Social Studies: Designing an East Asian Garden

Preparation
Teacher:
Research Web sites and children's books on plants and garden design in China, Korea, and Japan. See Resources.

Materials
East Asian Garden Styles Research Worksheet
East Asian Garden Graphic Organizer
East Asian Design Assignment
11" x 14" white drawing paper
crayons or colored pencils

Activity

1. Direct students to search Web sites or books and answer questions about Japanese, Korean, and Chinese gardens on their East Asian Garden Styles Research Worksheet and East Asian Garden Graphic Organizer. Students will learn the traditional aspects of each type of garden, the type of plants, sculpture, and water features used in the gardens and the cultural, social, and spiritual purpose of different gardens by filling in the East Asian Garden Graphic Organizer.
    
2. Using the East Asian Garden Design Assignment, ask students to use the information found to draw and design a birds' eye view of their own garden containing the assigned elements. Ask students to write a description of their garden, listing its elements, the reasons why they are chosen, and the use of their garden.

Art: Poetry

Background
Poetry, painting, and calligraphy together form the three perfections. The poem needs to have a relationship or link to the painting on the scroll. The poems on the painting Flowers and Insects such as the one below relate to the flowers in the scroll. For example:

Peony - Features by nature beautiful; no need to use cosmetics.

The fifth grade students composed haiku poems to complement the images on their paintings. Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry that often uses nature in its imagery. Each haiku contains seventeen syllables, and follows a pattern of five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. For haiku books, see Resources.

Materials:
black pens
Chinese brushes
watercolors
thin, 12" pieces of bamboo
glue
red yarn

Activity

1. Before having the students write their haiku, read some translated Japanese haiku to them. For example, one haiku by the famous poet Matsuo Basho (1644-94) reads:
   
   Dropping from a leaf
   and flying away
   the firefly
   
   Another haiku by the poet Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), who often used insects in his poems and had a wonderful sense of humor, reads:
   
   Hey! Don't swat:
   the fly wrings his hands
   on bended knees
    
2. Have the students compose a haiku, reminding them that their poems should complement their painted images. One of the haiku poems written by a Hiller student reads:
   
   Little lady bug
   waiting for spring to arrive
   just wait lady bug
    

Student handscroll

Students with their handscrolls

3. Have the students neatly letter their finished haiku in English using a black pen onto their handscroll.
   
   
4. Ask the students to use Chinese brushes and black watercolor or ink to write a Chinese word or phrase in calligraphy onto their handscroll. If students have not already, they may stamp their seal on the scroll using a red ink pad.
    
5. Finishing the handscroll. Glue 12-inch pieces of bamboo to the edges of the paper. (Use white glue since hot glue does not stick to the bamboo). The bamboo allows the scrolls to be rolled for storage (tied with a piece of red yarn). They also lend an element of authenticity to the handscrolls.