pre-2011 web resources

[Anonymous]

Here’s another interesting site that I came across: National Geographic Special on China

It is the National Geographic Special Interactive site on China. There are several subfolders on the following topics: China’s Journey, Gunzhou Village, the Olympic Boom, Bitter Waters, Aerials, Tibetans, Return to Changing China, and Life in Forbidden Lhasa.

Almost every section is composed of an editorial essay by various scholars, reporters and writers with Chinese backgrounds, as well as interactive galleries, maps, videos, etc. I scrolled through most of them yesterday and the shots are stunning—I wouldn’t expect anything less from National Geographic. Along those lines, the articles that I read were compelling and seemed very well-informed. Most of the articles are first-hand accounts of the author’s experiences in China; these are not scholarly essays. Still, it is a worthwhile site to visit and poke around in.

[Anonymous]

I recently had a student present his knowledge of the abacus to the class. If you have students that know how to use the abacus, I highly encourage this. He did it as an oral report and explained how it works and even allowed the other student to try it out. I was fortunate to have an abacus activity sheet from years ago that I had found in the Scholastic Math magazine to use as a follow up. Unfortunately it is out of print, but I did find an online abacus you could experiment with at

http://www.alabacus.com/abacus/

[Anonymous]

Here's another abacus website. It gives background, lesson plans, and worksheets for using the abacus.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the great website recommendation, askasia.org. I went to the grade 3-5 lesson plan area and found a fun simulation lesson on population density in Korea. It has follow up questions. My students read a story called "Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip" in their textbook, and I can see how this lesson would fit in great as an extension.

http://www.askasia.org/teachers/lessons/plan.php?no=67&era=&grade=02&geo=%5BEdit by="ssmith on Apr 20, 1:10:51 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

As I was exploring appropriate topics for a good way to bring the study of Asia into my first grade classroom, I came across this website:
http://www.unc.edu/~rwilkers/title.htm
It's very simple, with just a list of stories and books from China. The list includes the titles and summaries of picture books and stories that could be used with younger students. It also has a set of photos of different places in China. One of interest was the picture of the Great Wall. The photo did a good job of illustrating the vastness of distance this wall covers. One of the stories listed connects to this photo because it is an ancient Chinese legend which takes place during the period of the building of the Great Wall. I am considering using folk or fairy tales to try to incorporate Asian topics into my 1st grade curriculum, so the summaries of the different stories are helpful for my planning. I'm still not sure about where I will be able to take this as far as teaching about China, but hopefully when I check out the actual books, I will be able to put something together.

[Anonymous]

Here's a good one: http://www.pbs.org/empires.japan

This is the website which accompanies the pbs 2-part special "Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire." It is an interactive site which allows the reader to "travel" through Edo and experience it as several different characters such as: samurai, merchant, geisha, daimyo, farmer, courtesan, and cook. In addition to little informational blurbs about each character, you can also listen to instruments of the time period and create a woodblock print.

It is a great source for basic information.

[Anonymous]

Don't miss this on the National Geographic Channel starting May 4th!

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/china-revealed">China Revealed

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/china-revealed

This site has some great video clips of China's Mummies, Pollution, Shanghai's Supertower, etc. It also links to some great photos
(obviously -- it's National Geographic!!!) 😛

[Anonymous]

http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html">Smithsonian Education
http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html

This is a website for all grade levels and disciplines. It has great lesson plans (here's one example from History & Culture: "Letters from the Japanese Internment"). It also allows the user to search it's Resource Library by Keyword or by State Standard. I entered keyword "China" and came up with a bunch of great resources.

A really helpful area is Asian Pacific American Heritage Teaching Resources
that will really come in handy NOW since May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the recommendation of the Smithsonian site, http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html

I visited the site and found a lot of great information. Although most of it could not be utilized by my first grade students directly or on their own, the site has a great resource for teachers which is a publication called "Art to Zoo." I was able to download several of the publications to use for planning my unit on Asia. I found one about celebrations and one about ethnic folklore that have a lot of great ideas for activities to teach various cultural traditions. The site also provided grade level standards specific to individual states that can be taught using the ideas in the publication. This has given me some creative options of ways to fit the topic of Asia into my curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this information. I'm so excited to watch China Revealed this Sunday. I didn't know about it until your post. THANKS. I've had fun scoping it out on the website that you included.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to use Chinapage.com in my 9th grade English classroom next September. I regularly have students select Outside Reading books, usually from my organized book lists, but sometimes they research and select books on their own. Using Chinapage.com, students can easily research books, get a brief synopsis, and even connect directly to Amazon.com to order.

My high schools are very computer proficient so although the website could be more intuitive, they can find the information that they need to complete the book research assignment. I will tell them to click on the link to BOOKS on the left column and then scroll and click to find additional information. I imagine that once on the website, students will click to learn more about China since the topics range from books, to movies, to common last names, etc.

This would make for an interesting homework assignment.

[Anonymous]

I have great news!!!

There is a wonderful resource online available to everyone for free. It is the iTunes U!

If you have yet to download iTunes onto your home computer, so it now! Just go onto the application, ans along the left side tool bar is a choice to see iTunes U. There you can find ALL sorts of lectures from the countries must prestigious universities. You can hear and watch lectures and ENTIRE COURSES right from the privacy of your own home of out in the world on your iPod.

There are some wonderful lectures about Asian history, arts, current events, geography, policy and much more. All you have to do is browse. If you did not know about this, look into it and tell a friend!

[Anonymous]

Annenberg Media website
I use this site often for science lessons and videos, and I received an e-mail (see below) with a wealth of info and links to Units & Lessons related to China! It has something for all grade levels!
Have fun with the info below (just copy & paste the URLs):

"With its extensive land mass and the world's largest population, China has been hard to ignore for decades-even before its economy started to overshadow world trade. Now its handling of demonstrations in Tibet has caused attention to shift from its promotion of its role as Olympic host to its less flattering history of human rights.

Bridging World History, which looks at global patterns through time, offers a number of resources to help students better understand China's history and potential role in the future. Unit 2, "History and Memory," explores the ways historians, nations, families and individuals capture, exploit, and know the past. http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_main_2.html

In "Order and Early Societies" http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_main_6.html, the rise of the Chinese empire is one of the case studies used in considering alternative political and social orders and related distribution of power and material resources. "Early Economies" further develops these themes as it looks at how societies assign value to land, labor and material goods. The commercial revolution in China illustrates the results of dramatic economic change. http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_main_8.html

Mao Zedong is a primary figure in "People Shape the World" as it examines the impact of the individual (and collective action) in world history. http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_video_23-1.html
The approaching Summer Olympics in China make an interesting case study for the themes examined in Unit 25 of "ridging World History." This program suggests that modern icons of "Global Popular Culture" reflect the intertwined cultural, political, and commercial dimensions of globalization. http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_main_25.html

The updated case study of Sijia in "Changes on the Chang Jiang," " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.learner.org/powerofplace/page9.html> from the series The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century, includes information on changing lifestyles in China and the development of township enterprises that contrast with the more familiar approach to economic development visible in Shanghai. In "Booming Maritime Edge," the updated case study of Guangdong addresses "Special Economic Zones" that include privately owned enterprises that, until recently, were a rare occurrence in communist China. " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.learner.org/powerofplace/page10.html>
"Global Forces/Local Impact," Workshop 8 of Teaching Geography, uses a case study that also includes the Guangdong region in its investigation of the relationship between the global economy and local ecology. http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/geography/wkp8intr.html

"China Through Mapping," from Social Studies in Action: A Teaching Practices Library, demonstrates how to integrate world geography with the study of Chinese culture for K-2 students. http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/socialstudies/k_2/norton/index.html

The rise of East Asia, especially China, is a case study in "The Evolving World Economy." http://www.learner.org/resources/series86.html. This episode of Inside the Global Economy was updated in 2003.

Human Geography: People, Places, and Change offers several programs that insight into the complexities of major socioeconomic change. As discussed in "Reflections on a Global Screen," many countries have feared that Hollywood would become the dominate cultural force. It is still a major player, but the globalization of the media is no longer a one-way street. Also consider "The World of the Dragon" as it examines the transitional network of the Chinese business world. http://www.learner.org/resources/series85.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.learner.org/resources/series85.html

These programs can be viewed free of charge through Video on Demand. Visit our Web site http://www.learner.org/faq/faq_broadband.html for general instructions and technical requirements.
--------------------------------------------------

*** ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH ***

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month-an excellent time to explore our resources that teach about the history, cultural legacy, and unique perspectives of Asian Pacific Americans.

Bridging World History http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_main_26.html looks at Asian civilizations within the broader context of global developments. Unit 26, "World History and Identity," includes a segment about the Chinese diaspora.

The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century http://www.learner.org/resources/series180.html surveys contemporary geography of several Asian Pacific countries.

Consider the cultural exchange between Asian Pacific cultures and America through media and industrial globalization with Human Geography: People, Places, and Change http://www.learner.org/resources/series85.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.learner.org/resources/series85.html

Art and literature resources add interpretive and personal perspectives:

Explore issues of identity, race, tradition, and cultural adaptation through the writings of several Asian Pacific American authors in Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades. http://www.learner.org/resources/series203.html

The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature in High School http://www.learner.org/resources/series178.html offers material that high school teachers can draw upon in teaching the works of several Asian Pacific Americans. For example, read and hear the work of poet Russell Leong http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/hslit/session6/aw/work2.html, whose poem "Aerogrammes" is discussed by Professor Beverly Chin of the University of Montana. The related lesson plan is also available online. http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/hslit/session6/lessonplans.html

American Passages: A Literary Survey http://www.learner.org/resources/series164.html considers the historical significance of the writings of Asian Pacific Americans, particularly in Program 12, "Migrant Struggle," and Program 16, "Search for Identity." Other materials include biographical sketches, including one of author Sui Sin Far (Edith Maud Eaton) http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit09/authors-5.html, and an artifact archive containing photos, historical documents, and other artifacts related to Asian Pacific American history. http://www.learner.org/amerpass/slideshow/archive_search.php

See painter Hung Liu's approach in commenting on the Last Emperor and his court-using historical photos, oil paint, and a blend of techniques-in A World of Art: Works in Progress. http://www.learner.org/resources/series64.html

A number of the programs in Exploring the World of Music include traditional music from Japan that demonstrates how it serves as expressions of the culture.
http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html

Teaching Foreign Languages K-12, a video library that illustrates effective instruction http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/tfl/ includes concepts of culture, comparisons, connections to students' lives, and the importance of community. Classrooms studying Japanese and Chinese are included, and the series Webpage includes a link to resources about the study of Asian societies.
http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/tfl/resources/gen_resources.html#Chinese "

[Anonymous]

One great source believe it or not is HBO.Com They ofter have educational videos that include China and most recently the activities surrounding the Olympic torch.
You will find this site useful on a daily basis!

[Anonymous]

http://www.teachingforchange.org This is a sight not the greatest for History. I can see how the change in ethics and pollution can be tied in on occasion but all in all I would have to say I do not recommend this sight for United States History.

[Author]

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