Unit Study: Destination CHINA!

China was an amazing country to study. We did a full four months on this unit study, and could have done longer - there is simply an inexhaustible amount of resources available on China!

In case you're thinking, "Yay! Free unit study ideas!" - please be aware that this is probably the last huge unit study that I'm going to record on this blog. Remember how I wrote this week about homeschool burnout? Unit studies of this magnitude were one of the main factors! Thus, with this year's unit studies I am keeping basic handwritten notes of what we've done, but I am no longer attempting to keep huge, detailed list-records on the computer. Therefore - enjoy! 

A few bits and pieces of this record are unfinished - for example, a few of the book descriptions are unfinished. Y'all will just have to deal with it, because I am done with this project. 

Please feel free to use the material below (information, links, etc.) for your own unit study! And do let me know what you've done for your own unit studies on China! 

(I have included the topics that we found but didn't explore - we couldn't get to all of them, but you might!)

*****

MUSIC:

We listened to lots of Chinese music when we visited the Chinese New Year celebration in downtown Phoenix. We also listened to some Chinese instruments on the internet. Further than this we didn't go!

LANGUAGE:

We made a "We Say, They Say" chart for basic Chinese phrases (yes, no, thank you, hello, etc.). 

FAMOUS PEOPLE:

Ruth Harkness - "An American in China"

• "Mrs. Harkness and the Panda" - The true story of Ruth Harkness, the American woman who brought back the first panda from China in 1934. Lower elementary. 

Marco Polo

Genghis Khan (in neighboring Mongolia)

• "Chinghis Khan" by Demi - The 7yo loved this one! 

MISSIONARIES:

Hudson Taylor

• "Hudson Taylor: Deep in the Heart of China" (Christian Heroes Then and Now series) by Janet and Geoff Benge - Upper elementary and above. 

Eric Liddell 

Foods for Chinese New Year!

BOOKS ABOUT CHINA

"Welcome to China" by Caryn Jenner - Not crazy about this author's easy-going acceptance of such atrocities as China's "one child only" policy, but a decent book that covers a fair number of topics. Non-fiction. Lower elementary. 

"Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China" - An excellent and entertaining book all about the history and culture of China. Highly recommended. Elementary. 

"D is for Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet" - There is a topic and in-depth discussion for each letter, with beautiful illustrations. Highly recommended. Non-fiction. Elementary. 

"Eyewitness Books: China" - All ages.

"Count Your Way Through China" - Elementary through Junior High.

Getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year. 

HISTORY-GEOGRAPHY-CULTURE topics:
(*denotes an item invented in China)

Great Wall of China

• "Great Building Stories of the Past" p. 12-15 by Peter Kent
• "The Great Wall of China" by Leonard Everett Fisher - Illustrated dramatized story of the building of the great wall, with great black-and-white illustrations. Non-fiction. Elementary. 

Beijing, the capital of China (China's capital has moved many times but is currently Beijing/Peking)

*Noodles 

• "The Story of Noodles" by Yin Chang Compestine - A fictionalized story of the invention of noodles in China. Fiction. Lower elementary. 

The Silk Road

• "A Single Pebble: The Story of the Silk Road" by Bonnie Christensen - A pebble traverses the ancient Chinese Silk Road. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• "The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History" by John S. Major 

Chinese New Year

• "D Is For Dragon Dance" by Ting Chang Compestine - An ABC of Chinese New Year. Lower elementary. 
• "Celebrate Chinese New Year" by Carolyn Otto (National Geographic Books) - Photographic journal of Chinese New Year, with descriptions. Elementary. 
• "A New Year's Reunion" by Yu Li-Quiong - A boy is reunited briefly with his father during Chinese New Year. 
• "Happy New Year: "Kung-Hsi Fa Ts'ai!" by Demi - An extremely thorough picture book detailing everything about Chinese New Year. Non-fiction. Elementary. 

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

• “Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival" by Grace Lin – The traditions of the Chinese Moon festival.

The Chinese Zodiac - referring to the 12-year cycle by which years are named (Year of the Rooster, etc.). Most books on China will include a small section on this topic.

• "The Dragon's Tale and Other Animal Fables of the Chinese Zodiac" by Demi - One fable per animal. We read one per day for several weeks. Great! Fiction. Elementary. 

Communism, The Cultural Revolution, etc. 

• "A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art" by Song Nan Zhang - A Chinese man tells the story of his life, including details of life under Communist rule and his family's eventual escape to Canada. For Junior High and above, read with discretion due to hard themes - Communism, torture, poverty, suicide, political oppression, Tienanmen Square, etc. An excellent resource for understanding life under Communism. 
• "Red Kite, Blue Kite" by Ji-Ji Jiang - A boy and his father communicate using colored kites while the father is kept in a labor camp during the cultural revolution. 

Buddhism

Mt. Everest (in next-door Nepal)

• "To the Top: Climbing the World's Highest Mountain" by S. A. Kramer - A thrilling tale detailing Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's pioneering ascent to the top of Mt. Everest in 1953. Non-fiction. Elementary. 
• "Tenzing Norgay: The Boy Whose Dream Was Everest: Tiger of the Snows" - To be honest, our son was bored to death with this book. However, if your child has a liking for poetry, this might be a keeper. Non-fiction/poetry. Elementary. 

The Forbidden City

Terra Cotta Warriors

Umbrellas (invented 1700 years ago)

• "The Umbrella" by Jan Brett - Not a technical book, just a fun fictional book to throw into the mix. Fiction. Kinder and lower elementary. 
• "The Umbrella Queen" by Shirin Yim Bridges - A Thai girl captures the king's admiration with her beautifully painted umbrellas. Though the setting is in Thailand, this is a very appropriate book for studying Asian umbrella-making. Fiction. Lower elementary. 

Martial Arts

• Kung Fu
• Tai Chi 

Dragons - in China, are a representation of good luck and power, also, in ancient China, of the emperor

*Crossbows (invented 2300 years ago)

* Wheelbarrows

* The Abacas 

*Kites (invented 2400 years ago)

• "The Story of Kites" by Ying Chang Compestine - A fictionalized story of the invention of kites in China. Fiction. Lower elementary.
• "Kites: Magic Wishes That Fly Up to the Sky" by Demi - 'the origin of the Chinese holiday Ch'ing Yang or The Double Ninth Festival, a festival of kites that takes place on September 9, the ninth day of the ninth month.' (Summary from amazon.com) Fun! Lower elementary. Fiction.

Religious Oppression in China (cheerful topic, no?)

• Christians are not allowed to meet openly, and Bibles are illegal. This video of Christians in China receiving (contraband) Bibles was very moving:
  • China Bibles

Our map of China!

SCIENCE:
(* denotes invented in China)

Ducks (Ducks will do equally well for China OR Japan)

• "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey
• "Just Ducks!” by Nicola Davies
• "Ducks Don't Get Wet" by Augusta Goldin

Crickets

• "Chirping Crickets" by Melvin Berger - Beautifully illustrated book, all about crickets! Non-fiction. Elementary. 

Sloth Bears

• "Asian Animals: Sloth Bears" 

Snow Leopards

• "Little Mist" by Angela McAllister - A mother snow leopard introduces her baby to the world. Contains stunning illustrations of other Chinese animals as well. Beautiful! Fiction. Lower elementary. 

Lions - In China, thought to guard against danger

Panda Bears

• “Dinner at the Panda Palace” – This is not for learning about pandas (it's strictly fictional), but just pure panda fun! Charming. Fiction in rhyme. Lower elementary. 
• "Little Panda" by Renata Liwska - A little panda is chased by a tiger. Again, not really for learning technicalities about pandas, but lots of fun and beautiful artwork. Fiction/fantasy. Lower elementary. 
• "How Many Baby Pandas?" - A counting book that tells about pandas. Non-fiction. Kinder and lower elementary. 
• "Giant Pandas" by Gail Gibbons - All about giant pandas! Non-fiction. Elementary. 
• "The Legend of the Panda" retold by Carol Crane - The Chinese legend of how pandas got their black markings. Beautiful! Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• "Ming Ling" by Stephen Cosgrove - A completely fictional story about a fussy panda. Not for learning about pandas, but a fun fictional tale to throw into the mix. Fiction. Elementary. 

Orangutans

• "How to Babysit an Orangutan" by Tara and Kathy Darling - Describes how baby orangutans whose mothers have died are nurtured by human babysitters at Camp Leakey in the rain forests of Borneo, until they are ready to live in the wild. Non-fiction. 
• "Asian Animals: Orangutans"

Rice Farming 

• "Jin Jin and the Rain Wizard" by Grace Chang - A young dragon learns the importance of rice. Fiction. 

*Fireworks

*Paper

Making homemade paper with Chinese writing. (Directions in link at bottom.)

*Silk

• "Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China" by Deborah Noyes - A beautiful tale of a child-bride who hides silkworms in her hair in order to take silk with her when she leaves her Chinese homeland.

*Kites  

• "The Story of Kites" by Ying Chang Compestine - A fictionalized story of the invention of kites in China. Fiction. Lower elementary.
• "Kites: Magic Wishes that Fly Up to the Sky" by Demi - Another fictionalized story of how kites came to be in China. Fiction. Lower elementary. 

*Tea (first brewed in China 2300 years ago)

*Rudders (invented about 2000 years ago)

*Compasses for Navigation (invented more than 1000 years ago)

*Paper Money (invented 2100 years ago)

*Gunpowder (invented 1200 years ago)

*Steel (invented 1500 years ago)

Our special red paper envelopes for Chinese New Year.

LITERATURE:

• Song Nan Zhang
  
  • "A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art" - A Chinese man tells the story of his life, including details of life under Communist rule and his family's eventual escape to Canada. For Junior High and above, read with discretion due to hard themes - Communism, torture, poverty, suicide, political oppression, Tiananmen Square, etc. An excellent resource for understanding life under Communism. Non-fiction. Upper elementary. 
• Mirra Ginsburg
  
  • "The Chinese Mirror" - What happens when the first mirror comes to a village! Elementary. 
• Huy Voun Lee
  
  • "In the Snow" - Chinese characters taught through nature. Delightful. Lower elementary. 
  • "1, 2, 3, GO!" - Lower elementary. 
• Grace Lin
  
  • “Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival" – The traditions of the Chinese Moon festival. Lower elementary. 
• Ying Chang Compestine
  
  • "D Is For Dragon Dance" - An ABC of Chinese New Year. Non-fiction. Elementary.
  • "The Story of Kites" - A fictionalized story of the invention of kites in China. Fiction. Lower elementary.
• Jim Haskins
  • “Count Your Way Through China” – Great information on China and its culture. Non-fiction. Elementary.
• Kat Yeh
  • "The Magic Brush: A Story of Love, Family, and Chinese Characters" - A girl learns Chinese painting. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• Ji-Ji Jiang
  • "Red Kite, Blue Kite" - A boy and his father communicate using colored kites while the father is kept in a labor camp during the cultural revolution. 
• Mitsumasa Anno, also Zhu Chengliang
  • "All in a Day" - What's happening at different times all over the world - utilizes eight countries, including China. Elementary.
• Barbara Helen Berger
  • "All the Way to Llasa" -
• Demi
  • "The Empty Pot" - An emperor uses trickery to choose his successor. Realistic fiction. Lower elementary.
  • "The Magic Boat" - A boy rescues his family and his magic boat. Fiction/fantasy. Lower elementary.
  • "The Donkey and the Rock" - A wise leader solves a tangled legal problem by putting a donkey and a rock on trial. Fable. Lower elementary. 
  • "Liang and the Magic Paintbrush"
  • "Kites: Magic Wishes That Fly Up to the Sky" - 'the origin of the Chinese holiday Ch'ing Yang or The Double Ninth Festival, a festival of kites that takes place on September 9, the ninth day of the ninth month.' (Summary from amazon.com) 
  • "Su Dongpo" - 
  • "Happy New Year: "Kung-Hsi Fa Ts'ai!" - Everything about Chinese New Year! 
  • "The Dragon's Tale and Other Animal Fables of the Chinese Zodiac" by Demi - One fable per animal. We read one per day for several weeks. Great! Fiction. Elementary. 
• Chen Jiang Hong
  • "The Magic Horse of Han Gan" - A Chinese artist paints a horse so real that it comes to life. The story is fictional, but it is based on a real Chinese artist of antiquity who specialized in painting horses. The artwork in this book is magnificent! Lower elementary. 
• Diana Reynolds Roome
  • "The Elephant's Pillow" - A young Chinese nobleman seeks what will satisfy a sad elephant. Fiction. 
• Grace Chang
  
  • "Jin Jin and the Rain Wizard" - A young dragon learns the importance of rice. Fiction. 
• Arlene Mosel
  • "Tikki Tikki Tembo" - The classic story of a boy whose long name nearly cost him his life. Fiction. (There are many retellings of this story by different authors.)
• Yin Chang Compestine
  • "The Story of Noodles" - A fictionalized story of the invention of noodles in China. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
  • "The Story of Kites" - A fictionalized story of the invention of kites in China. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• George Shannon
  • "Rabbit's Gift: A Fable from China" - Rabbit shares a turnip with others, who likewise share it. Fiction. Kinder and lower elementary. 
• Eric A. Kimmel
  • "Ten Suns: A Chinese Legend" - A Chinese legend concerning ten "sons/suns" whose rebelliousness led to their downfall, as well as to the creation of the stars. Fiction/legend. Elementary. 
• Deborah Noyes
  • "Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China" - A beautiful tale of a child-bride who hides silkworms in her hair in order to take silk with her when she leaves her Chinese homeland.
• Moira Miller
  • "Moon Dragon" - 
• Andrea Chang
  • "Grandfather Counts" - A young girl and her Chinese grandfather teach each other to count in their own language. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• Ed Young
  • "Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem About China" 
  • "Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story From China" - How children outsmart the wolf, Chinese-style! Fiction. Lower elementary. 
  • "Night Visitors" - When his father threatens to flood out the ants that have invaded his storehouse, young Ho Kuan protests, and one night, he follows the ants to their secret kingdom, in a story based on an ancient Chinese folktale. (Summary from amazon.com)
  • "The Sons of the Dragon King: A Chinese Legend" - What happens to each of the nine sons of the dragon king. Fiction/Legend. Upper elementary. 
• Laurence Yep
  • "The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale"
  • "The Butterfly Boy" - A boy is both a boy and a butterfly. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
  • "The Junior Thumder Lord" - 
• Diana Wolkstein
  • "The Magic Wings: A Tale from China" - A peasant girl tries to learn to fly. Fiction/fable. Elementary. 
• Jeanne M. Lee
  • "Legend of the Milky Way" - 
  • "Legend of the Li River: An Ancient Chinese Tale" - 
• Stefan Czernecki
  • "The Cricket's Cage: A Chinese Folktale" - A cricket saves an architect from death. Fiction/fable. 
• Carol Crane
  • "The Legend of the Panda" - The Chinese legend of how pandas got their black markings. Beautiful! Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• Amy Lowry
  • "The Pea Blossom"
• Jeanne M. Lee
  • "Legend of the Li River" - How the Li river came to have so many large stones lining its banks. Fiction/Fable. Elementary. 
• Grace Tseng
  
  • "White Tiger, Blue Serpent" - A boy is determined to recapture a beautiful brocade stolen by the goddess Ch'in. This was a huge favorite around here! Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• Ai-ling Louie
  
  • "Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China" - The classic Cinderella tale, retold in a culturally Chinese way. Wonderful! Fiction/fairy-tale. Lower elementary. 
• Ellin Greene
  
  • "Ling-Li and the Phoenix Fairy: A Chinese Folktale" - 'When the beautiful robe that Ling-Li has woven for her wedding is stolen by a flock of magpies, the Phoenix Fairy, Queen of the Birds, returns the robe to Ling-Li and blesses her marriage.' (Summary from amazon.com) 
• Mary Casanova
  
  • "The Hunter: A Chinese Folktale" - A young Chinese man sacrifices his own life in order to save his beloved village. This one was a huge hit around here! Fiction/fantasy. Lower elementary. 
• Marjorie Flack
  • "The Story About Ping" - No study of China is complete without the story of "the wise-eyed boat on the Yangtze River"! Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• Lily Toy Hong
  • "How the Ox Star Fell From Heaven" - A Chinese fable. Fiction. Lower elementary. 
• Amy Tan
  • "Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat" - How Siamese cats got their markings. Fiction. Elementary. 
• Rosalind C. Wang
  • "The Treasure Chest: A Chinese Tale"  
• Pan Cai Ying
  • "Monkey Creates Havoc in Heaven" - an adaptation from Wu Cheng En's book "The Pilgrimage to the West"
• Bjarne Reuter
  • "The Princess and the Sun, Moon and Stars"  
• Helena Clare Pittman
  • "A Grain of Rice"  
• Deborah Nourse Lattimore
  • "The Dragon's Robe"  

Chinese almond cookies (overdone!).

POETRY:

• "Dragon Kites and Dragonflies: A Collection of Chinese Nursery Rhymes" adapted and illustrated by Demi - Our children loved this, and insisted on hearing the entire book every day! Kinder and lower elementary. 

Chinese fans.

Chinese ADOPTION STORIES:

• "The Red Blanket" by Eliza Thomas (this was far and above our children's favorite) - Told parent to child of the child's adoption as a baby from China.
• "Just Add One Chinese Sister" by Patricia McMahon
• "Sweet Moon Baby: An Adoption Tale" by Karen Henry Clark - More fanciful in nature.
• "Our Baby From China: An Adoption Story" by Nancy D'Antonio - Very factual, told parent-to-child, with actual photographs from this author's adoption. 
• "The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale" by Grace Lin - "There is an ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects all those who are destined to be together." A couple's adoption of a Chinese baby told fairytale-style, using the motif of the red thread. Fiction. 

Our map of China.

FILM:

(We didn't get this far.)

FOOD:

We are using the resource, "Cooking the Chinese Way." Excellent! We also used our family's food rating chart, which is always fun. For China, the top three winners were Panda Express Orange Chicken, Almond Cookies, and Pork Fried Rice. 

• Fried Rice - (directions and pictures) (recipe from CTCW)
• Egg Rolls (directions and pictures) 
• Spicy Roasted Chicken - (recipe from CTCW)
• Fortune Cookies (directions and pictures) 
• Almond Floats (directions and pictures) - (recipe from CTCW)
• Chinese Cabbage
• Almond Cookies (directions and pictures) 
• Panda Express Orange Chicken (directions and pictures) - not authentic Chinese, but still fun!
• Wontons - fried or in soup

Almond floats - delicious. 

ACTIVITIES:

• Celebrate Chinese New Year (See our Chinese New Year celebration here!) 
  • Children receive small amounts of money in red paper envelopes - buy them in your local Chinatown or make your own!
  • The full celebration is 15 days, ending with a Lantern Festival in which children carry lanterns around their villages
  • Fireworks
  • Dragons
    • Children can try to reenact a dragon dance!!
  • Lions
  • Attend a local event through your Chinese cultural center
  • Foods (taken from "Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China")
    • Soup - everything better than last year
    • Tangerines - good fortune
    • Apples - peace
    • Sweet Rice Cake - more wealth every year
    • Fish - plenty
    • Chicken - wealth in the New Year
    • Mustard Greens - a green year for farmers
    • Veggies with Long Noodles - long life
    • Steamed Cakes - spread wealth and happiness
    • 10-ingredient Vegetarian Dish - all good things 
• Write/paint Chinese characters (directions) 
• Make a Chinese flag - red paper and gold stars (directions) 
• Make homemade paper (directions) 
• Make Chinese lanterns (directions)
• Make Chinese fans (directions) 
• Make a model of the Great Wall of China (directions)
• Make a Chinese Paper Bowl craft (directions) 
• Make Chinese paper cuts - beautiful! (directions)
• Make a Chinese drum (directions)
• The more adventurous among us might want to try making homemade fireworks! (Fireworks originated in China and are an important part of Chinese New Year celebrations)
• Visit a Chinese restaurant and eat with chopsticks!
• Or eat with chopsticks at home! 
• Draw or color a map of China (directions) 
• Visit your local Chinatown 
• Study what colors mean in China
• Red - symbolizes fire; means happiness and good luck, generally worn by brides!
• White - means death 

Chinese paper mache bowl. 

Enjoy China!