1. Brief introduction to this lesson - agenda (5 min.)
* Talk about what we are going to do in class today (learning about Japanese popular music, watching videos, answering a survey, etc.).
* What do you know about Japanese popular music? How do you think it sounds like?
* What is your image of Japanese popular music?
[My main theme in this lesson is to break students' stereotyped images of Japanese popular music. I hope this lesson changes their misunderstanding of Japanese modern culture.]
2. General information of Japanese music culture (10 min.)
* Pass around some music magazines, CD albams and singles, pamphlets, etc.
* Guessing prices of CD albams and singles in Japan.
* What do Japanese high school students listen to?
* Answer any questions that students might have.
[Seeing and touching Japanese magazines and CDs is going to be their first hand-on experience. They should be able to find some English words on those magazines and CDs. It is also a good opportunity for them to try to read Japanese characters on them.]
3. Introducing 10 popular music bands/groups in Japan today (30 min.)
* At first, use overhead to introduce each group/band characteristics. ** Please see hand-out sheet 1**
* Ask students to read the characteristics aloud.
* Then use VCR to show students how the group or the band performs and looks like. ** Please see hand-out sheet 2**
* Students should focus mainly on stage settings, color lights, fashion, makeup, and hairstyle in the video.
* Let students speak up what they think about each band/group after seeing each video clip.
* Repeat this 10 times for 10 fifferent groups/bands.
["Seeing is believing." It is more effective to show students videos than describing a group/band in 100 words. They should be able to find differences in American and Japanese music cultures in many ways.]
4. Feedback and survey (10 min.)
* Students are going to answer a short survey. ** Please see hand-out sheet 3**
* Discuss what they have found in this lesson.
* Focus on the question, "Did your image of JAPOP (Japanese popular music is called JAPOP in Japan) change?"
* Compare and contrast the images that they had before and after this lesson.
* What did you learn about JAPOP?
* What is different from American popular music?
[Now, this is the time for students to express what they found and learned in this lesson. They can create and speak up their discoveries and thoughts. They should be able to concrete a new image of JAPOP in their mind by this time.]
Japanese Lesson Plan (Part 1): JAPOP #1 (10/8/99)
