute period)

Present! <instruction to students> As a group, present your travel guide. Include the following information.

• Three dishes you wrote about.
• The reason why you picked those dishes
• Important features about the food from the following perspectives (do not have to include all):
  • description of food
  • ingredients and cooking methods (recipes)
  • history
  • nutrition
  • interesting facts about the food
  • comparison with other food familiar to you
  • preparation process
  • your personal comments

Submit!: Go to Submit Report page and submit your students’ work to share. Now people around the world can view your students’ work!