4-1 (98) Especally and for famles ther e 1998 by Unversal Press Syndcate By BETTY DEBNAM from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam @1998 Unversal Press Syndcate The Host Country of the Wnter Olympcs All About Japan The Wnter Olympcs wll take place Feb. 7-22 n Nagano (NA-gahno), Japan. Ths mountanous regon n the mddle of the slands s known as "the roof of Japan." 4k-- ----==- -- -=-=... --=. = 7 ) ( Rce s the most mportant food n Japan. Modern machnes help Japan rase all the rce t needs... -;- NAGANO 9 9 Many toursts vst Mount Fuj, Japan's hghest mountan. 8 Q5e9 Mountans cover 68 percent of the land. Most of the 120 mllon people lve n the flat area along the east coast and n the south. One out of every 10 of the Earth's volcanoes s n Japan. @1 993 NAOC TM NAOC 7-{)01 Japan s n the Pacfc Ocean, off the coast of the contnent of Asa. Japan s one of the most crowded countres n the world. t s about one twenty-ffth the sze of the Unted States. t s a lttle smaller than Calforna. Japan has many earthquakes. Kds even \ have earthquake drlls at A school Japan also has typhoons, or,./:'1',,/',. bg storms, n the sprng and summer. 8 Japan's four large slands make up 98 percent of the country. There are more than 6,800 smaller ones. Only 14 percent of the land s sutable for farmng, so farmers must get the most out of t. Most of the land, 67 <, percent, s covered by forest. Japan s a powerful manufacturng country. t exports products such as cars, rados, televsons, cameras and computers..' Tokyo About one-fourth of all of the people lve n or around Tokyo, the captal. The flag has a whte background wth a red crcle. Japan's cherry blossoms are a symbol of the new begnnngs that sprng brngs. There are more than 200 types.
4-2 (98) More About Japan, the Olympc Host _ Food Rce and fsh are very mportant parts of the det. Sush, whch conssts of slces of raw fsh on top of rce, s popular. - t:e;::;eaf fred chcken. They also enjoy spaghett, noodles and rce dshes. & " Clothes from ours. They mght serve rce, soup, fsh and pckled vegetables. Most young eat bread and drnk juce for breakfast. At school, the kds eat lunch n ther classrooms. Students help serve the meals. Tea s the most popular drnk n _ fa;s:a:o: ;ly A Japan. t s served hot wth no sugar meals so the dners can see what they wll look lke. added. A thcker green tea s sometmes served at a specal ceremony. from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam @ 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate Mn Spy., Japan s wellknown for a type of theater, called "kabuk," where performers wear specal := makeup and tradtonal costumes. tv :ttt:a;eert Many fnd travelng by tran s a good way to get. around the -g '" crowded rjl tll!l slands. "- Japan s famous for ts speedy "bullet" trans. Some of them can go as fast as 180. mles per hour. e Theater Japan must mport much of ts food. Supermarkets have foods brought n from all over the world. A famly gathers around a dnng table. _ Trans Mn Spy and her frends are havng a pcnc n Japan under the cherry trees. See f you can fnd: kte leaf goose safety pn number 2 caterpllar frog fsh elephant's head letter A word MN letter E m p.;; kmono Most wear the same type of clothes that we do. On specal occasons, the women mght wear the tradtonal dress, the kmono. Ths flowng robe s wrapped around and ted wth a specal sash called an ob. Specal sandals and socks are also worn wth the kmonos. \J:': MnA"PAmN unv:;; s:ate ThJe \\ou 1998 FND Words about Japan are hdden n the block below. Some words are hdden backward or dagonally. See f you can fnd: JAPAN, JAPANESE, OLYMPCS, NAGANO, TOKYO, MOUNTANS, RCE, SLANDS, FSH, FELDS, CHOPSTCKS, BEAUTY, SUMO, WRESTLNG, BOW, NDUSTRY, SNOW, TEMPLES, SEA. N S K CT S P 0 H C WW R A S J SSE A B J T B N F R C X G LAN K U E A E T D F E D P C A A P 0 V A P M 0 U S BOWENNAWUAPKSST F RC E 0 D N T N L Y T H L G S D LE F S Y E E 0 R R S N A T N U 0 M S SlY S N J SC P M Y L 0 E 0 MUS G
4-3 (98) Bg deas n Geography ntroduces kds to fve key ponts to remember about geography: locaton, place, how people react and sometmes change ther envronment, movement and regons. Have fun learnng all about maps, foregn places, the envronment and the geography ABCs wth pctures, puzzles and to-do projects n ths Mn Page Resource Book. 'b order, send check or money order for $4.95 plus $1 postage and handlng per copy to: Bg deas n Geography, P.O. Box 419242, Kansas Cty, MO 64141. Make checks payable to Andrews McMeel Publshng. \ Go dot to dot and color. 10 J 5 30 26, Buddhsm s one of the most \nportant relgons J..t!. n Japan. t was founded n nda by a teacher.wha>went by the name ofllufdha. / CJ J7 20 31 2.' \ 23-22 Debnam C 1998 Unversal Press S ndcate The Mn Page Presdents of the Unted States Poster Q: What dd the duck say when he went shoppng? A: "Put t on my bll!" Q: f an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what does garlc do? A: t keeps everyone away! (all jokes sent n by Brttany Parks) from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate Rooke Cooke's Recpe Rce Balls from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam @ 1998 Unversal Preas Syndcate Rce balls are popular treats. The eat them at home, n restaurants and at pcncs. You must use rce, whch s found n many grocery stores. Ths s a good recpe to make n your classroom. You'll need: 1 cup rce, uncooked 2 cups water What to do: 1. Wash rce n water (not the 2 cups used n cookng). Dran well. 2. Place n a medum saucepan. 3. Add water. Cover and brng to a bol over hgh heat. 4. Keep covered and lower to medum. Cook 10 mnutes. 5. Lower heat to low and cook 10 mnutes. Do not str. 6. After rce has cooled, shape nto small balls. Sprnkle salt or sesame seeds on the outsde. Favorte sports n Japan Martal arts Golf nc;ludes every presdent n c;hronologc;al order, from Washngton to Clnton, wth the dates that eac;h held offc;e Handsome reproduc;tons of engraved portrats An attrac;tve educ;atonal referenc;e To';d;;, ';nd$3."oo-;=7s;';;t; e7nd"h.:'d:gfor'7ach c:;y:"'"se':! -:;::=k;'"oe;;;;- - - Martal arts, or the "self- Space s so scarce for practce payable to: Andrews and McMeel, P.O. Box 419242, Kansas Cty, Mssour, 64141. defense sports," are very popular. These ranges n the Tokyo area that golfers Please send copes of The Mn Page Presdents of the Unted States Poster (tem # 9939-6) at $3.75 each, h' b ff h 'b 'd' h L ncludng postage and handlng. (Bulk dscount nformaton avalable upon request.) nclude karate (pctured t a s 0 e ts n U ngs t at Name above), judo and kendo are two stores hgh. Address L Cty State Zp (fencng wth bamboo stcks), Baseball and soccer are -.- also popular, :. ',
4-4 (98) Release Date: J anuary 24-30 from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate More About Japan Most students wear blue unforms. Young kds wear brght caps so they can be seen n traffc. Government 00 (8 Japan s a democracy. The ::'egnrrtc!!ethe Det. t meets n ths buldng n Tokyo, the captal. (8) r:a::r:d :tn1947, emperor. Today, the emperor does not have any lawmakng power. He and the mperal famly lve n the 'mperal palace n Tokyo. A yellow flower wth 16 petals s the symbol of the mperal famly. kds Students start each school year n Aprl. At home The kds take off ther shoes when they arrve and put on slppers. People also take off ther shoes at home. Keepng the school clean s the students' job. They scrub and clean the halls, restrooms,.,...,<o classrooms and '-- schoolyards. kds have to work extra-hard to learn ''kanj,'' or wrtten characters. These symbols are used nstead of spellng The character out words. Before fnshng for tree th ' h grade, kds must e sxt learn more than 1,000 of them. Ktes shaped lke carp, a type of fsh, are flown on Chldren's Dayan May 5. Famles fly one kte for each male. Grls are honored at a Doll Festval held March 3. and goes to about 3:30 p.m. Saturday classes are over by noon. Ther classes are large, wth 30 to 40 n each room. Most study Englsh from the seventh grade up. :; famles eat at tables just lke ours, others mght eat at tables very close to the floor. : l l:!!m!:..:::'.. :k f:: r8 e llllll famles. Snce students have to pass hard exams f they are to get nto certan schools, many take extra classes after school and on the weekends. (8) Snce Japan s such a crowded country, homes are smaller than ours. Rooms often serve several purposes. Most rooms have sldng doors that can be closed or opened to dvde them. Whle some people sleep n beds, others sleep on soft mattresses called futons. These can be folded up and put away durng the day. n ths way, the bedroom at nght can become a lvng or dnng room durng the day. tv ::tn khv7 Young kds watch about two hours of TV a day. They also enjoy vdeo games. Many of these are popular n the Unted States. Comc books are popular wth adults as well as chldren. baths are very dfferent from those n Amerca. Bathers st on a stool and use a hose whle they wash. Then they get nto a tub and soak. They don't change the water between bathers. The last bather pulls the plug! lllll1lw A ste to see: Here's a good ntroducton to Japan. http://jnjcc.or.jp/kdsweb/ The Mn Page thanks the nformaton and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, for help wth ths ssue. Next week: Read all about the Olympc Wnter Sports.
.,.-..,. "". 4-5 (98) Let's vst Japan ' Tht n t!; 0 '998 by Un".... ' Pre,: Syndloa'. m by Betty Debnam Appearng n your newspaper on from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate ht"j : 1998 by Unversal Press Syndcate Teacher's Gude For use by teachers and parents at home and at school. For use wth ssue: All About Japan Man dea: Ths ssue s about J apan. The follog s a lst of actvtes to be used wth ths ssue. They are lsted n order of dffculty, wth the easer pre-reader :ll assgnments lsted frst. Ask the chldren to do the followng: 1. Look through the sports secton of your newspaper for pctures of sports. Are 5 any of them Olympc sports? 2. Draw a pcture of a place n your area that you would lke to show a J apanese chld. (For example, a park, a tourst attracton or your school.) 3. Dscuss the followng: What do you thnk t would be lke to vst J apan? f you were to vst there, what would you most lke to see and do? How s Japan dfferent @ from the Unted States? What are some nterestng thngs you learned from ths c: ssue? Do you plan to watch the Olympcs on TV? What sport do you most want to see? Why? 4. Pretend you have an J apanese pen pal. What fve questons would you lke to ask hm or her about lfe n J apan?!: 5. Fnd J apan on a globe or world map. Whch country s closest to t? How does t l compare n sze to your state? 6. Fnd the followng words n ths ssue: regon, democracy, typhoons, unforms, exports, futons, contnent, emperor. Defne and make up a new sentence for each one. 7. Look through your newspaper for artcles on Japan. from The Mn Page by Betty Debnam 1998 Unversal Press Syndcate Gus Goodsport'SReport Supersport n Japan Sumo wrestlng Sumo wrestlng s Japan's natonal sport. t s a test of strength and balance. Two huge wrestlers, some weghng up to 550 pounds, try to push each other down or out of a 5-foot hard drt crcle covered wth sand. The bouts are short, some lastng only seconds. Before each bout, t s the custom that wrestlers throw salt nto the rng. Lke our top athletes, sumo wrestlers make a lot of money. (Note to Edtor: Above s camera-ready, one columnby-414-nch ad promotng ssue 4.) (Note to Edtor: Above s the Teacher's Gude for ssue 4.) (Note to Edtor: Above s copy block for Page 3, ssue 4, to be used n place of ad f desred.)