Exploring China

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It is always exciting and eye-opening for students to learn about another culture.  By exploring cultures, students begin to get a sense of the world around them. China's culture is something that many students find fascinating.  They begin to see how cultures that can be so very different, can also have some similarities. This unit allows students to explore China through literature as well as Internet resources.

OBJECTIVE
Students will:

1. Discover fundamental differences between China and the U.S.
2. Compare our daily lives to the life of a child in China
3. Explore how literature can change in different cultures
4. Compare and contrast the two cultures' versions of Little Red Riding Hood
5. Research geography, history, celebrations, and people of China
6. Become an expert in one topic by researching it further
7. Create a poster with a group of four to display their learnings
8. Share their findings with the rest of the class

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: Comparing Lifestyles
Lesson 2: Lon Po Po: A Chinese Fairytale Lesson Plan
Lesson 3: Chinese Cultural WebQuest

REPRODUCIBLES
Comparing Our Cultures Venn Diagram (PDF)
Fairy Tale Comparison T-Chart (PDF)

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

The WebQuest serves as a great culminating activity to studying China.  It incorporates cultural, geographical, and historical aspects of the country.  By allowing each student to become an expert in one area, they become the teachers to the other members in the group.  This creates an interactive learning environment, and all students are completely engaged.  Through presenting the information to the class, the students have to justify their ideas and gain an even better understanding of the content

SUPPORTING BOOKS

Books for Exploring China

ARTICLE	Confucianism | Asian Philosophy Learn about Confucianism, the philosophical system founded on the teaching of Confucius, which dominated the sociopolitical life of China for most of that country's history and largely influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Indochina.
LESSON PLAN	Chinese Cultural WebQuest Allows students to research different cultural aspects of China. After researching information, students group together to create posters showcasing...
ONLINE ACTIVITY	Grade 1 - What Did Native Americans Do First? Did you know that Native Americans were the first people to make maple syrup and hammocks? Find out other things Native Americans invented in...