The Japan Teaching Module consists of two geography components, as well as components in world history and physical science. This module is designed to be used in educational methods courses, institutes and workshops for practicing teachers, and in introductory human and physical geography, physical science, and world history high school and undergraduate survey courses. The four components include three common features: authors designed each component to encompass a relatively short (one to two week range) amount of classroom or outside study time, each component contains content and digital material particularly applicable to classrooms, and each contains additional resources on particular topics for interested educators or students.

Module authors are all University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty. Craig R. Laing (Japanese Cultural Landscapes) and Alice L.Tym (Centripetal Forces in Japan) are, respectively, Associate Professor and Instructor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography. Lucien Ellington (Japan in World History) is Co-Director of the Asia Program. Sandra Watson (Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Atomic Bombings and Resultant Biological Effects of Radiation) is Associate Professor in the Teacher Preparation Academy. Michael J. Wade served as technical consultant and module designer.

We are indebted to the four external reviewers of this module who provided invaluable suggestions to the authors: E. Taylor Atkins (Northern Illinois University), Ronald Kalafsky (The University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Carlysle Meek (Delta State University) and Richard Rice (The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga). The Lupton Renaissance Fund of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga generously provided financial support to develop the material on this site.

This module is dedicated to the memory of Professor Stephen LeWinter. Professor LeWinter was an enthusiastic member of our team who, sadly, never finished a planned art component due to his untimely death.

Lucien Ellington
Module Project Director

Component 1: Japanese Cultural Landscapes

This component is designed to supplement curriculum in introductory human geography, world regional geography, and regional Asia/Japan geography courses. It is hoped that the many photographs in this component will be used by teachers at all levels to teach about Japan and illustrate basic concepts of cultural geography.

Component 2: Centripetal Forces in Japan

This geography component will give students an opportunity to learn useful geographical terms, apply factual information, and analyze why Japan is a relatively cohesive society compared to many other countries. The specific terms used in this exercise are relative location, nation-state and centripetal forces. Japan's relative location is its regional position or situation relative to the position of other places. It has relatively strong centripetal forces which bind the country together to make a strong nation-state.

Component 4: Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Atomic Bombings and Resultant Biological Effects of Radiation

This component of the module is designed for middle grades and high school science methods students, students enrolled in introductory college physics or physical science courses, and high school physics and physical science students. Some parts of this component could also be useful to high school and introductory college level biology students.