I will be teaching my 9th grade students about Basho and the Japanese Haiku. This poetry is easy to create and students can put in their heartfelt emotions into writing in this style. This poetry opens a window into the Japanese culture and is an elegant and simple form of expression, that this age group can master without too much difficulty. I am looking forward to teaching this poetry to my many diverse students and cultures in my own classroom.
This was actually the lessons I chose for this class. My subject is math so I was going to give the students a brief history of oragami and have students make some of the models. To integrate the math into it, I would have students identify shapes, and find perimeters and areas of the shapes. This would cover standards regarding finding perimeters and areas of shapes.
A few posts back I wanted to introduce students to Asian math strategies but when I tried looking some up, I really couldn't find anything. Perhaps I wasn't searching correctly but it would have been cool to show students something like this is how you solve this type of problem in Asia and this is how it is solved here.
When I came back from the Institute, I went to my local children's bookstore and found a book on Buddhism entitled "The Prince Who Ran Away". This book is beautifully illustrated and tells the story of Siddhartha Gautama and the creation of Buddhism. Before I read it to my students, I have them prepare a piece of standard notebook paper to use as Reciprocal Teaching notes. They divide the paper into four squares labeling each square-Questions, Pictures, Summaries and Predictions. Then, I read them the story, showing them each illustration to assist them in visualizing what I am reading. As I read, I stop every few pages to give them time to write a question, a summary and a prediction. After that, we share what the students have written for each. This has worked out well, thus far.
A few years ago, when I taught 7th grade history, I wanted to give the students more information about Confucius, but not through notes. So, I went to Barnes and Noble and found a children's book on Confucius. For seven years I used this book to teach Confucius. First, I started out by asking the students to look at the picture on the cover and predict what the book would be about, and to be specific about their predictions. Next, I read the first section of the book, which provides background information on Confucius. After this, I asked the students to examine their predictions and see if they needed to be revised now that they had some basic information about Confucius. So, the students were able to practice predicting. Finally, before I read the last section of the book, I asked students to create an ending for the story. All students shared their endings with partners. I finished the lesson by reading the ending and discussing with students the differences between their endings and the actual ending. The final project was to create the front page of a newspaper all on Confucius. It worked out very well.
A suggestion for teaching orgami. (estimate 3-4 days) 1)Start with a big piece of butcher paper to demonstrate. You can draw arrows and make numbers (for which step is first) on the butcher paper itself. Go through the steps as a demo. 2)Next, walk the students through it with one butcher paper with lines drawn for folds if needed per group so they do each step( the cranes will be ugly, but they will visualize the steps better) 3) Have students, in groups, write the procedure out in their own words, with diagrams. This will help studetns identify who is the natural folder in teir group, who is good at procedure writing, and who remembers sequences. These are the go to people to take the heat off the teacher. 4) Afterwards, leave the big papers and group procedures on the table and let them go for it with the crisp paper.
A math teacher at my school suggested "paddy paper" for a non-expensive teacher purchase regarding the first stages of learning Origami.
('paddy paper' is what one can find in the warehouse stores like SMART & FINAL, it's original purpose is to be placed between hamburger paddies...so the size and square cut really work well for beginning Origami)
Sixth graders study early Chinese civilizations and 7th graders study Medieval Japan and China during the Middle Ages. The students are asked to consider political, economic, religious and social structures. I'm interested in these areas but I'm especially interested in reading and using traditional Chinese and Japanese literature. I'm also developing a reading list for our school so I need literature to recommend.
I just finished teaching the Chinese philosophy lesson to my seventh graders (Clayton Dube gave us). I was a little worried at first because I thought they would struggle with the primary source documents. I had to help them a little bit at first, but they were able to pick out the big ideas. It was especially nice to hear them helping each other out as they were discussing the documents. They all really were excited about the commercials. Ninety-nine percent of them came out very nicely. The one that didn't really make sense was because they made themselves look bad (this was the commercial that was supposed to extol the virtues of their school of thought). Most groups brought in extras (paper made costumes, props, signs, banners, garbage band made music, and masks). I had fun watching some of them get carried away in the lesson. This lesson will have taken five class periods for us to complete. They will include the suggested writing assignment in their China sequence book project.
The Chinese philosophy section of our large binder has great resources. I have a test on the 4 Schools of thought on Friday. I was going to use the standard material for the test, but in reading the primary source documents from the teachers of these schools, I got an idea to use direct quotes from Confucius and all other notable philosophers, and will have my students identify the correct school of thought from each quote. Sort of a profound matching segment for my 6th graders. The quotes are amazing, and fully illustrate the various ideas of government, education, human nature, etc.. Hopefully my students will become good at identifying and applying the 4 schools to their thought process.[Edit by="tstevenson on Feb 26, 11:17:18 PM"][/Edit]
Thank you for suggesting the movie Hero to bring to Emperor Qin's unification and standardization of China. It will come in handy to give my students a sense of his character and motives. Our culminating project for our study of Ancient China is a court trial to evaluate whether or not Qin's accomplishments justify the costs to culture and individuals.
I was hoping to utilize the book that you referenced. Can you post the title and author? Thank you, Miriam[Edit by="mstevenson on Mar 2, 9:46:54 PM"][/Edit]
I was interested in the post about using the movie "Hero" to teach about Qin Shi Huang Di. I can not find the post. Can you tell me a little about the movie and how you used it to teach about China's first emperor?
I ran short on time this year so I didn't do this activity. Usually I do a mask activity for each unit that we study (7th grade history). This is a really good activity for Chinese opera masks. It also integrates well with language arts. Character traits are emphasized between 6th and 7th grade in the language arts standards. The colors are representative of human character traits. When a mask is clicked on, it enlarges and includes a description of the meanings of the colors. I have had my students start in the computer lab by looking at the site making rough sketches and notes on the mask that appeals to them. In class with pastels and construction paper, they recreate their mask and attach a summary card to it that includes the name of the mask and details about its colors. This could be adapted for all levels of students. Its a very good ESL activity. Gifted learners could also include further research on the Beijing Opera. They could also take the meanings of the colors from Chinese Opera masks and create their own mask.
I'd love to hear more from anyone who uses Hollywood movies in teaching Asia. I've often used native-grown movies in covering China, Korea, and Japan ('Throne of Blood', for example, illustrates Japan's feudal period pretty well, and has a wonderfully overwrought death scene to boot - 7th grade love it!), but I'm really wary of Hollywood.
So often, it seems, as educators we have to undo the misconceptions sown by blockbuster movies, often misconceptions that aren't apparent until a student makes a revealing comment or observation (my own favorite, though not from a movie, was when a tenth grader commented on my having lived in a grass hut - I was mystified as to what they were refering to, until the student reminded me that I had remarked, several weeks before, that I grew up in a village in the north of England... had I said "small town", all would have been well...).
In covering feudal Japan, we now have to deal with the errors and misconceptions created by "The Last Samurai" (which students have usually seen in its entirety and without anyone at hand to point out the fallacies behind the gritty "realism") and, most recently, in teaching sixth graders about ancient Greece, there's "300" to deal with (it's based on a comic book, for the love of Zeus!).
The opening scenes of "Gladiator" are a good example. On the one hand , it gives some idea of the violence and sheer mass of an assault by Roman legionaries, but, on the other, it's full of inaccuracies - from the stirrups which the Romans would not have known, to the whole notion of attacking in a forest (legion formations were rendered much more vulnerable - a lesson that Augustus learned after two legions were butchered by Germanic barabrians in the Teutoberg Forest). The rest of the movie, of course, is almost utter fabrication hung loosely on the barest framework of historical interpretation... or am I picking too many nits? (Sad to say, this movie - and "The Patriot" - won a award for historical accuracy from the History Channel!).
I have shown excerpts from Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" to give students some idea of the reality of a medieval battlefield (lots of mud and not much glory), but I guess, as that's a British movie, it doesn't really count as Hollywood.
I'd really appreciate your suggestions.
Ray [Edit by="rrobinson on Apr 4, 7:12:12 AM"][/Edit]
There's an excellent exhibition of Buddhist art, including mandals, currently on display at the Asia Pacific Museum in Pasadena. Their website also has four terrific illustrated essays on the life of the Buddha and the spread of Buddhism, bodhisattvas, Buddhist sites, and signs, symbols, and ritual objects.
The information can be adapted for the sixth grade unit on Buddhism, and the illustrations make excellent overheads. I try to include one or two pictures in a handout but, as it's a black and white xerox, overhead transparencies bring out the color and subtlety (eventually me and my classroom will get geared up to use a straight-from-the-disc projector, but till then it's twentieth century technology).
This part of the museum website is also a great primer/review of the basics of Buddhism for the educator, and it fits nicely with the content standards.
That is precisely the reason I rarely show any "Hollywood" movie in class. Our school is very adamant about not showing PG-13 Hollywood feature films in class unless parent consent is given. There isn't a historical movie made by Hollywood that isn't at least a PG-13. The only "Hollywood" feature film I show from start to finish is "Luther". I specifically mention it in my class letter at the beginning of the year and have a specific parent "sign off". When I do show videos, they are usually only short clips. I think that short Hollywood movie clips can be very useful when comparing primary and secondary sources. Movies are good examples of how secondary sources can get added to and the information can become inaccurate.
A web source that I use in my World History class is the PRI’s The World – Geo Quiz. I subscribe to the Podcast and play it in my class. It is a simple step to download from there site. The archives are full of interesting stories from all parts of the world. I believe that many teachers could use this in many different ways.
The format of the show is simple. It gives some basic information of a place in the world and asks can you name that place. The program returns shortly with the answer and much more. The answer coincides with a story about an event in that location. The topic of the story varies, human interest, political, and sometimes funny. The time varies between 4 to 8 minutes long. The many stories are class friendly.
I actually use it as a quiz in the class room. I play it during the beginning of the week and have the students research the answer. If the topic relates to the chapter being studied then I require more information. The extra information could be maps of the place, Almanac related information, or pictures. At the end of the week the class shares the information or guesses the location. After that I play the rest of the show for the class. Discussions always seem to follow the story, the students give their opinion if it was good or bad story.
The Asian connection, well there are many, in fact Podcast 167 was about Taiwan. Apparently there were once pygmies on the island and were wronged some how, so the locals perform a certain ceremony to appease the spirits of those pygmies. (Ancestor Worship). Earlier stories dealt with China and its attempt to correct the inaccurate signs in English before the Olympics. Dig through the archives and find one for your class
A resource book that I want to recommend is from Teacher Created Materials, World Religions, and is designed to be challenging. ( ISBN 1-55734-624-0 ) The connection for this forum is that it covers Asian religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Taoism all have introductions, mini research projects, worksheets, and tests that a teacher can use in the class.
What I like most about it is the introductions, summaries, and origins of the religions provided by this book. They are well written, but most important is that they concise. I want the students to be able to quickly compare the religions to find similarities. As a class the students have found similarities in the origins of many religions. The students also find many religions have the same basic teachings and practices. This is the primary use for this book in my class.
The book has other interesting and useful worksheets. Every religion seems to have holiday, the book has many research sheets on the main days of celebration. Symbols are used throughout many religions and the book provides color sheets for the student. Religions have a tendency to split through the years and this is covered by the book. It has puzzles and crosswords related to each religion. It even has basic blueprints and definitions for places of worship. The last thing that I find useful in the class is the topic of religious freedom and tolerance. This book has worksheets on these topics.
This book provides many opportunities to bring religion in the classroom as history, art, and moral discussion. As for Asian studies the Buddhism section has the story of Buddha. It covers his enlightenment and teachings. There are examples of scripture to read. The spread of Buddhism and its schools of thought such as Zen and Tibetan are covered. The Taoism section also covers Confucius, so the life of Lao-Tzu and him are discussed. The teachings of both men are included and so are so of the customs.
The website below provides the viewer with information valuable information for those wanting to get more familiar without having to visit the country.
This webpage gives the viewer an overview of the country, current projects, public information.
If students were to be doing a project on any country in East Asia or the Pacific this is a helpful website for background information, maps, news & events, data, statistics and different development projects that are currently ongoing.
The website below is put together by the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. This website classes offered for teachers, language programs, classical music, tours. It provides people in L.A. of Korean background a connection to their homeland in the U.S. but it also serves as a resource to everyone else who is interested in finding out more information or learning about Korean culture.
I have been lucky enough to have participated in one of their tours and was fascinated by the art work and culture overall.
I think this website is more geared to teacher and adults that want to learn more about thier studetns and their culture. By the wya the cultural center is convinently located on Wilshire in Koreatown.
The book "Ties that Bind, Ties that Break" will be used in next year's AVID class. I will be reading it this summer. We thought it would be wise to connect English and History since our students are not required to read complete novels.
Although I teach Ancient China already, my knowledge of the Chinese Philosophies was pretty much limited to a few of the books I had. So now that we have learned about Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, I will take my deepened knowledge on the subjects and implement them in my classroom. Normally when I teach about the philosophies, I must admit that I am not very objective. I tend to assume which of the philosophies they will like and won’t like and I kind of teach to that. This time I am attempting a new approach on how I teach them. Although no matter what I do will include some of my bias in it, rather them telling them about the philosophies I will show them. I suspect my original suspicions will remain. I think the students will like Daosim most, because they claim to hate structure, and Legalism the least because of the severity. I think most students will be fine with Confuciansim, but they will prefer Daoism.
In the last two days I have taught the Chinese Schools of thought. Initially I thought students would love Daoism and hate Legalism, but I was very surprised to see the result s of the informal poll I took with the class when the lessons were over. First I began with Daoism. I took the students outside by the trees to be with nature. I told them they could learn the material however they wanted, but that they had to learn it. When we came back inside, I learned most of them did not learn as much as they should have. Then I taught them Confucianism by diving the students up into groups, giving each group a student leader that they would follow. Many students liked this, but many did not because they did not like the idea of respecting someone that was their age. Although the elders were kind to them. Finally I taught Legalism by being extremely strict, and was surprised how many of the students liked it. Most said they liked the strictness and that it made them work harder. But there were those who said they were too scared to learn.
I actually like using LItle Buddha with Keanu Reeves. I used it when I teach about Buddhism to my students. Its not teh greatest movie in the world, but it definitely gets across to major areas in Buddhism. One the life of Buddha, how he started out as a sheltred rich king, to his life as an ascetic, and finally his revelation of balance. Its hows him seeing the sick man, old man, and funeral, and how he vows to help put the suffering. It also i discussed the Eightfold path. There is also a story line which teaches about kara and reincarnation. It is a completely separte story line that follows a man whose child is believed to be the reincarnation of a very important monk. In this story line it covers many of the quetsion about karam and reincrnation.
I thank you for sharing the title Ties that Bind, Ties that Break with us. I've never heard of it, but am very interested in reading it now, thanks to your post. Another great book to read and teach in your Thematic Unit after reading The Diary of Anne Frank is Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang.
This memoir is about a young girl (Ji-Li Jiang), who suffered scorn and humiliation in her adolescent years from family and friends during the Cultural Revolution in China. This is a true story and has received several awards for its "engrossing" story. Here's the blurb:
"In 1966 Ji-Li Jiang turned twelve. An outstanding student and leader, she had everything: brains, the admiration of her peers, and a bright future in China's Communist Party. But that year China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launched the Cultural Revolution, and everything changed. Over the next few years Ji-Li and her family were humiliated and scorned by former friends, neighbors, and co-workers. They lived in constant terror of arrest. Finally, with the detention of her father, Ji-Li faced the most difficult choice of her life. Told with simplicity and grace, this is the true story of one family's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century."
Students can learn about two distinct historical truths, while reading about brave children who fought against injustice and freedom.
one more thing I remebered you could use in your lessons for Ties that Bind, Ties that Break is Ruth Fainlight's "Flower Feet". This is a great poem students can analyze and discuss before or after the novel.
Ruth Fainlight "Flower Feet" (SILK SHOES IN THE WHITWORTH ART GALLERY, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND) Real women's feet wore these objects that look like toys or spectacle cases stitched from bands of coral, jade, and apricot silk embroidered with twined sprays of flowers. Those hearts, tongues, crescents, and disks, leather shapes an inch across, are the soles of shoes no wider or longer than the span of my ankle. If the feet had been cut off and the raw stumps thrust inside the openings, surely it could not hurt more than broken toes, twisted back and bandaged tight. An old woman, leaning on a cane outside her door in a Chinese village, smiled to tell how she fought and cried, how when she stood on points of pain that gnawed like fire, nurse and mother praised her tottering walk on flower feet. Her friends nodded, glad the times had changed. Otherwise, they would have crippled their daughters.
Hope this helps![Edit by="rflores on Jul 30, 11:07:44 AM"][/Edit]
I recently had my students pick one of four "middle ages" dynasties and come up with a "time travel brochure" as a culminating project for studying the political, economic, and intellectual accomplishments of their dynasty. My objective was to give each of my students an opportunity to explore one of the dynasties in more depth and become an expert on their dynasty. The project helped students to focus on the California standard 7.3 on China with special emphasize on the following: 7.3.2. (Describe agricultural, technological, and commercial developments during the Tang and Sung periods) 7.3.4.(Understand the importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions between China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty.) 7.3.5. Trace the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper, wood-block printing, the compass, and gunpowder. 7.3.6. Describe the development of the imperial state and the scholar-official class.
I also threw in a parallel timeline exercise where students had to provide the years of their dynasty and in parallel the same years for another civilization with some events that took place. I was happy to see that students were exploring their textbook for civilizations we had not studied yet like Mayan and Aztec and Japan timelines.
My students vary in English ability but I was pleasantly surprised at the results from the assignment. I found good handouts for them to analyze (with my help) the differences between political, economic and intellectual accomplishments. I also found it important to model the folding of the paper and the numbering of the pages to insure that each page of the rubric would be followed.
I have attached my rubric and instructions which I created and at some point I'll send pictures of the brochures in an edit. Let me know what you think and ask any questions.
you can have students search hennessey haiku and click on link if you don't want to type the whole thing.
anyway. so students studied japan's courtier lifestyle. once they learned courtiers wrote poems we accessed the tanka poem website. students then used inspiration from pictures in website , nature, mountains, rivers and trees to write their own tanka poems. i then had the art teacher help me to get students to paint nature scenes based on their tanka poem using japanese water colors. (it is a great medium and we should all try it.) i then grouped students into groups of six. they were asked to present their poems in some sequence. the poem was recited when their painting was showcased. i used a cranky theater but students can just hold their painting while poem is read by someone in group. we also listened to ancient japanese music and groups took inspiration from it to create their own music using simple sticks and bells to create a beat and a rhythm to accompany their presentation. the finished product showcased students tanka poems, paintings, and music. it was a lot of fun and we presented to other classes.
i recently used the poem quince (it's in the binder) to create a presentation with music and movement to act out the poem. we first sat in a circle and talked about the poem and what it meant. then i played some ancient chinese music.
i then asked students to use slow movements set to the music to act out what the poem was about. one student recited the poem, others moved as trees (plum and peach tree), and two others exchanged gifts.
it was beautiful.[Edit by="aaguilar on Feb 21, 5:58:02 PM"][/Edit]
A sixth grade language arts standards asks us to teach the difference between myths, legends, fables, and folk tales. With myths, I often get caught in the trap of only using Greek mythology to explain what a myth is. I found a website, though, that shows many creation myths from around the world. It would be interesting to ask students to compare the various creation myths at some point. The Chinese creation myth along with the Chinese pantheon is included for free viewing on "The Big Myth" website:
I gave my students the opportunity to go on the website and explore it. While I was walking around I saw that many of them went to different myths that are not so common. They've learnded a lot and they get to use lap tops, since some of my kids don't even have a computer.
I'm the actual teacher that Ms. Roston referred to. I've used this novel for the past 7 years and it is a wonderful tool.
This novel takes pace during the early 1910-1930s and refers to several historical events that took place in China. The narrator is a woman who reflects on her life and the choices that lead her away from a traditional role as an upper class Chinese woman.
Her refusal to have her feet bound alters the whole course of her life.
The novel is a great jumping off point to teach about China. It also goes into the various types of Chinese languages, philosophies, gender roles and class roles.
On a side note, I hope to replace my books. They are pretty much falling apart or fallen apart.
Feel Free to contact me.
The novel is Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka
This is such a great idea! I was thinking about how to incorporate tanka poems in my unit on Asian Civilizations next year. Using inspiration from pictures could really get the creative juices flowing.
Another idea that came to me ... through Prof. Miyake ...was creating a class "living" tanka poem. She was explaining how in tanka every third addition to the original 17 syllable poem is usually a specific theme or has to happen within criteria. She suggested that, for example, they have to write about the class, the school or the principal to make it fun.
I was thinking of applying the parameters but doing the tanks through a moodle or wiki site to really make it living. It would be great to take to the kids into the comp. lab and have them just flow their ideas together and modify based on criteria established.
Lilli came to my class last month and did a great lesson on symmetry. She had the kids fold a piece of red paper and draw the character for good luck. Then cut it out and unfold. She then told the story of how it is displayed upside down. The kids really loved it.
On Friday I had 2 5th grade students who have done some research on the Great Wall come in and share what they learned with the 3rd graders. The kids loved it and had lots of questions. Some of the questions the 5th graders didn't know the answers to so they are going to find out and come back on Monday to share again with the class. It was a great exchange!!
Thanks great what you did with the kids sharing their ideas. I no longer teach MS, but am glad to hear what is happening with the kids there. Keep up the good job.
In the Teacher Resources section of "Education About Asia" (Winter, 2007 / Pg. 52), there is an entry by Li Fengjin that looked intriquing. She reviewed a public education comic book published in China in 1950 to teach barely literate people about the provisions of the marriage law. It is the story of a poor girl sold into marriage with a brutal man. The translated text provides a good introduction that explains marriage reform as a common goal of both the Nationalists and the Communists. An appendix provides the text of the 1950's marriaage law that mandated freedom of choice in marriage and divorce. Fengjin believes the book will provoke discussion of a range of topics related to marriage customs and Chinese Government attempts to change them.
I think the presentation of the information in comic book form would be enough to entice middle school readers to enter a discussion of cultural norms.
In the same periodical is great article for the middle school teacher. The article is entitles, "Did the Middle Kingdom Have a Middle Period? The Problem of 'Medieval' in China's History." This very apt article authored by Keith N. Knapp, is a great question for us in-betweeneers to ponder.
He states how there are great similarities between Medieval China to Early Medieval Europe, primarily the lack of centralized government spanning the entire region.Another similarities, he states, is the amount of cultures interacting at that time, in that area.
What is really interesting is his attention to the dissimilarities. In the end he points towards the middle of the two geographic regions for a way of finding harmony between them all.
I highly suggest the article and am pleased to be subscribed to the journal.
The Scholastic Scope Magazine: Reading, Writing, and Reality for Teens - April 28, 08 issue has a great readers theater play that my students enjoyed. It is a few scenes from the movie, Forbidden Kingdom, coming out this summer. The movie stars Jackie Chan and will be a big hit (so say my students). The main character is sent back in time to ancient China to find a mysterious weapon. He has to joing a group of warriors and defeat a tyrannical leader. It is not exactly true to history, but much of the culture and some history appears to be taken from the past. The pictures in the magazine show some great sets that evoke Ancient China. It sounds like a fun film that many middle school students will enjoy.
My sixth grade classes have been preparing for an expository reading and writing assessment over the last several months. The test requires them to read an opinion article, summarize it and agree or disagree with the author in a well-written essay. I am constantly scanning the paper for appropriate articles, and as luck would have it, I ran across a FANTASTIC article in the January 24, 2008 issue of the LATimes titled "Custody Dispute Over History." Hundreds of bones of Chinese workers too poor to have been buried back in China and other Chinese artifacts were unearthed three years ago while digging the subway tunnel for the Gold Line in Boyle Heights. Now, these items are at the center of an emotional custody dispute. Historians and some local elected officials say they should be carefully preserved and studied in order to build a better narrative of how early Chinese immigrants lived in America. But a local citizen's committee believes the most respectful thing to do is rebury the remains as soon as possible. This article opened up a great classroom discussion of the 19th century Chinese male immigrants who could not vote, marry, own property,or be buried at local cemetaries. Students were able to practice expository writing techniques while learning about Chinese customs and immigration at the same time. I'll use the same article with my classes next year. I'm sure it may be found in the LATimes archives.
For 7th grade students studying the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this is a good site to explore.
The Asia Pacific Museum has an online exhibit called "Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China." It is available in either html or Flash Index. The backgound information is not too dificult for students to comprehend. Maneuverability within the site is simple and straight-forward.
After a brief introduction about the history of the badges, the student can enter one of five folders. The first, "Dragons and Phoenixes: Badges for the Imperial Family" includes 28 images. Each image can be enlarged. A short description accompanies each image.
The images are colorful and enlarging them does not take away from appreciating the detail because the focus function of the Flash keeps the image clear. One can see the individual threads and the color combinations of the embroidery. Examples of the symbols, the crane, clouds, the deer, are shown with a brief description. The eight Buddhist emblems are beautiful in red and blue. The eight immortals attributes are labled as are the five poisons: toad, lizard, centipede, snake and scorpion. One can search the emblems for the symbols.
The dragons emblazoned on the Emporers' robes are spectacular. Rank badges for the military feature lions and tigers and the symbolic meaning is explained. Civil Officials, the mandarins, had 9 ranks represented by birds. Each badge is explained and the rules of behavior by rank of the mandarins is delineated. Did you know that mandarins could not walk? They were required to travel by sedan chair and with an appropriate number of attendees, sometimes as many as 50.
This is an interesting site to share with students. It could easily be tied into an art project, a written assignment, or a posterboard presentation.
Six hosts introduce students to a variety of themes.
Students can explore emporers, samurai, religions, and politics. Another theme explores the arts including ceramics and the tea ceremony and another theme the wedding ceremony. Students can learn about the Japanese wars with Russia and China, the diet, politics, the Ginza, industry. The illustrations are two dimensional. The text is short and to the point. The interactiveness will keep students interested since they can always return to the menu and select another topic.
Another site to explore is The Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is well organized and easy to maneuver. It is an introduction to the traditional arts of Japan that will interest students. Most of the information is presented with minimal text accompanying pictures, but there are several short videos included.
The Architecture and Gardens section was most interesting after our visit to the Huntington Gardens in May. There are four gardens for viewing, including a temple garden from 1339 and a 17th century palace garden outside Kyoto.
The Todaiji Temple houses the central Buddha (completed in 752 CE) and several newer buildings are on the same grounds. The pictures offer a fine study of temple architecture.
The Performing Arts section provides beautiful pictures of sets and costumed actors in Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku Puppet Theater. Enlarging the picture brings out the masks' details and the composition of the sets.
Pastimes include flower arranging, calligraphy (which includes the First Works of Calligraphy of the New Year), the tea ceremony and bonsai (of special interest since our trip to the Huntington Gardens).
There are also interesting sctions on martial arts (judo, sumo, karate and aikido), Ninja, Tanka and Haiku, and four festivals of Japan.
If you have a Quick-Time player plug-in, you can watch movies of Japanese festivals and martial arts.
This accessible site offers a lot of information that students can get into quickly and easily. Assigning topics to groups of students and having them report out to the class will be easy and interesting.
I like to use some of the short animated movies on brainpop. This website has many short movies on a variety of subjects. At the end of each short movie is a quiz. You can either print the quiz ahead of time or have the students take the quiz on the computer. China themed mini movies include the great wall, communism. The students enjoy watching the movies and quizzes are not very difficult.
I designed my curriculum unit (an assignment for the East Asian Seminar) for grade six history, and I decided to focus on The Silk Road. I wish I had more hours in the day! Maybe I would have checked this thread and found some of the ideas and websites listed here faster than I did! And, if I had more hours in a day, I would have also tried to incorporate more video clips, art, and other media into my lessons. Two examples that I have already found are "The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan", a CD with a collection of traditional music from the countries along the Silk Road; and clips from the movie "Warriors of Heaven and Earth", which has fantastic shots of desert, rocky terrain, mountains, and forest, and is supposed to take place on the Silk Road during the Tang dynasty in China. Alas, I can only do some much with the time alloted by the moving of the planet, so I had to stop somewhere and hand in a "completed" unit....but as with most lessons and ideas in the classroom, this plan will forever be evolving, and I will forever be in search of things to add!
So, with that being said, I will post the brief introduction PowerPoint I created to spark interest in my sixth graders, and I will post the 5-day mini unit and project on my next reply. This Intro PowerPoint is supposed to be very basic and leave questions unanswered, because the next step of the mini unit is a research project that will require the students to do research for more details about it. (See below and my next reply for more details!)
If anyone is interested in the other materials and handouts and I don't end up posting them here on my own, please reply to this thread and I will post them.
Quick overview of the project: Students will work in small groups to research detailed answers to one question about the Silk Road (What it was, Where it was, What was traded, What the impact was, etc.). The small group will write, then record themselves reading, a mini-report about their topic. They will select images to show more about their topics and put their recorded mini-reports on the slides. The end result will be a class PowerPoint presentation about the Silk Road (putting all the group slides together) that has audio (the recorded mini-reports) and visual (the selected images).
This the the Silk Road Mini-Unit I designed (See my last post). If anyone is interested in the other materials and handouts and I don't end up posting them here on my own, please reply to this thread and I will post them.
Quick overview of the project: Students will work in small groups to research detailed answers to one question about the Silk Road (What it was, Where it was, What was traded, What the impact was, etc.). The small group will write, then record themselves reading, a mini-report about their topic. They will select images to show more about their topics and put their recorded mini-reports on the slides. The end result will be a class PowerPoint presentation about the Silk Road (putting all the group slides together) that has audio (the recorded mini-reports) and visual (the selected images).
I would love any feedback![Edit by="aharris on Jul 26, 12:24:20 PM"]I am not sure why the file didn't get attached...I'll try again! (Tough to get any feedback on a file that's not here!)[/Edit]
I will be teaching my 9th grade students about Basho and the Japanese Haiku. This poetry is easy to create and students can put in their heartfelt emotions into writing in this style. This poetry opens a window into the Japanese culture and is an elegant and simple form of expression, that this age group can master without too much difficulty. I am looking forward to teaching this poetry to my many diverse students and cultures in my own classroom.
This was actually the lessons I chose for this class. My subject is math so I was going to give the students a brief history of oragami and have students make some of the models. To integrate the math into it, I would have students identify shapes, and find perimeters and areas of the shapes. This would cover standards regarding finding perimeters and areas of shapes.
A few posts back I wanted to introduce students to Asian math strategies but when I tried looking some up, I really couldn't find anything. Perhaps I wasn't searching correctly but it would have been cool to show students something like this is how you solve this type of problem in Asia and this is how it is solved here.
When I came back from the Institute, I went to my local children's bookstore and found a book on Buddhism entitled "The Prince Who Ran Away". This book is beautifully illustrated and tells the story of Siddhartha Gautama and the creation of Buddhism. Before I read it to my students, I have them prepare a piece of standard notebook paper to use as Reciprocal Teaching notes. They divide the paper into four squares labeling each square-Questions, Pictures, Summaries and Predictions. Then, I read them the story, showing them each illustration to assist them in visualizing what I am reading. As I read, I stop every few pages to give them time to write a question, a summary and a prediction. After that, we share what the students have written for each. This has worked out well, thus far.
Michele Jones
A few years ago, when I taught 7th grade history, I wanted to give the students more information about Confucius, but not through notes. So, I went to Barnes and Noble and found a children's book on Confucius. For seven years I used this book to teach Confucius. First, I started out by asking the students to look at the picture on the cover and predict what the book would be about, and to be specific about their predictions. Next, I read the first section of the book, which provides background information on Confucius. After this, I asked the students to examine their predictions and see if they needed to be revised now that they had some basic information about Confucius. So, the students were able to practice predicting. Finally, before I read the last section of the book, I asked students to create an ending for the story. All students shared their endings with partners. I finished the lesson by reading the ending and discussing with students the differences between their endings and the actual ending. The final project was to create the front page of a newspaper all on Confucius. It worked out very well.
Michele Jones
A suggestion for teaching orgami. (estimate 3-4 days)
1)Start with a big piece of butcher paper to demonstrate. You can draw arrows and make numbers (for which step is first) on the butcher paper itself. Go through the steps as a demo.
2)Next, walk the students through it with one butcher paper with lines drawn for folds if needed per group so they do each step( the cranes will be ugly, but they will visualize the steps better)
3) Have students, in groups, write the procedure out in their own words, with diagrams.
This will help studetns identify who is the natural folder in teir group, who is good at procedure writing, and who remembers sequences. These are the go to people to take the heat off the teacher.
4) Afterwards, leave the big papers and group procedures on the table and let them go for it with the crisp paper.
A math teacher at my school suggested "paddy paper" for a non-expensive teacher purchase
regarding the first stages of learning Origami.
('paddy paper' is what one can find in the warehouse stores like SMART & FINAL,
it's original purpose is to be placed between hamburger paddies...so the size and square
cut really work well for beginning Origami)
[Edit by="cforfar on Sep 17, 5:04:48 PM"][/Edit]
Sixth graders study early Chinese civilizations and 7th graders study Medieval Japan and China during the Middle Ages. The students are asked to consider political, economic, religious and social structures. I'm interested in these areas but I'm especially interested in reading and using traditional Chinese and Japanese literature. I'm also developing a reading list for our school so I need literature to recommend.
I just finished teaching the Chinese philosophy lesson to my seventh graders (Clayton Dube gave us). I was a little worried at first because I thought they would struggle with the primary source documents. I had to help them a little bit at first, but they were able to pick out the big ideas. It was especially nice to hear them helping each other out as they were discussing the documents. They all really were excited about the commercials. Ninety-nine percent of them came out very nicely. The one that didn't really make sense was because they made themselves look bad (this was the commercial that was supposed to extol the virtues of their school of thought). Most groups brought in extras (paper made costumes, props, signs, banners, garbage band made music, and masks). I had fun watching some of them get carried away in the lesson. This lesson will have taken five class periods for us to complete. They will include the suggested writing assignment in their China sequence book project.
The Chinese philosophy section of our large binder has great resources. I have a test on the 4 Schools of thought on Friday. I was going to use the standard material for the test, but in reading the primary source documents from the teachers of these schools, I got an idea to use direct quotes from Confucius and all other notable philosophers, and will have my students identify the correct school of thought from each quote. Sort of a profound matching segment for my 6th graders. The quotes are amazing, and fully illustrate the various ideas of government, education, human nature, etc.. Hopefully my students will become good at identifying and applying the 4 schools to their thought process.[Edit by="tstevenson on Feb 26, 11:17:18 PM"][/Edit]
Thank you for suggesting the movie Hero to bring to Emperor Qin's unification and standardization of China. It will come in handy to give my students a sense of his character and motives. Our culminating project for our study of Ancient China is a court trial to evaluate whether or not Qin's accomplishments justify the costs to culture and individuals.
This sounds like a great lesson. Can you post any handouts or rubrics that you used? Thank you,
Miriam
I was hoping to utilize the book that you referenced. Can you post the title and author? Thank you, Miriam[Edit by="mstevenson on Mar 2, 9:46:54 PM"][/Edit]
Hi Miriam,
Thank you, and here is the test I gave my students.
Troy
Thanks Troy. I appreciate it.
Miriam
I was interested in the post about using the movie "Hero" to teach about Qin Shi Huang Di. I can not find the post. Can you tell me a little about the movie and how you used it to teach about China's first emperor?
thanks,Cathy Rieder
I ran short on time this year so I didn't do this activity. Usually I do a mask activity for each unit that we study (7th grade history). This is a really good activity for Chinese opera masks. It also integrates well with language arts. Character traits are emphasized between 6th and 7th grade in the language arts standards. The colors are representative of human character traits. When a mask is clicked on, it enlarges and includes a description of the meanings of the colors. I have had my students start in the computer lab by looking at the site making rough sketches and notes on the mask that appeals to them. In class with pastels and construction paper, they recreate their mask and attach a summary card to it that includes the name of the mask and details about its colors. This could be adapted for all levels of students. Its a very good ESL activity. Gifted learners could also include further research on the Beijing Opera. They could also take the meanings of the colors from Chinese Opera masks and create their own mask.
I'd love to hear more from anyone who uses Hollywood movies in teaching Asia. I've often used native-grown movies in covering China, Korea, and Japan ('Throne of Blood', for example, illustrates Japan's feudal period pretty well, and has a wonderfully overwrought death scene to boot - 7th grade love it!), but I'm really wary of Hollywood.
So often, it seems, as educators we have to undo the misconceptions sown by blockbuster movies, often misconceptions that aren't apparent until a student makes a revealing comment or observation (my own favorite, though not from a movie, was when a tenth grader commented on my having lived in a grass hut - I was mystified as to what they were refering to, until the student reminded me that I had remarked, several weeks before, that I grew up in a village in the north of England... had I said "small town", all would have been well...).
In covering feudal Japan, we now have to deal with the errors and misconceptions created by "The Last Samurai" (which students have usually seen in its entirety and without anyone at hand to point out the fallacies behind the gritty "realism") and, most recently, in teaching sixth graders about ancient Greece, there's "300" to deal with (it's based on a comic book, for the love of Zeus!).
The opening scenes of "Gladiator" are a good example. On the one hand , it gives some idea of the violence and sheer mass of an assault by Roman legionaries, but, on the other, it's full of inaccuracies - from the stirrups which the Romans would not have known, to the whole notion of attacking in a forest (legion formations were rendered much more vulnerable - a lesson that Augustus learned after two legions were butchered by Germanic barabrians in the Teutoberg Forest). The rest of the movie, of course, is almost utter fabrication hung loosely on the barest framework of historical interpretation... or am I picking too many nits? (Sad to say, this movie - and "The Patriot" - won a award for historical accuracy from the History Channel!).
I have shown excerpts from Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" to give students some idea of the reality of a medieval battlefield (lots of mud and not much glory), but I guess, as that's a British movie, it doesn't really count as Hollywood.
I'd really appreciate your suggestions.
Ray
[Edit by="rrobinson on Apr 4, 7:12:12 AM"][/Edit]
There's an excellent exhibition of Buddhist art, including mandals, currently on display at the Asia Pacific Museum in Pasadena. Their website also has four terrific illustrated essays on the life of the Buddha and the spread of Buddhism, bodhisattvas, Buddhist sites, and signs, symbols, and ritual objects.
http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/buddhism/html/index.htm
The information can be adapted for the sixth grade unit on Buddhism, and the illustrations make excellent overheads. I try to include one or two pictures in a handout but, as it's a black and white xerox, overhead transparencies bring out the color and subtlety (eventually me and my classroom will get geared up to use a straight-from-the-disc projector, but till then it's twentieth century technology).
This part of the museum website is also a great primer/review of the basics of Buddhism for the educator, and it fits nicely with the content standards.
Ray
That is precisely the reason I rarely show any "Hollywood" movie in class. Our school is very adamant about not showing PG-13 Hollywood feature films in class unless parent consent is given. There isn't a historical movie made by Hollywood that isn't at least a PG-13. The only "Hollywood" feature film I show from start to finish is "Luther". I specifically mention it in my class letter at the beginning of the year and have a specific parent "sign off". When I do show videos, they are usually only short clips. I think that short Hollywood movie clips can be very useful when comparing primary and secondary sources. Movies are good examples of how secondary sources can get added to and the information can become inaccurate.
A web source that I use in my World History class is the PRI’s The World – Geo Quiz. I subscribe to the Podcast and play it in my class. It is a simple step to download from there site. The archives are full of interesting stories from all parts of the world. I believe that many teachers could use this in many different ways.
The format of the show is simple. It gives some basic information of a place in the world and asks can you name that place. The program returns shortly with the answer and much more. The answer coincides with a story about an event in that location. The topic of the story varies, human interest, political, and sometimes funny. The time varies between 4 to 8 minutes long. The many stories are class friendly.
I actually use it as a quiz in the class room. I play it during the beginning of the week and have the students research the answer. If the topic relates to the chapter being studied then I require more information. The extra information could be maps of the place, Almanac related information, or pictures. At the end of the week the class shares the information or guesses the location. After that I play the rest of the show for the class. Discussions always seem to follow the story, the students give their opinion if it was good or bad story.
The Asian connection, well there are many, in fact Podcast 167 was about Taiwan. Apparently there were once pygmies on the island and were wronged some how, so the locals perform a certain ceremony to appease the spirits of those pygmies. (Ancestor Worship). Earlier stories dealt with China and its attempt to correct the inaccurate signs in English before the Olympics. Dig through the archives and find one for your class
A resource book that I want to recommend is from Teacher Created Materials, World Religions, and is designed to be challenging. ( ISBN 1-55734-624-0 ) The connection for this forum is that it covers Asian religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Taoism all have introductions, mini research projects, worksheets, and tests that a teacher can use in the class.
What I like most about it is the introductions, summaries, and origins of the religions provided by this book. They are well written, but most important is that they concise. I want the students to be able to quickly compare the religions to find similarities. As a class the students have found similarities in the origins of many religions. The students also find many religions have the same basic teachings and practices. This is the primary use for this book in my class.
The book has other interesting and useful worksheets. Every religion seems to have holiday, the book has many research sheets on the main days of celebration. Symbols are used throughout many religions and the book provides color sheets for the student. Religions have a tendency to split through the years and this is covered by the book. It has puzzles and crosswords related to each religion. It even has basic blueprints and definitions for places of worship. The last thing that I find useful in the class is the topic of religious freedom and tolerance. This book has worksheets on these topics.
This book provides many opportunities to bring religion in the classroom as history, art, and moral discussion. As for Asian studies the Buddhism section has the story of Buddha. It covers his enlightenment and teachings. There are examples of scripture to read. The spread of Buddhism and its schools of thought such as Zen and Tibetan are covered. The Taoism section also covers Confucius, so the life of Lao-Tzu and him are discussed. The teachings of both men are included and so are so of the customs.
The website below provides the viewer with information valuable information for those wanting to get more familiar without having to visit the country.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/0,,menuPK:208959~pagePK:146748~piPK:146812~theSitePK:226301,00.html
This webpage gives the viewer an overview of the country, current projects, public information.
If students were to be doing a project on any country in East Asia or the Pacific this is a helpful website for background information, maps, news & events, data, statistics and different development projects that are currently ongoing.
The website below is put together by the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. This website classes offered for teachers, language programs, classical music, tours. It provides people in L.A. of Korean background a connection to their homeland in the U.S. but it also serves as a resource to everyone else who is interested in finding out more information or learning about Korean culture.
http://www.kccla.org/
I have been lucky enough to have participated in one of their tours and was fascinated by the art work and culture overall.
I think this website is more geared to teacher and adults that want to learn more about thier studetns and their culture. By the wya the cultural center is convinently located on Wilshire in Koreatown.
The book "Ties that Bind, Ties that Break" will be used in next year's AVID class.
I will be reading it this summer. We thought it would be wise to connect English and
History since our students are not required to read complete novels.
Although I teach Ancient China already, my knowledge of the Chinese Philosophies was pretty much limited to a few of the books I had. So now that we have learned about Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, I will take my deepened knowledge on the subjects and implement them in my classroom. Normally when I teach about the philosophies, I must admit that I am not very objective. I tend to assume which of the philosophies they will like and won’t like and I kind of teach to that. This time I am attempting a new approach on how I teach them. Although no matter what I do will include some of my bias in it, rather them telling them about the philosophies I will show them. I suspect my original suspicions will remain. I think the students will like Daosim most, because they claim to hate structure, and Legalism the least because of the severity. I think most students will be fine with Confuciansim, but they will prefer Daoism.
In the last two days I have taught the Chinese Schools of thought. Initially I thought students would love Daoism and hate Legalism, but I was very surprised to see the result s of the informal poll I took with the class when the lessons were over. First I began with Daoism. I took the students outside by the trees to be with nature. I told them they could learn the material however they wanted, but that they had to learn it. When we came back inside, I learned most of them did not learn as much as they should have. Then I taught them Confucianism by diving the students up into groups, giving each group a student leader that they would follow. Many students liked this, but many did not because they did not like the idea of respecting someone that was their age. Although the elders were kind to them. Finally I taught Legalism by being extremely strict, and was surprised how many of the students liked it. Most said they liked the strictness and that it made them work harder. But there were those who said they were too scared to learn.
I actually like using LItle Buddha with Keanu Reeves. I used it when I teach about Buddhism to my students. Its not teh greatest movie in the world, but it definitely gets across to major areas in Buddhism. One the life of Buddha, how he started out as a sheltred rich king, to his life as an ascetic, and finally his revelation of balance. Its hows him seeing the sick man, old man, and funeral, and how he vows to help put the suffering. It also i discussed the Eightfold path. There is also a story line which teaches about kara and reincarnation. It is a completely separte story line that follows a man whose child is believed to be the reincarnation of a very important monk. In this story line it covers many of the quetsion about karam and reincrnation.
Droston,
I thank you for sharing the title Ties that Bind, Ties that Break with us. I've never heard of it, but am very interested in reading it now, thanks to your post. Another great book to read and teach in your Thematic Unit after reading The Diary of Anne Frank is Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang.
This memoir is about a young girl (Ji-Li Jiang), who suffered scorn and humiliation in her adolescent years from family and friends during the Cultural Revolution in China. This is a true story and has received several awards for its "engrossing" story. Here's the blurb:
"In 1966 Ji-Li Jiang turned twelve. An outstanding student and leader, she had everything: brains, the admiration of her peers, and a bright future in China's Communist Party. But that year China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launched the Cultural Revolution, and everything changed. Over the next few years Ji-Li and her family were humiliated and scorned by former friends, neighbors, and co-workers. They lived in constant terror of arrest. Finally, with the detention of her father, Ji-Li faced the most difficult choice of her life.
Told with simplicity and grace, this is the true story of one family's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century."
Students can learn about two distinct historical truths, while reading about brave children who fought against injustice and freedom.
Droston,
one more thing I remebered you could use in your lessons for Ties that Bind, Ties that Break is Ruth Fainlight's "Flower Feet". This is a great poem students can analyze and discuss before or after the novel.
Ruth Fainlight
"Flower Feet"
(SILK SHOES IN THE WHITWORTH ART GALLERY,
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND)
Real women's feet wore these objects
that look like toys or spectacle cases stitched
from bands of coral, jade, and apricot silk
embroidered with twined sprays of flowers.
Those hearts, tongues, crescents, and disks, leather
shapes an inch across, are the soles of shoes
no wider or longer than the span of my ankle.
If the feet had been cut off and the raw stumps
thrust inside the openings, surely
it could not hurt more than broken toes, twisted
back and bandaged tight. An old woman,
leaning on a cane outside her door
in a Chinese village, smiled to tell how
she fought and cried, how when she stood on points
of pain that gnawed like fire, nurse and mother
praised her tottering walk on flower feet.
Her friends nodded, glad the times had changed.
Otherwise, they would have crippled their daughters.
Hope this helps![Edit by="rflores on Jul 30, 11:07:44 AM"][/Edit]
I recently had my students pick one of four "middle ages" dynasties and come up with a "time travel brochure" as a culminating project for studying the political, economic, and intellectual accomplishments of their dynasty. My objective was to give each of my students an opportunity to explore one of the dynasties in more depth and become an expert on their dynasty. The project helped students to focus on the California standard 7.3 on China with special emphasize on the following:
7.3.2. (Describe agricultural, technological, and commercial developments during the Tang and Sung periods) 7.3.4.(Understand the importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions between China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty.)
7.3.5. Trace the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper,
wood-block printing, the compass, and gunpowder.
7.3.6. Describe the development of the imperial state and the scholar-official class.
I also threw in a parallel timeline exercise where students had to provide the years of their dynasty and in parallel the same years for another civilization with some events that took place. I was happy to see that students were exploring their textbook for civilizations we had not studied yet like Mayan and Aztec and Japan timelines.
My students vary in English ability but I was pleasantly surprised at the results from the assignment. I found good handouts for them to analyze (with my help) the differences between political, economic and intellectual accomplishments. I also found it important to model the folding of the paper and the numbering of the pages to insure that each page of the rubric would be followed.
I have attached my rubric and instructions which I created and at some point I'll send pictures of the brochures in an edit. Let me know what you think and ask any questions.
hello. great idea. i recently had my students write tanka poems
this website:
http://www.edu.pe.ca/stjean/playing%20with%20poetry/Hennessey/hennessey.htm
was a great resource.
you can have students search hennessey haiku and click on link if you don't want to type the whole thing.
anyway. so students studied japan's courtier lifestyle. once they learned courtiers wrote poems we accessed the tanka poem website. students then used inspiration from pictures in website , nature, mountains, rivers and trees to write their own tanka poems. i then had the art teacher help me to get students to paint nature scenes based on their tanka poem using japanese water colors. (it is a great medium and we should all try it.) i then grouped students into groups of six. they were asked to present their poems in some sequence. the poem was recited when their painting was showcased. i used a cranky theater but students can just hold their painting while poem is read by someone in group. we also listened to ancient japanese music and groups took inspiration from it to create their own music using simple sticks and bells to create a beat and a rhythm to accompany their presentation. the finished product showcased students tanka poems, paintings, and music. it was a lot of fun and we presented to other classes.
i recently used the poem quince (it's in the binder) to create a presentation with music and movement to act out the poem.
we first sat in a circle and talked about the poem and what it meant. then i played some ancient chinese music.
i then asked students to use slow movements set to the music to act out what the poem was about. one student recited the poem, others moved as trees (plum and peach tree), and two others exchanged gifts.
it was beautiful.[Edit by="aaguilar on Feb 21, 5:58:02 PM"][/Edit]
A sixth grade language arts standards asks us to teach the difference between myths, legends, fables, and folk tales. With myths, I often get caught in the trap of only using Greek mythology to explain what a myth is. I found a website, though, that shows many creation myths from around the world. It would be interesting to ask students to compare the various creation myths at some point. The Chinese creation myth along with the Chinese pantheon is included for free viewing on "The Big Myth" website:
http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/2_eng_myths.htm
I gave my students the opportunity to go on the website and explore it. While I was walking around I saw that many of them went to different myths that are not so common. They've learnded a lot and they get to use lap tops, since some of my kids don't even have a computer.
I'm the actual teacher that Ms. Roston referred to. I've used this novel for the past 7 years and it is a wonderful tool.
This novel takes pace during the early 1910-1930s and refers to several historical events that took place in China. The narrator is a woman who reflects on her life and the choices that lead her away from a traditional role as an upper class Chinese woman.
Her refusal to have her feet bound alters the whole course of her life.
The novel is a great jumping off point to teach about China. It also goes into the various types of Chinese languages, philosophies, gender roles and class roles.
On a side note, I hope to replace my books. They are pretty much falling apart or fallen apart.
Feel Free to contact me.
The novel is Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka
This is such a great idea! I was thinking about how to incorporate tanka poems in my unit on Asian Civilizations next year. Using inspiration from pictures could really get the creative juices flowing.
Another idea that came to me ... through Prof. Miyake ...was creating a class "living" tanka poem. She was explaining how in tanka every third addition to the original 17 syllable poem is usually a specific theme or has to happen within criteria. She suggested that, for example, they have to write about the class, the school or the principal to make it fun.
I was thinking of applying the parameters but doing the tanks through a moodle or wiki site to really make it living. It would be great to take to the kids into the comp. lab and have them just flow their ideas together and modify based on criteria established.
Anyway, thanks for the creative energy!
Lilli came to my class last month and did a great lesson on symmetry. She had the kids fold a piece of red paper and draw the character for good luck. Then cut it out and unfold. She then told the story of how it is displayed upside down. The kids really loved it.
On Friday I had 2 5th grade students who have done some research on the Great Wall come in and share what they learned with the 3rd graders. The kids loved it and had lots of questions. Some of the questions the 5th graders didn't know the answers to so they are going to find out and come back on Monday to share again with the class. It was a great exchange!!
Thanks great what you did with the kids sharing their ideas. I no longer teach MS, but am glad to hear what is happening with the kids there. Keep up the good job.
In the Teacher Resources section of "Education About Asia" (Winter, 2007 / Pg. 52), there is an entry by Li Fengjin that looked intriquing. She reviewed a public education comic book published in China in 1950 to teach barely literate people about the provisions of the marriage law. It is the story of a poor girl sold into marriage with a brutal man. The translated text provides a good introduction that explains marriage reform as a common goal of both the Nationalists and the Communists. An appendix provides the text of the 1950's marriaage law that mandated freedom of choice in marriage and divorce. Fengjin believes the book will provoke discussion of a range of topics related to marriage customs and Chinese Government attempts to change them.
There was a web site noted - http://www.opalmogusbooks.com
I think the presentation of the information in comic book form would be enough to entice middle school readers to enter a discussion of cultural norms.
In the same periodical is great article for the middle school teacher. The article is entitles, "Did the Middle Kingdom Have a Middle Period? The Problem of 'Medieval' in China's History." This very apt article authored by Keith N. Knapp, is a great question for us in-betweeneers to ponder.
He states how there are great similarities between Medieval China to Early Medieval Europe, primarily the lack of centralized government spanning the entire region.Another similarities, he states, is the amount of cultures interacting at that time, in that area.
What is really interesting is his attention to the dissimilarities. In the end he points towards the middle of the two geographic regions for a way of finding harmony between them all.
I highly suggest the article and am pleased to be subscribed to the journal.
The Scholastic Scope Magazine: Reading, Writing, and Reality for Teens - April 28, 08 issue has a great readers theater play that my students enjoyed. It is a few scenes from the movie, Forbidden Kingdom, coming out this summer. The movie stars Jackie Chan and will be a big hit (so say my students). The main character is sent back in time to ancient China to find a mysterious weapon. He has to joing a group of warriors and defeat a tyrannical leader. It is not exactly true to history, but much of the culture and some history appears to be taken from the past. The pictures in the magazine show some great sets that evoke Ancient China. It sounds like a fun film that many middle school students will enjoy.
My sixth grade classes have been preparing for an expository reading and writing assessment over the last several months. The test requires them to read an opinion article, summarize it and agree or disagree with the author in a well-written essay. I am constantly scanning the paper for appropriate articles, and as luck would have it, I ran across a FANTASTIC article in the January 24, 2008 issue of the LATimes titled "Custody Dispute Over History." Hundreds of bones of Chinese workers too poor to have been buried back in China and other Chinese artifacts were unearthed three years ago while digging the subway tunnel for the Gold Line in Boyle Heights. Now, these items are at the center of an emotional custody dispute. Historians and some local elected officials say they should be carefully preserved and studied in order to build a better narrative of how early Chinese immigrants lived in America. But a local citizen's committee believes the most respectful thing to do is rebury the remains as soon as possible. This article opened up a great classroom discussion of the 19th century Chinese male immigrants who could not vote, marry, own property,or be buried at local cemetaries. Students were able to practice expository writing techniques while learning about Chinese customs and immigration at the same time. I'll use the same article with my classes next year. I'm sure it may be found in the LATimes archives.
For 7th grade students studying the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this is a good site to explore.
The Asia Pacific Museum has an online exhibit called "Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China." It is available in either html or Flash Index. The backgound information is not too dificult for students to comprehend. Maneuverability within the site is simple and straight-forward.
After a brief introduction about the history of the badges, the student can enter one of five folders. The first, "Dragons and Phoenixes: Badges for the Imperial Family" includes 28 images. Each image can be enlarged. A short description accompanies each image.
The images are colorful and enlarging them does not take away from appreciating the detail because the focus function of the Flash keeps the image clear. One can see the individual threads and the color combinations of the embroidery. Examples of the symbols, the crane, clouds, the deer, are shown with a brief description. The eight Buddhist emblems are beautiful in red and blue. The eight immortals attributes are labled as are the five poisons: toad, lizard, centipede, snake and scorpion. One can search the emblems for the symbols.
The dragons emblazoned on the Emporers' robes are spectacular. Rank badges for the military feature lions and tigers and the symbolic meaning is explained. Civil Officials, the mandarins, had 9 ranks represented by birds. Each badge is explained and the rules of behavior by rank of the mandarins is delineated. Did you know that mandarins could not walk? They were required to travel by sedan chair and with an appropriate number of attendees, sometimes as many as 50.
This is an interesting site to share with students. It could easily be tied into an art project, a written assignment, or a posterboard presentation.
http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/rankandstyle/index.stm
An interactive site on Japan explores the Meiji Restoration.
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Meiji/english/html/menu.html
Six hosts introduce students to a variety of themes.
Students can explore emporers, samurai, religions, and politics. Another theme explores the arts including ceramics and the tea ceremony and another theme the wedding ceremony. Students can learn about the Japanese wars with Russia and China, the diet, politics, the Ginza, industry. The illustrations are two dimensional. The text is short and to the point. The interactiveness will keep students interested since they can always return to the menu and select another topic.
Another site to explore is The Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is well organized and easy to maneuver. It is an introduction to the traditional arts of Japan that will interest students. Most of the information is presented with minimal text accompanying pictures, but there are several short videos included.
http://web-japan.org/museum/menu.html
The Architecture and Gardens section was most interesting after our visit to the Huntington Gardens in May. There are four gardens for viewing, including a temple garden from 1339 and a 17th century palace garden outside Kyoto.
The Todaiji Temple houses the central Buddha (completed in 752 CE) and several newer buildings are on the same grounds. The pictures offer a fine study of temple architecture.
The Performing Arts section provides beautiful pictures of sets and costumed actors in Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku Puppet Theater. Enlarging the picture brings out the masks' details and the composition of the sets.
Pastimes include flower arranging, calligraphy (which includes the First Works of Calligraphy of the New Year), the tea ceremony and bonsai (of special interest since our trip to the Huntington Gardens).
There are also interesting sctions on martial arts (judo, sumo, karate and aikido), Ninja, Tanka and Haiku, and four festivals of Japan.
If you have a Quick-Time player plug-in, you can watch movies of Japanese festivals and martial arts.
This accessible site offers a lot of information that students can get into quickly and easily. Assigning topics to groups of students and having them report out to the class will be easy and interesting.
http://www.brainpop.com/
I like to use some of the short animated movies on brainpop. This website has many short movies on a variety of subjects. At the end of each short movie is a quiz. You can either print the quiz ahead of time or have the students take the quiz on the computer. China themed mini movies include the great wall, communism. The students enjoy watching the movies and quizzes are not very difficult.
I'd love some feedback....
I designed my curriculum unit (an assignment for the East Asian Seminar) for grade six history, and I decided to focus on The Silk Road. I wish I had more hours in the day! Maybe I would have checked this thread and found some of the ideas and websites listed here faster than I did! And, if I had more hours in a day, I would have also tried to incorporate more video clips, art, and other media into my lessons. Two examples that I have already found are "The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan", a CD with a collection of traditional music from the countries along the Silk Road; and clips from the movie "Warriors of Heaven and Earth", which has fantastic shots of desert, rocky terrain, mountains, and forest, and is supposed to take place on the Silk Road during the Tang dynasty in China. Alas, I can only do some much with the time alloted by the moving of the planet, so I had to stop somewhere and hand in a "completed" unit....but as with most lessons and ideas in the classroom, this plan will forever be evolving, and I will forever be in search of things to add!
So, with that being said, I will post the brief introduction PowerPoint I created to spark interest in my sixth graders, and I will post the 5-day mini unit and project on my next reply. This Intro PowerPoint is supposed to be very basic and leave questions unanswered, because the next step of the mini unit is a research project that will require the students to do research for more details about it. (See below and my next reply for more details!)
If anyone is interested in the other materials and handouts and I don't end up posting them here on my own, please reply to this thread and I will post them.
Quick overview of the project: Students will work in small groups to research detailed answers to one question about the Silk Road (What it was, Where it was, What was traded, What the impact was, etc.). The small group will write, then record themselves reading, a mini-report about their topic. They will select images to show more about their topics and put their recorded mini-reports on the slides. The end result will be a class PowerPoint presentation about the Silk Road (putting all the group slides together) that has audio (the recorded mini-reports) and visual (the selected images).
This the the Silk Road Mini-Unit I designed (See my last post). If anyone is interested in the other materials and handouts and I don't end up posting them here on my own, please reply to this thread and I will post them.
Quick overview of the project: Students will work in small groups to research detailed answers to one question about the Silk Road (What it was, Where it was, What was traded, What the impact was, etc.). The small group will write, then record themselves reading, a mini-report about their topic. They will select images to show more about their topics and put their recorded mini-reports on the slides. The end result will be a class PowerPoint presentation about the Silk Road (putting all the group slides together) that has audio (the recorded mini-reports) and visual (the selected images).
I would love any feedback![Edit by="aharris on Jul 26, 12:24:20 PM"]I am not sure why the file didn't get attached...I'll try again! (Tough to get any feedback on a file that's not here!)[/Edit]
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