This unit;
China: Soldiers, Soduku and Stories
is for elementary school students who would like to learn about Ancient China, Terracotta Warriors, Chinese character writing and stories. This unit is targeted for grade four but can be adapted or modified for younger or older students. My unit on China is divided into four sections. Section one will address geography and China's location. My second section involves the wonderful discovery of the Terracotta Warriors and a hands-on art project. My next section addresses Chinese numbers/characters, followed by a fun activity with a Soduku puzzle. The last section involves reading selected books, discussing and writing questions generated to meet the Connecticut and New Haven Reading Department strands. At the end of this unit, my hope is to have my students develop a better understanding of Ancient China by incorporating map skills, mathematics and a fun hands-on project. Students will be encouraged to use their talents, creativity and individual input when completing their projects.
My students are going to research China and its geography on the laptop computer provided in our school. This section, "
China
," will be the knowledge based section about China and its land. The students are going to view various China's maps from the past and present, viewing variety geographical historical maps. Students are going to utilize a variety of ways to locate and mark China on a map. They are going to identify longitude and latitude, and label relevant landmarks such as capital, Great Wall of China, the city of Xian, where the Terracotta Soldiers were discovered, major rivers and cities. This research activity will involve the computer, library/librarian, resource books, and a large classroom poster size map of China. The information students collect about China and its geography will be placed on the poster sized map and in their own notebooks. It has been my experience that many students in the elementary grades have a difficult time locating countries on maps and even difficulty with states. Map skills will be an important focus in this section.
The second section, "
Soldiers
" will involve researching the Terracotta warriors from the Qin Dynasty and the historical facts about the Qin Emperor. In 1974, over eight thousand soldiers made out of terra cotta clay were discovered. Students are going to read about this amazing find and participate in an art activity making a terra cotta clay soldier of their own. I will include three varieties of Art activities so that teacher many utilize all three or choose the one best suited for their classroom facilities.
The third section entitled "
Sudoku,
" is a Japanese numbers game but incorporating this fun activity will allow the students a different way to learn how to write them, and how to pronounce Chinese numbers. This activity is part of the math curriculum. I am going incorporate Chinese character writing in during my math block and then allow my students to practice character strokes for homework or during independent time. Students can then develop character writing skills and begin practicing speaking a different language.
The next section, "
Stories
" is for students' and teachers' reading enjoyment. A variety of genre in literature is critical in the elementary grades. I want to encourage my students to love to read, not just reading for information. I am going to read fiction and non-fiction text about China and its culture during guided reading, shared reading and read aloud. Two good books are: Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China, by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen and Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel/illustrated by Blair Lent. The book Tikki Tikki Tembo is a fun book, but it has a problem which teachers need to know before reading to the students. The name "Tikki Tikki Tembo is not Chinese, even though the introduction claims that the story is a Chinese folktale. A way to solve this problem is that I will discuss with my class authentic Chinese names and tie my comprehension question into the activity. Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China is an accurate description of China and its culture.
My unit will address all strands that are aligned for Davis Street Interdistrict Art Magnet curriculum, along with the New Haven Public School Standards. My unit will also meet all Social Studies strands. (See Appendix 1) These strands are also State mandated and are available on the New Haven website. Comprehension questions for the books Ms. Frizzle's Adventure: Imperial China and Tikki Tikki Tembo will be aligned with the CMT strands. Most common questions will correlate to the strand the students are working on that week.
