Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Comparing Themes
The tale of "Lon Po Po" is a Chinese story, very similar to the European tale of "Little Red Riding Hood." Learners make cross cultural comparisons between the two tales, focusing on themes common to both. They review story elements such...
American Documentary
Confucianism in a Changing Society
The Last Train Home, a 2009 documentary about China's migrant factory workers, provides viewers with an opportunity to explore how China's emergence as a global manufacturing force is challenging Chinese traditional values like...
Curated OER
Winter Holidays Around the World
How much do you know about the holidays around the world? Second graders put their knowledge to the test with a 14-day lesson about global celebrations. They read informational text, employ KWL charts, and compare and contrast the many...
Curated OER
Chinese Calendar
Third graders listen to a Mak Kam's, "My Chinatown: One Year in Poems," before locating China on a map. They discuss the Chinese language and culture, comparing it to the American culture. They determine which animal sign they were born...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lu Shih — The Couplets of T’ang
Writing poetry in ancient China was the modern equivalent of sending a greeting card. Scholars learn about the ancient Chinese poetic form called the lu shih. They read about the context of poetry during the T'ang Dynasty and complete a...
Curated OER
Chopsticks and Chinese Food Culture
Sixth graders discover why food is an important part of a culture. As a class, they practice the table manners used in China and identify the underlying values. They develop the skills to properly use chopsticks to end the lesson.
Curriculum Corner
Holidays Around the World
Celebrate traditions and cultures around the world with a set of worksheets and printables. Fourth and fifth graders can create booklets or simply participate in individual studies of specific holidays in different countries. From lined...
Curated OER
Introduction to China
Compare and contrast the distinctive characteristics of art forms from various cultural, historical, and social contexts, and describe how the same subject matter is represented differently in works of art across cultures and time...
Curated OER
Asian Cinderella Tales
Explore the world of fairy tales using this instructional activity focusing on higher- order thinking skills. Learners compare and contrast an Asian Cinderella story to other versions. It is a great way to review the characteristics of...
Curated OER
Yixing Teapots
Students study the Chinese Zodiac and use this subject matter as influence in creating Yixing teapots from clay,
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Intro to China
Understanding the global interconnection between people of other nations is extremely important in our ever-shrinking world. Emergent global thinkers examine the significance of Chinese culture, religion, and political power. They then...
Council for Economic Education
Why Didn't China Discover the New World?
Who was Zheng He and why haven't we heard of him? Scholars consider the question as they compare his vast expeditionary force to that of Christopher Columbus. Young historians then ponder the intersection of science, economics, and...
Curated OER
Chinese Philosophies
Students compare Confucianism and Daoism. In this Chinese culture lesson, students listen to a lecture comparing the religious philosophies and take a quiz at the end of the lesson.
Curated OER
Personal Travel Guide to a Chinese City
Scholars become travel guides in this group research project to investigate a Chinese city or region for a presentation. Heavily based on Internet research, the activity requires participants to jigsaw the final project, so each team...
Curated OER
Chinese New Year
Students explore the Chinese New Year celebration. Through the use of interactive video and the Internet, they will examine the sequence of events that occur during the preparation and festivities. Students compare the Chinese New Year...
DocsTeach
Immigration to America: Stories and Travels
An eye-opening activity uses documents and photos to help academics understand the factors that pushed or pulled immigrants to America. Young historians group photos based on a push or pull factor, then complete a worksheet. Scholars...
Curated OER
Imagining China Through Words
Students create a drawing from a written description to examine images of China in European art. For this art analysis lesson, students create a visual image from a written description of an object. Students compare their image to the...
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
Should the Ming End the Treasure Voyages?
During the first century of Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the government sent out a total of seven voyages into the Indian Ocean. Young historians will discuss, explain, role play, and compare the decisions made by rulers during the...
Curated OER
Imagining China through Words
When Europeans first came back with tales of China, they provided vivid written accounts and minimal visual imput. This resulted in art rendered mostly from descriptive language. Learners explore this phenomena by listening to...
Curated OER
Chinese And Japanese Tomb Cultures
Students examine burial customs in ancient China and Japan comparing those customs to burial traditions from other cultures. This lesson leads to group creative projects of mock "tombs".
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
Cinderella Trilogy
Young scholars look at three different versions of the Cinderella story. In this comparative literature lesson plan, students read the Chinese version "Yeh-Shen", the Egyptian version "Rhodopis," and the Native American version "The...
Curated OER
Chinese Calligraphy
Students explore Chinese calligraphy. In this art and social science lesson, students copy the Chinese character ideograms in order to create words or phrases.