Lesson Plan
for Feudal Japan (1 day)
Critical Thinking Skills
Grade 9 Social Studies
S .P.A.M. (Samurai, Peasants, Artisans,
Merchants)
Preparation: Pieces
of paper or cardboard, colored pencils
Lesson -
S.P.A.M.
OPEN CLASS: Say: Welcome to the rice
paddies! Rice was an important crop in feudal Japan. The peasants who
grew rice had an important job to do. There was a system in place to
make sure the peasants did their job well, so that enough rice could be
grown for the needs of the nobles. Today, we are going to experience
that system first hand by playing a game called SPAM, which is short for
Samurai, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants - SPAM.
Get Your Class Ready
to Play SPAM
ROLES:
-
Break your students into groups of 7.
-
One per group: Appoint one student from each
group to be the Samurai.
-
From the class: Select 2 students at random to
be Merchants
-
From the class: Select 2 students at random to
be Artisans.
Inform the rest of each group of students that they are Peasants and
that they are growing rice. Peasants are to print the word RICE on a
piece of paper in block letters and draw a rice stalk on each paper. The
Samurai will be around to collect it. When asked, they must surrender
all rice that the Samurai can see or knows about. Inform the Peasants
that they must also try to hide rice from the Samurai so that they will
have enough to eat and to trade. Don't give the peasants any further
direction. They can grow (draw) the rice any way that works for them.
ROUND ONE: For the first (trial)
round, have the peasants draw as much rice as they can in 5 minutes. At
the end of this short period, subtract 1 rice for each peasant from this
number. This will be their base. Each time the Samurai comes along, the
group must have at least this much rice to give to the Samurai. If they
do not have the required amount, the Samurai then selects one student
peasant and takes them out of the group. This signified that they have
been executed and can no longer work. The group must still grow the
original amount of rice for the next round, but the executed peasant no
longer participates.
EXECUTED PEASANTS: One a student
peasant is "executed" (removed from the group), they are
assigned a new role, that of "child". All executed peasants
must sit out one round before returning to their original group in their
new role as "child", provided their group is still in
existence. Babies cannot work. Children can, and did.
ARTISANS: Artisans are to create (draw) goods that the
Samurai would want. (Swords, Armor, Musical Instruments, etc.)
MERCHANTS:
-
During each round, the merchants take the goods
the Artisans have created and trade with the Samurai for rice.
-
The Samurai sets the price and only gives as
much rice as they want to.
-
The merchants then return to the Artisans and
share the rice they have traded for.
-
Between rounds, if the peasants have managed to
successfully hide some rice, they may trade for goods with the
merchants.
SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS:
Timing: Each subsequent round should last
the same amount of time as the first round.
Crop Quality: If the rice drawn after the
first round is drawn poorly, the Samurai will not accept it. The Samurai
is the only judge of what is acceptable quality.
Stealing Rice: Peasants caught stealing rice by the Samurai are
"executed" and their rice confiscated. This does not change
the quota for the group. Quotas of rice remain the same per group
throughout the activity irrespective of the number of people in each
group during any one round.
Food for the Peasants: At the end of each round, the teacher
checks to see if the group has created and successfully hid enough rice
so that each member of the group has at least one rice. If they do not,
remove from the group each member that does not have rice. (They have
starved, and are now dead.) The quote of rice for the group remains
unchanged.
Angel of Death: During the third round, and each subsequent
round, the teacher selects a group at random and representing "the
angel of death" (fire, flood, epidemic, insects, etc.) takes away
1/2 of the rice they have created.
PURPOSE OF THE LESSON: The
purpose of this lesson is to show that peasants could not win, and that
the system was unstable.
CLOSE CLASS: At
the conclusion of the game, ask your students if they feel this system
could function successfully over time. Ask: Could the peasants ever win?
Was their life a pleasant one? How do you think they felt about the
Samurai?
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