ESL Reading Comprehension + Essay - Doraemon - Japanese Manga + Anime

Doraemon's history, from its 1969 manga debut to its status as Japan's official 'anime ambassador,' is traced across a two-page article, followed by 18 comprehension and vocabulary questions and three essay-writing prompts.

Year groups: Secondary and Sixth Form, Lower Secondary, Years 8–13
Pages: 3
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Jun 17, 2025

Subject: Formal Writing, Reading Comprehension, Creative Writing, ESL, Vocabulary, Writing, Reading, Language Development, English
Topic: ESL, English Second Language
Resource types: Writing Prompts, Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

ESL Reading Comprehension + Writing Activity Worksheets - Doraemon - Japanese Manga and Anime

This ESL EFL (English Second or Foreign Language) Teaching Resource on "Doraemon" (3 PDF Slides; Reading Comprehension + Writing Activity) can be ideal to train Language skills in English. Suitable participants for this ESL EFL TESOL Reading + Writing Activity are Foreign Students at middle and High School (7th-12th Grade; teens). Newcomers or any ESL Learner is also more than suitable for this ESL EFL (English as a Second or Foreign Language) Activity on "Doraemon" (Japanese Manga and Anime; origins, background and evolution over time from manga to anime + plot, setting and characters + success and legacy). This Teaching Educational Resource Product can also be ideal for ESL EFL Centres worldwide or any English second language tutor.

This ESL EFL TESOL Teaching Resource on "Doraemon" (Worksheet; 3 PDF Printable slides) can be ideal for Intermediate Advanced English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL EFL) Learners.

Within this English Second or Foreign Language (ESL EFL) Reading Comprehension + Essay Writing Activity Worksheet on "Doraemon" (Japanese Manga and Anime; origins, background and evolution over time from manga to anime + plot, setting and characters + success and legacy), ESL EFL TESOL teachers can find the following activities:

1 text on "Doraemon" (Japanese Manga and Anime; origins, background and evolution over time from manga to anime + plot, setting and characters + success and legacy)
19 Questions (with related space where students can answer)
3 essay prompts for a writing activity (writing an essay on your own personal opinion on "Doraemon"; whether you have ever heard of it or not, whether you have ever watched it or not, whether you liked it or not and why and whether you would ever like to watch it + writing an essay on another influential animated series; describing it and comparing it to "Doraemon" + pretending to spend a day with Doraemon and Nobita and to describe this imaginary experience in a page of diary)

This ESL, EFL (English Second or Foreign Language) Teaching Resource Reading + Writing Activity on "Doraemon" (Japanese Manga and Anime; origins, background and evolution over time from manga to anime + plot, setting and characters + success and legacy) is great for Intermediate Advanced English as a second or foreign language learners (ESL- EFL). This English Second Language Worksheet on "Doraemon" (Japanese Manga and Anime; origins, background and evolution over time from manga to anime + plot, setting and characters + success and legacy) aims to train and Reading Comprehension + Writing Skills.

"Learning with Alan" is dedicated to provide high-quality teaching resources and educational materials for ESL EFL TESOL teachers. It aims to support teachers, educators, and tutors in both online and offline environments, helping them achieve their teaching goals while creating a fun, stimulating atmosphere for learning English. Always remember: learning is fun, and so is English!

If you want to browse more PDF ESL, EFL, TESOL Teaching Resources and Educational Material click here Learning with Alan!

What's included

A two-page nonfiction article on Doraemon's history, characters, and cultural impact in Japan and abroad
Direct quotes from a media studies professor, a film critic, and two fans (from Tokyo and Delhi) modeling source integration in nonfiction writing
Thirteen factual and inferential comprehension questions (creators, plot setup, characters, gadgets, cultural role)
Four vocabulary-in-context questions (synonyms for 'beloved,' meaning of 'phenomenon,' replacements for 'gadget,' meaning of 'soft power')
Two true/false questions that require students to argue their answer using evidence from the text
Three extended essay-writing prompts: a personal-opinion essay, a compare/contrast essay about another global cartoon, and a creative diary-entry story

Resource types: Writing Prompts, Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Recall factual details about Doraemon's creation, characters, and cultural history from a nonfiction article
Determine the meaning of words and phrases (phenomenon, soft power, gadget) using context clues
Support a true/false judgment with specific evidence drawn from the text
Write an extended essay expressing a personal opinion, making a comparison, or telling a creative story, using the article as a model and springboard

Teaching tips

Have students read the article once for general understanding, then reread it while answering the factual and vocabulary questions on page three
Use the two true/false questions as a quick check for whether students are reading closely enough to catch details that contradict a plausible-sounding but false statement
Assign one of the three essay prompts based on skill level: the personal-opinion essay is the most accessible entry point, the compare/contrast essay asks for more structured analysis, and the diary-entry story gives stronger writers room for creative narrative voice
Preview the professor, critic, and fan quotes as a mini-lesson on how nonfiction writers integrate outside voices, since the comprehension questions draw directly on this technique

Skills covered

Nonfiction reading comprehension — students answer factual and inferential questions about a two-page article on Doraemon's history and cultural significance.
Vocabulary in context — students determine the meaning of words like 'phenomenon' and the expression 'soft power' and generate synonyms for 'beloved' and 'gadget' as used in the text.
Evidence-based argumentation — students judge two true/false statements and must argue their answer using specific details from the article.
Extended essay writing — students choose among a personal-opinion essay, a compare/contrast essay, or a creative diary-entry story, all built on the article's content.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Do the comprehension questions stay factual, or do they also ask students to reason from the text?

Both. Most of the eighteen questions are factual or vocabulary-based, but two are true/false items that specifically require students to argue their answer using evidence from the article, not just recall a fact.

How do the three essay prompts differ from each other?

The first asks for a personal-opinion essay about Doraemon and the student's own familiarity with the character; the second asks students to compare Doraemon with another cartoon that became popular internationally; the third is a creative diary entry imagining a day spent with Doraemon and Nobita using one of Doraemon's gadgets.