Curated OER
Creating Characters
Students identify simple pictographs and ideographs from Chinese writing. They create their own images, and combine characters to communicate ideas to one another, introducing basic foundations of how elements of the Chinese writing...
Curated OER
Changing Places
Learners investigate the Chinese-American immigration experience. In this assimilation lesson, students watch "Becoming American: The Chinese Experience" and then participate in classroom activities regarding the topic. The activities...
Curated OER
The Rigors of Learning a New Language
Students consider the immensity of the the task the author undertook to learn Chinese. They examine the rigors involved in learning another language-particularly one as notoriously difficult as Chinese and compare aspects of Chinese...
Curated OER
How I Became Me
Students examine their own identities and read about the experiences of adopted Chinese daughters celebrating the Jewish rite of passage, the bat mitzvah. They write personal poems or speeches illustrating how their identities evolved.
Curated OER
International Communication: Why English?
In this international communication of why English worksheet, students participate in four activities including why important sites are relevant to the history of communication, matching explanations with sites and conversation starters...
Curated OER
Civil Rights/Segregation
Sixth graders investigate Civil Rights by participating in role-playing activities. In this U.S. History lesson plan, 6th graders research the history of slavery in order to portray a story through their debating and acting abilities. ...
Curated OER
Sunken Treasure
Go on a treasure hunt with your language arts class! They read "Treasure Hunt" and "Exploring the Titanic," then create a final product by taking part in an unusual art activity.
Curated OER
Folktales (African American, Chinese, Japanese and Korean)
Students participate in a variety of activities that are concerned with comparing different cultures through the literary genre of folktales. The stories are used to stimulate student interest and provide a context for how a society...
Curated OER
Feng Shui for the Budding Interior Decorator
Students examine the uses and beliefs associated with the Chinese art of Feng Shui. The class reads about the traditional uses of Feng Shui. Individually, each student creates a room makeover using Feng Shui principles.
Curated OER
The Flights Of The Phoenix
Students investigate the use of the Phoenix in Japanese and Chinese art while making connections to the use of the Phoenix in the book Fahrenheit 451. This instructional activity can be adapted for grades 8 through 11 but was originally...
PBS
Baker's Gold
Students examine art of the California Gold Rush. In this visual arts lesson, students analyze the photography and art of Isaac Wallace Baker. Students also conduct further research about the miners of the era in order to create...
Curated OER
Asian Landscape Scroll
Pupils study the ancient art of Chinese scroll painting. They create an original landscape painting mounted on printed framing paper. Students discuss information about Chinese scroll paintings, an art form used for a least 2,000 years....
Curated OER
Tomb Guardians
Students practice using compasses to find cardinal directions in this cross-curricular lesson about the Chinese art of tomb sculptures. The lesson also includes a creative lesson extension.
Curated OER
San Francisco, Ahoy!
Fifth graders analyze paintings that share a common theme of San Francisco as seen by some of the first travelers who arrived there. In this art history lesson plan, 5th graders consider the experiences involved with the arrival to a new...
Curated OER
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Lesson: Immigration
Many of your class members will have heard of Executive Order 9066 and the Japanese internment camps of World War II. Some may even recognize the terms “Issei” and “Nisei,” but few will have heard of Enemy Alien Hearing Boards, of the...
Curated OER
The Tank Man
Students explore the events surrounding the confrontation at Tiananmen Square between Chinese forces and "The Tank Man." They discover how censorship affects what the media reports and what the public learns. Students research China's...
Curated OER
Word Play
Students explore the work of Xu Bing. In this visual arts instructional activity, students examine the art piece "Monkeys Grasp for the Moon" and compare it to the Buddhist folktale on which it is based. Students create animated flip...
Curated OER
Paper Making
Sixth graders examine and discuss the history of paper making. They create pieces of paper from raw materials, then decorate their papers to use as journal entries or scrapbook designs.
Curated OER
Tintin and I: Primary and Secondary Sources
Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and Tintin? Belgian cartoonist Georges (Herge) Remi’s famous comic character launches a study of primary and secondary source material and the impact these sources have on storytelling. Class members also examine the...
Curated OER
Writing a Historical Poem
Students work together to research a historical event. They create their own poems based on their research. They share their poems with the class and discuss the historical event further.
Curated OER
Keep Heritage Alive
Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.
Media Smarts
News and Newspapers: Across the Curriculum
Did you know that the Chinese Court Gazette is the longest continuing news paper in history? In addition to some great background information, this resource includes suggestions for activities across grade levels and across the curriculum.
Curated OER
Feudal Powers in Japan
A traditional textbook chapter focuses on feudal powers in Japan, and includes vocabulary, note-taking tips in the sidebar, main ideas, and follow-up assessment questions. It also incorporates opportunities for art analysis and geography...
Curated OER
Maurya & Gupta India
Art, power, and commerce are often the hallmarks of a mighty empire - and the ancient world of India is no exception. The presentation explores the Maurya, Asoka, and Gupta Empires, detailing the territorial and artistic changes that...