I teach world history and Ethnic studies. In World history, I cover imperialism in China and the century of humiliation. In Ethnic studies, I talk about how all the problems plaguing China in the 1800’s became push factors for Chinese immigrants and the Gold Rush and railroads in American were pull factors. For educators that are interested in having their students from different classes collaborate, a museum project would be a great idea. Students from both World History and Ethnic Studies classes (U.S. history would work too) could come together and create a museum exhibit that tell the story of China’s people in the 1800’s during Imperialism.
This could be a multi-step project. First, students could be taken to the library to compile research in their district’s/school’s database. Then, they could select 3 artifact/topics they want cover in their museum exhibit and write a 1-page report on them. An example of an artifact to cover could be a gold rush mining tool Chinese workers used. Then, as a class they can begin to assemble their part of the museum exhibit. A group of students can be tasked with making dioramas, others can begin to write the captions that will be hung next to the artifacts, others can prepare to be museum docents. The opportunities are endless.
After all classes/periods have contributed they can do a walk-through of the museum exhibit. This could also be a great project to show case during Open House and if other classrooms are willing, they can do their own museum project for another Asian country/time-period. Other departments such as English and Art can become involved, and this can be a school wide event that can be showcased in the school auditorium. The possibilities are endless. One of my favorite memories of my high school experience was when all the history and English teachers would show case a decade museum in the auditorium every school year. Students would have booths, dress up according to the period, and give information to students/classes who showed up to see the museum. This could be easily recreated with a number of topics.