Tokugawa Japan: Multiple Voices, Multiple Views

“The wealth of information was like receiving a treasure chest of goodies.” — 6th grade teacher from Seattle, WA

“Fabulous presentations with many visuals and hands on activities.” — 5th grade teacher from Spokane, WA

“This was my first seminar of this nature. So fun and enjoyable! I can’t wait to come back!” — 4th grade teacher from Murfreesboro, TN

Teaching about China and Japan in Your Classroom

This seminar focused on integrating essential knowledge about China and Japan into geography, history, language arts, and art units. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were addressed as we developed sample activities and explored ways to integrate content.

Artists Respond to 20th Century East Asian History and Culture

‘Artists Respond’ explored the events of the turbulent 20th century from the perspective of visual artists from China, Japan and Korea. Throughout this period of great conflict, arts have been employed and mobilized to reflect the ever-changing political, economic, and social landscape of East Asia.

East Asia: Great Traditions and Modern Transformations

The seminar offered sessions on the history and culture of China, Japan, and Korea–traditional and modern–plus demonstrations of nationally recognized curriculum resources for teaching about East Asia.

Book Club — Eating Bitterness: Stories from the Front Lines of China’s Great Urban Migration

Teachers met for an evening discussion inspired by the book ‘Eating Bitterness: Stories from the Front Lines of China’s Great Urban Migration’ by Michelle Dammon Loyalka, which deals with the hopes, struggles, and perseverance of Chinese migrants leaving the countryside and looking for a better life in urban China.

Aki Matsuri Teacher Workshop

K-12 teachers were invited to participate in a half-day workshop at the 2014 Aki Matsuri (Japanese Fall Festival) on the Bellevue College campus. The workshop drew on festival themes and current issues and was designed to share creative ideas for teaching about Japanese culture, past and present.

Write About Asia — New Worlds of Science: The Heritage of East Asia

‘New Worlds of Science: The Heritage of East Asia’ was offered in conjunction with the Saturday University lecture series at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Educators attended public lectures and then met for a writing workshop with Mary Barber Roberts. During the workshop, time was given to solitary writing in the art galleries in response to the morning lecture. The group then reconvened to share working drafts.

Book Club — Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the 21st Century

Before meeting, teachers read Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century by Orville Schell and John Delury, published in 2013 by Random House. Through a series of absorbing portraits of iconic modern Chinese leaders and thinkers, two of today’s foremost specialists on China provide a panoramic narrative of this country’s rise to preeminence that is at once analytical and personal.

East Asian Author Study Workshop: Children’s Literature and Young Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction

This East Asian Author Study workshop explored the intersection between literature and culture. Teachers of grades K-12 gained new ideas, resources, and approaches to examine the culture and literature of China, Japan, and Korea. Each participant in the East Asian Author Study chose an author appropriate for the grade level they teach and read and studied that author independently over the course of a month.

Reading Spaces and Places: Exploring East Asian Cities through the Visual and Literary Arts

‘Reading Spaces and Places’ examined major cities in China, Japan and Korea across different eras to witness the emergence of these political and cultural centers as they responded to shifting politics, religious traditions, foreign incursions and natural disasters.