WIS0320 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I am planning for a two week mini unit on Ancient China and I am looking for age appropriate resources and crafts. I've found a few things I am happy with but I am eager for any recommendations from WTM folks! I think we could handle some slightly older aged materials as my husband is Chinese and my 6 year old already has a working knowledge of Mandarin and some cultural awareness because of her grandparents. Thanks. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 A little above her level but we like all of the projects you can build yourself books by Nomad Press - This is the one about Ancient China. All of the books have lots of good reading, vocabulary and quite a few projects. We have and use several of them and as far as I know they are all pretty similar in style and depth, but we haven't used this one specifically. It is generally a chapter of reading, sidebars with vocabulary, people to know, first person quotes or cultural tidbits and one or two projects per chapter. The projects are generally more than just cut and paste, but relevant to the time period and culture. The only project I saw in this book was making paper but the one we just finished included making a fresco and a mosaic in addition to a lot of other stuff. I used it with an 11 year old and the books are generally 3rd - 5th grade level. We have also used history pockets but those don't really have any culturally relevant projects, just a lot of cut and paste. The ancient china one is geared towards 1st-3rd graders though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 (edited) Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats is a neat book about Chinese festivals that we enjoyed when dd was in 1st. We also read aloud Tales from a Chinese Grandmother, but I would preview those first. Hope that helps! ETA: We also read this book about the Great Wall, lots of information, the pictures are black and white, but dd really enjoyed it. Edited June 26, 2011 by Pata forgot a book :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 ETA: We also read this book about the Great Wall, lots of information, the pictures are black and white, but dd really enjoyed it. That's the one Sonlight does in first grade, and :iagree:, it's pretty neat. Plus, your daughter could probably read it to you--the language is pretty simple and it's a fairly short book. Here are a couple suggestions from All Through the Ages (which is a great resource if you're planning on doing a lot of this type of unit study, by the way): Growing Up in Ancient China, by Ken Teague Look What Came From China!, by Miles Harvey Ancient Chinese Art: Art in History, by Jane Shuter. This is one that is meant for an older audience, but it does give suggestions for art products that you might be able to modify. The only one for which I have personal experience, though, is the Great Wall of China book referenced above. That one's a keeper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccumbers Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Hearts and Hands has wonderful history kits. One of them is Ancient Far East! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Food4Thought Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 One of DS's favorite books last year was The Empress and the Silkworm. He even came up with his own sort of project to go with it. He cut several caterpillars from paper, then wrapped them in soft string. For several days, he wound and unwound his "silkworms" - pretending to dip them in tea first, etc. You can easily segue into studies on life cycles, what clothes are made of, the history of silk, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I have some books on my Amazon book list. Most are for older children, but there are some picture books/younger read alouds. I thought the 'See Through History' book was particularly good. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 'The Warlord's' series by Virginia Pilegard - I read those aloud to my daughter at that age, and each book has a related craft or activity in the back. The idea of each book is to take a scientific or mathematical concept that was known or invented in Ancient China and tell a story of who it might have come about - for example, The Warlord's Puzzle tells of how tangrams might have been invented when a beautiful tile broke, and a contest was held to put if back together. In the back, there is a little tangram activity. There are half a dozen or so books, your library should have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miselainia Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I second Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats. I've also used a couple of ideas from Marco Polo for Kids: His Marvelous Journey to China, 21 Activities (For Kids series). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Food4Thought Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 'The Warlord's' series by Virginia Pilegard - I read those aloud to my daughter at that age, and each book has a related craft or activity in the back. The idea of each book is to take a scientific or mathematical concept that was known or invented in Ancient China and tell a story of who it might have come about - for example, The Warlord's Puzzle tells of how tangrams might have been invented when a beautiful tile broke, and a contest was held to put if back together. In the back, there is a little tangram activity. There are half a dozen or so books, your library should have them. I didn't realize this was a series! We loved the Warlord's Puzzle and did a lot of tangram play after that. Thanks for the recommendation. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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