Momotaro and Japanese values

1. Mr. Verlin South Philadelphia High School September 29, 2014 Momotaro and Japanese values

2. Preliminaries • Momotaro first appeared in the story “Momotaro: Boy of the Peach”: “‘Wait, old man! Don’t cut me!’ it cried, and before the surprised old man and woman could say a word, the beautiful big peach broke in two, and a sweet little boy jumped out from inside. The old man and woman were so surprised they could only raise their hands and cry out, ‘Oh, oh! My goodness!’” (Holt World Literature, p. 44). • Respond to the following prompt in their journals: “Explain how the image of Momotaro differs from stereotypical images commonly associated with heroes (such as Theseus or Superman).”

3. Objective: • The students will be able to define how elements of the Momotaro folk story reveal Japanese values.

4. Focus Lesson: Momotaro… • Stories often come alive when they’re read aloud. Last lesson, listened to the Theseus story read from audio. We noted some of his heroic qualities. Today, we will be taking turns reading the Momotaro story aloud. By the time we finish, be able to compare and contrast Theseus’s heroism with Momotaro’s.

5. Focus Lesson: Identifying… • Divide into small groups of 3 or 4. • Make a T-chart comparing the heroism of Theseus with Momotaro. • Each group will report out.

6. Homework • Read the “Jason and Medea” handout. Be ready to discuss Medea’s guilt or innocence by Monday’s class.