Drawing

Joker draws a series of images to tell a story or describe a situation.

Players write the story as they understand.

Compare results then compare to joker's explanation.

Based on the famous speech by the Meiji era Japanese feminist leader Kishida Toshiko, this activity asks participants to create a manga version of her speech, working in teams.

I have spelled out a nine step process, but it might make sense to do a much quicker, rougher version of this, to leave time for other discussions. Steps 1, 4, 5 are essential, I think.

Step one is to read the original essay (for Japanese readers, in Japanese), and do a reader response writing activity.

Step two is to form teams with a mix of self-identified skills/capacities:

Based on a Japanese puzzle game and the famous speech by early feminist leader Kishida Toshiko, this game asks players to identify the obstacles to the freedom of young women and then remove them one at a time.

Making the game is a key part of the activity. In teams, participants:

Brainstorm:

Got this idea from the video The Story of Solutions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkRvc-sOKk

From the great Open Culture website. http://www.openculture.com/2014/04/10-rules-for-students-and-teachers-po...

These rules can be used in many ways:

• As one big prompt for a writing activity;
• As individual prompts for a writing activity;
• As prompts for role plays or speeches;
• As propositions to debate...

They are great to use for thinking about innovation, creativity, education, any kind of self-directed work.
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RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for a while.

I learned this from Omi Yusuke and Tada Keisuke, students in a course I teach at Meiji University, in Tokyo. I like the way the gradual addition of features, and the inclusion of non-human elements, leads to an "exquisite corpse"-like creature. The addition of a complete object at the end creates an interesting contrast with the piecemeal creature. The creature's uniqueness makes it an interesting object for description and imaginative writing.

The Flow:

Participants pair-up or form groups of no more than four.

Step One

I learned this game from students in a course I taught at Meiji University. This description game gives people a way to practice communication and verification of understanding.

Set up the room with four chairs facing away from the whiteboard. Leave space behind the chairs for people to stand.

Form four groups of four-seven people. One person from each group sits in a chair, the rest of the group lines up in a column, facing her (and facing the board).

Each of the people in the chairs (the Describer) is given an image (photos, paintings, etc).

ROUND ONE

Adapted from the judging technique used in the Kani Club performances.

Using the same procedure as in One line drawing, teams compete. However, instead of pleasing the judge, they have to please an audience. And, instead of waiting to the end to get the feedback, the audience votes each round. After each vote, one audience member tells the artists what s/he wants to see next. This way, each round should make the drawings incorporate the desires or ideas of the audience as well as the artists.

I learned this from Minami Yoshitaka, Yasuhara Kouhei, and Yamazaki Ryouta in an English class they taught at Meiji University. In this game people compete to create collaborative drawings that illustrate some thing or idea. It could lead very nicely into discussion, especially if the theme is one of relevance to people's lives.

The flow:

• Form teams of three or four people.
• The joker chooses a theme, for example, "job hunting" or "Freedom Rides."
• One player from each team lines up before the whiteboard in a row, waiting for the signal.