Posted By: Kayla Anthony
Posted On: January 13, 2020
The Day of the Western Sun is a curriculum about the first in a series of thermonuclear detonations called Operation Castle. It was tested on March 1st 1954 at 6:45am. The curriculum includes a documentary film and a pamphlet. The documentary tells the story of the three surviving crew members of the fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru. The films presents the story in the style of Kamishibai. Kamishibai is a way to tell a story. Its told through storyboards and a miniature stage. The pamphlet is broken into three sections. The first is the introduction that gives a background into the history of the event, the film, the surviving fishermen, the filmmakers, and the director. Then it includes pre-screening lessons. There are two lessons that are about Nuclear Warfare and US/Japan relations. The last section is the post-screening lessons. These include lessons about history and storytelling. The pamphlet also gives a worksheet for students to fill out as they watch the film.
I teach ESL in a high school, middle school, and elementary school. This is a very informative curriculum. This would be very good to use in a high school history or language arts classroom. I could also use it in an ESL classroom to extend what they are learning in class. In the middle school and elementary schools, the curriculum can be used to learn how to tell Kamishibai style stories. The post lessons include lessons on storytelling and how to make Kamishibai stories.