Download Create a Family Crest

Create a Family Crest
Grade Level
This lesson is intended for the first grade. It can be adjusted for grades 1-3.
Purpose
Students will explore symbolism and its purpose across several cultures. They will
identify symbols in their own culture, that of Native Americans, and in the crests of
Japan, then compare them. Students will use information about what crests represent to
design their own family crest.
Concepts
• Crests – an emblem for display symbolizing family or clan or idea
Mon – Japanese word for crest
Kamon – Japanese word for family crest
• Four Gentlemen – symbols of the four seasons often seen in art images
• Ideogram – picture or symbol used in a writing system
• Symbols – sign or marks that represent something else
Key Ideas
• Ideograms date back to prehistory and have long been used as a way of
communicating ideas.
• Symbols have been used in many cultures to represent ideas, emotions, seasons,
animals, places, families, and businesses.
• Crests are emblems for display representing a family group or idea.
• In Japan, crests were developed first among the nobility C.E. 800-1200.
• Crests often were often poetic and sometimes used symbols of nature (plants,
grasses, animals) designed to reflect an occupation or possession or to
commemorate a special honorable event. The seasons are often represented with
flowers or plants: (four gentlemen)
o Fall – chrysanthemums (symbolize purity)
o Winter – bamboo, which is strong yet flexible (integrity and strength)
o Spring – cherry blossoms or plum blossoms (modesty)
o Summer – orchid (loyalty) or peony (wealth)
Materials
Courtesan and Attendants, 1748-1751, CMA 1985.255
Perspective View of Interior of Nakamura Theater with Ichikawa Ebizo II as Yanone
Goro, 1740, CMA 1916.1154
Party in a Boat, Edo Period (1615-1868), CMA 1985.262
Examples of easily recognizable American symbols, cut out from magazines ads or from
product label (flag, peace sign, cross, CBS “eye” Nike swish, McDonald’s arches,
barbershop, pharmacy).
Japanese Crest handout
History of Japanese Crests: Handouts or www.indiana.edu/-japan/LP/LS21.html
http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima/Things/69.html
Web site for Japanese crests: www.netpersons.co.jp/kamon/10.html
Web sites for Native American symbols and what they mean:
http://nhcs.k12.in.us/staff/pbortka/nativeamerican/indiansymbols.html
Procedure
1. Show symbols of Americana students have brought in (such as theCBS “eye,”
eagle, flag, McDonald’s arches, peace sign, Nike swish). Ask students why people
and corporations use symbols. Discuss other places in society that symbols are
used (mascots, flags, company logos).
2. Show Ohio’s state seal and discuss what the symbols mean.
3. Show symbols from Native American culture. Even prehistoric ideograms are
good examples. Guess what they mean and discuss actual meaning.
4. Ask if anyone can name any familiar symbols from other cultures, such as a
Mexican god’s eye or the Irish shamrock.
5. Review basic historical information from handout or web site on Japanese crests,
which are also called mon (crest) or kamon (family crest). Use the terms
ideogram, mon, and kamon.
6. Look at images of Japanese crest from handout, web site or from A Look into
Japan.
7. View the crests found in Japanese art images. Discuss what the symbols stand for.
8. Have the students design their own crests.
Enrichment
A. Compare and contrast symbols from the three cultures.
B. Make a woodblock or stencil of crest.
C. Design a crest or seal for your school.
Ohio State Standards
Social Studies:
People in Societies:
Grade 2: Describe cultural practices and products of people on different continents.
Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music and artistic creations serve as
expressions of a culture. Describe how they influence the behavior of people living in a
particular culture.
Grade 3: Compare the cultural practices and products of the local community with those
of other communities in Ohio, the United States, and countries of the world.
Grade 5: Compare the cultural practices and products of diverse groups in North
America, including artistic expression.
This lesson plan was created by Beth Dallin, Westerville School System, Westerville, Ohio