Students will exchange thoughtful letters with English learners in Japan to discover how culture, identity, school, and everyday life shape communication and perspective. They will analyze a Japanese literary work, research focused cultural questions, and use collaborative discussions to challenge assumptions and build understanding. Through drafting, peer feedback, revision, and digital publication, students will communicate with empathy, build on their partners’ ideas, and reflect on what creates authentic cross-cultural conversation.

Students will write, revise, and digitally exchange thoughtful letters that invite authentic conversation about culture, identity, school, and everyday life with peers in Japan. They will analyze how cultural experiences and points of view are represented in Japanese literature and compare those perspectives with information gathered through letters and focused research. Students will collaborate in discussions, listen with empathy, build on others’ ideas, and use peer and teacher feedback to communicate clearly for an international audience. Through regular reflection, students will assess their growth in English, cross-cultural understanding, problem-solving, collaboration, and self-directed learning.

Students will create a researched cultural profile and analyze how a Japanese literary text reflects a particular perspective or cultural experience. They will draft, revise, and digitally exchange two thoughtful letters about culture, identity, school, and everyday life, using respectful questions and details that invite genuine conversation. Pairs will maintain a collaboration journal that records new learning, feedback, communication challenges, and revisions to their thinking. For the final product, students will co-create a multimedia “What We Discovered” exhibit featuring letter excerpts with permission, cultural comparisons, and individual reflections on cross-cultural understanding.

Begin with a gallery walk featuring a short Japanese literary excerpt, student-created school-life images, and everyday objects; students record what each source reveals about perspective and separate evidence from assumptions. In small groups, students compare their own daily experiences, choose topics they genuinely want to explore, and develop respectful questions using sentence frames, visuals, and bilingual resources as needed. Introduce the essential questions about how letter exchanges can reveal culture, identity, school, and daily life; what makes a thoughtful cross-cultural letter; and how communication builds understanding between English learners. Groups then co-create a brief class introduction and question set to share with the partner class, followed by individual reflections on what they hope to learn and contribute.

Host a cross-cultural gallery where students display selected, permission-approved letter excerpts, cultural research, and analyses connecting their exchanges to a Japanese literary text. In small teams, students present what they discovered about culture, identity, schools, daily life, and the qualities that helped their letters spark thoughtful conversations. Invite families, school staff, and the partner class in Japan to join in person or virtually, ask questions, and share perspectives. Conclude with student reflections on how feedback, collaboration, and sustained letter writing changed their understanding of communicating across cultures.