Here is the information my son included in his lapbook:

History

Iwata is history written in Kata Kana.  Japan is an old Country.  Many years ago Japan was part of the Asian Mainland.  It broke off of course and became an Island Nation.  For many years Emperors and Diaymo ruled with the Knights of Japan…The Samurai.  Eventually the English and the Japanese met, with a disastrous outcome.  The Empire was terrified of guns, English clothes, but most of all Christianity, closed Japan and killed off all its Christians. For several hundred years Japan was closed.  When it reopened it modernized.  However, the Pearl Harbor bombing proved that modern and smart are not the same thing.  When America dropped the Atom Bomb World War II was over.  Eventually America gave Japan its Army back.  That is pretty much the History of Japan.

Geography

Japan is a series of Islands off the coast of Asia, or more specifically South Korea, that is separated from it by the Sea of Japan.  They range so long that the bottom most islands are rather tropical and the higher islands are very snowy and cold.

What Are Samuri?

Samurai is Japanese for Warrior.  Imagine that you are in England for a moment.  It is during the time of Knights and Kings.  But then you go East…You are in Wales…Now India…Now, practically at the edge of the world, you are in a  Harbor which in modern days is South Korea.  But you decide to go even further across the sea.  You find yourself on a peaceful Island.  Suddenly men with armor and hideous faces jump you!  Later it becomes apparent that the faces were just mask…You fear the Warriors…Samurai were the Knights of Japan.  They served under the Diaymo , who served under the Emperor himself.  During times of peace the Samuri liked tending to Bonsi garden and writing poems called Haiku.

Manga

Manga is a Japanese style of comic books and drawing.  In Manga the characters can be drawn with different features such as eyes being drawn bigger than other features.  Animated Manga is called Anime.

Japan And Video Games

Japan is a huge part of many lives in America!  How?  Video games!  From  Animal Crossing to Zelda, Japan makes video games!    Video games are a huge market in Japan, bigger than Show Biz!  PS2 to Wii.  (Another video game platform being released later this fall.)  America has Hollywood, Japan has Video Games.  The down side of this is that Japan sometimes gets sequels or remakes that America does not. (Sob!)  An example of this can be found in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, which had the bonuses that the American versions had, plus several new features!

This is the report my son wrote to present at Presentation Day:

The Language

I am learning a second language, Japanese.  I first wanted to learn Japanese for what I am hoping to have as my future career, Video Game Designer and Programmer.  So far I have much to learn.  I can say a few words like “kuruma” which means car, “onichan” which means big brother and “okasan” meaning Mother.  I can count from 1 to 10 – ichi,  ni, san, yon (or) shi, go, roku, nana (or) shichi, hachi, kyu (or) ku, ju. 

I have learned that 3, 5 and 7 are considered lucky numbers.  November 15th the ritual “shichi-go-san” is observed by taking 3, 5 and 7-year-old children in traditional clothing to the Shinto Shrine. The date of the 15th comes from the numbers 7+3+5 which is 15.  “Yon” and “Kyu” as I mentioned have other names.  These names are viewed as unlucky because they are also pronounced exactly like the Japanese words for “shi”  which is death and “ku” which is suffering. 

An important part of the Japanese language is grammar.  If you don’t say the correct word for the correct occasion you will insult someone.  For example:  If you can “konbanwa” before you see Stars in the sky it’s is incorrect and therefore offensive because it means good evening.  There are 3 different words that are used to say hello based on the time of day.  There is also a separate word used as a greeting when you answer a phone.  There is one word used just to say hello, but can only be used with people of your own cultural status.  I suppose it might be safe to use this greeting at precisely noon or midnight also!  (Only kidding!)

Just to show how polite they are there are several words in the Japanese Language we do not even have.  For example “gosymazsu” is just a polite word that has no translation in English.  The would use it to approach someone formally.  For instance if you were addressing very close friend you would just say “ohayo”, but when addressing someone not very close to you or who is not part of your family you would say “ohayo gosymazsu”.  Another example is many people know that “domo arigato” is thank you.  You would only say that to a very close friend or family member.  To others you would say “domo arigato gosymazsu”.    The Japanese people feel that the longer the sentence is the more polite they are being.  Politeness and correct grammar are highly valued in the Japanese culture.  There are many rules that one must follow when speaking Japanese.  For example you may think you would say “konnichiwa gosymazsu” which means good afternoon followed by a very polite word.  However you wouldn’t say that, you would say only “konnichiwa” because “konnichiwa” is already considered a long enough word to be considered polite.

The Japanese language has 3 different forms of written language.  They are Kana, Katakana, Kanji.  The simplest are Kana and Katakana which are almost the same.  Kana is used to write things that Japan has always had and Japanese peoples names.  Katakana is used to write the names of things that were introduced by the outside world and foreigners names.  All characters and sounds of the Japanese language revolve around their vowels. 

        a as in father

        i as in meet

        u as in rude

        e as in say

        o as in go

The result being that when you change a word from English to Japanese it changes some of its sounds.  For instance, the name Grace becomes Garasee. 

The Japanese written symbols originated from when the Chinese first landed in Japan.  Japan was so eager about the newcomers that they changed pretty much everything from their clothing to their spoken language.  The also changed their written language to be like the Chinese symbols and to incorporate Chinese symbols into the written language. Eventually the Japanese were worried that china might be trying to take complete control of them, so they changed it yet again, to almost the language they have now. With the exception of a few symbols being removed from the official symbols and several being added that’s pretty much the written language they have today.

Some of the things I am doing to learn Japanese are listening to  Instant Immersion Japanese tapes, doing online Rosetta Stone Language program, reading books and studying websites.  I am also hoping we can someday host a Japanese Foreign Exchange Student and that I may be able to take Japanese Language Classes. Learning Japanese is more than just learning words.  It is also learning grammar, etiquette and the Japanese culture.  Once you get use to some of the changes it actually gets easier and easier.

Thank you for listening to this presentation or as we would say in Japanese  Domoarigato Gomasymazu, Konnichiwa. 

In the small Library Pockets he has:

My Favorite Japanese Food Is - Sushi
My Favorite Japanese Pop Star Is - Utada
My Favorite Japanese Video Game Is - Kingdom Hearts
My Favorite Japanese Word Is - Inu (Dog)

He has "My Favorite..." part written on the outside of the pocket and then when you pull out the card he has the answer written and a picture of each item. 

It is hard for me to believe after re-reading all this that this is the same child I thought I would NEVER get book reports out of!  Since we started lapbooking he has just bloomed with his writing.  I think it is less intimidating than a dry report.  I m very pleased with the outcome whatever the reasons might be!

Long Live Lapbooking! LOL