Curated OER
Culture of China
Second graders explore the oral language of the Chinese, retell folk tales, and eat with chopsticks. They view a slide show of China to examine what life is like in China. They memorize three Chineses phrases and note three differences...
Curated OER
The Joy Luck Club
Students read The Joy Luck Club and analyze the effect of having to translate from one culture into another. Students trace patterns that link mothers and daughters in the novel, and write an essay comparing personal experiences to those...
Curated OER
Teaching with Video in an English Class
Learners participate in a video English class. For this video lesson, students read a play then video activities they do to better understand the play. Learners video themselves answering questions about the play then listen to the...
Curated OER
Activating Students Through Storytelling
Fourth graders produce a podcast of a elements of a Chinese folk tale. In this Chinese folk tale and podcasting lesson plan, 4th graders watch as the teacher performs Peach Blossom Spring: A Chinese folk tale. They decide on who will...
Curated OER
Chapter 9: A Surprising Day and A Little Bit About China
Fifth graders complete activities with Chapter 9 of the book The Fastest Pig in the West by Randi Hacker. In this literature lesson, 5th graders discuss the concept of saving face and how it affects the main character's decisions....
Curated OER
Write Your Own Folk or Fairy Tale
Learners analyze folk and fairy tales. In this language arts activity, students discuss the elements of a tale determining what the differences are between folk and fairy tales. Learners then write their own tales using the graphic...
Curated OER
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Students discuss character development, literary devices, events, and foreshadowing found in, "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts" by Maxine Hong Kingston. They compare and contrast the main character's actions while...
Curated OER
Kodomo No Hi: Children's Day Celebration
Children's Day is a beloved Japanese holiday with many colorful and engaging traditions. On this national holiday celebrated yearly on May 5, children are honored for their strengths and given good wishes for happiness. Your younger...
Penguin Books
Folklore and Fairytales: A Guide to Using Traditional Tales and Reimagined Classics
Every culture has its own stories to tell. An interesting educator's guide shares a large collection of fairytales and folktales, some from different cultures and some re-creations of classics. A summary and brief teaching ideas...
Hampton-Brown
From "First Crossing"
Young scholars look closely at four tales taken from the collection of short stories, First Crossing edited by Donald R. Galloby. While examining the life of four teenagers and the lives they lead as U.S. immigrants, your enthusiastic...
Curated OER
Understanding History Through Oracle Bone Study
Students study the Chinese characters and oracle bone inscriptions in order to understand the relevance of language to the reflection of cultural values. They examine the appearance of an oracle bone and the use of oracle bones in...
Curated OER
Seems Like a Million Bucks
Young scholars explore philanthropy. In this service learning lesson plan, students read Sam and the Lucky Moon, identify the elements of the story, and examine the benefits and costs of giving.
Curated OER
Words And the Images They Create
Students explore how the written languages of China and Japan evolved, creating representations of Chinese and Japanese Poetry. Emphasis is placed on small, cooperative learning groups.
Curated OER
The Profound Simplicity Of Scrolls
Learners create art scrolls in the Chinese style using individual examples of landscape pictures and poetry in this lesson for the middle-level Language Arts, Social Studies, or Art classroom.
Curated OER
Folktales Reflect Daoist and Buddhist Traditions
Tenth graders compare three Chinese folktales for their "messages" and literary techniques to see how they reflect Chinese Confucian and Taoist values. They discuss how folktales share certain subjects, characters, plots and themes.
Curated OER
The Three Perfections
Students discover the various styles, form, beauty, and grace of Chinese calligraphy by examining works of art from different eras in China's history. This instructional activity includes two possible enrichment activities.
Curated OER
Natural Enemies
Fourth graders engage in the reading of an ancient Chinese fairy tale. The goal of the lesson is for them to become creative in the use of writing. The story creates a context for student's writing and ideas for future drafts.
Curated OER
Looking Through Lenses
Students explore the various societal and cultural "lenses" which color their perspectives and life experiences by reading the short story "What Means Switch" by Gish Jen. They discuss how the cultural ideas and beliefs affect the...
Curated OER
???Autumn in the Palace of the Han??? by Ma chih-yuan
Young scholars read and analyze a play that takes place in the late 1200s under the Yuan dynasty of the Mongols. They examine the structure of Yuan plays, participate in performing sections of the play, write a three page essay, and...
Curated OER
April and the Dragon Lady by Lensey Namioka
Students read, analyze and discuss the book, "April and the Dragon Lady," by Lensey Namioka and then take an online quiz over it. They are then instructed to complete a worksheet over the book and are also graded on how well they worked...
Curated OER
Xu Bing and New English
Students explore a Powerpoint presentation as an introduction to Xu Bing and his new English calligraphy. In this new English lesson, students understand that new English was invented by this artist and resembles Chinese characters....
Curated OER
Analects of Confucius
Sixth graders explore the saying of Confucius and the Chinese desire to conduct one's life honorably and diligently. They work in groups to restate his saying in modern English and demonstrate each saying with a poster or skit.
Curated OER
The World of Cinderella Stories
First graders listen to traditional and nontraditional Cinderella stories and watch a video entitled "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters." Individually, children draw and illustrate the stories they have heard, create a story sequence, and...
Curated OER
Giving Generously
Students are read a book about giving. They discover that giving to others is rewarding. They also locate China on a map and make their own rice cakes.