Unit Title:   China Fair

Unit Authors:  Celeste Wells and Sharon Corologos, ASOP Summer 1999 China II Participants.

Grade Level:  4

Unit Overview:
This standards-based unit will acquaint students with the Shang dynasty of China and lead them to
research about other Chinese dynasties

Prior Knowledge Needed:
Basic map skills (compass rose, latitude, key,etc.)
Computer skills (using Yahooligans.com, cd-roms, locating internet websites)

Essential Question
What are the influences of China and the contributions of Chinese culture to our daily life in
America?

Culminating Activity
A Chinese Invention and Discovery Fair for peers, family, and community!  Each student or student-pair
will present their research about an invention or discovery from China.  Each display will have a
3-dimensional representation of the item/topic, and a triptych with text and pictures.  Students will discuss
their topics with visitors, and visitors will vote for the most interesting, most visually appealing, most ----etc.,
The prupose of the fair is to demonstrate to visitors that each invention/discovery is highly important to our
daily life in America.

Vermont Standards
Vital Results:
1.15 Students use verbal and nonverbal skills to express themselves effectively.  This is evident when
        students:
        a)Share information
        c)Show awareness of an audience by planning and adjusting to its reaction.
        d)Make effective use of such devices as pace, volume, stress, enunciation, and pronunciation.
1.19  Students use organizational systems to obtain information from various sources (including the library
         and the internet).
1.20  Students use visual presentations to communicate data accurately and appropriately.
Fields of Knowledge:
6.4  Students identify major historical eras and analyze periods of transition in various times in various
       locations worldwide to understand the past, the present, and the relationship between the two.
       This is evident when students:
        a)Demonstrate understanding of concepts of past, present and future (e.g. create time lines,
           create chronologies based on narratives, compare and contrast family life, or school, and
           community life in different periods)
        c)Identify and sequence patterns of change and compare historical data from the world by
           examining: major discoveries in science and technology, their social and economical effects,
           and the scientists and inventors responsible for them.
6.7  Students use geographical knowledge and images of various places to understand the
       present, communicate historical interpretation, develop solutions for the problems,
       and plan for the future.  This is evident when students:
        d) Use scale to calculate and estimate distance on a map.
        e) Make and use legend/keys on a variety of thematic maps.

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