Tanabata: Japanese Star Festival-Great First Week of School Activity

I came across this book through Amy Pfitzner at O Fortuna Orff Blog. I had no idea this festival existed but it seems like a great activity to do at the beginning of the year when we make wishes for the year. It is also a great way to talk about this summer's Olympic games and learn something new about the country which hosted them. 

In this story, Orihime, the emperor's daughter becomes separated from her love Hiroboshi but on this day the two stars finally unite. The holiday of Tanabata is about making wishes, hanging up colorful decorations and eating delicious food. To purchase the book, click here.

This is a great lesson not only about this beautiful Japanese holiday but can also get students to think about what they wish for this year. Since I love to feature books with accompanying poetry, I wrote a poem to accompany this book as well, which I turned into a speech piece. 

I also composed a speech piece for this poem which students can do in two parts using instruments. It is also a great way to introduce or review triplets. Here is a short snippet of the speech. For the rest of the lesson, please click here.

Hope this helps you to start your year off on the right foot! If you need more activities, please feel free to visit Amy's blog (listed above) for some more activities with this book and topic.

Wishing you a successful start to your year,

​Polina