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Let's Learn About China!

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Traveling Through The Middle Kingdom

China impacts our lives in many different ways, yet the history and culture of this large country somehow remains exotic and mysterious. China is located in eastern Asia. It borders the East China Sea and North Korea on the east; Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan on the north; Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan on the west; and India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and the South China Sea on the south. China is the third largest country in the World. It's official name is The People's Republic of China, but the Chinese call their country Zhongguo, which means "Central Country" or "Middle Kingdom." Join us as we go exploring in country of China!

Mapping Lessons

Where Is China?

Trace the path from your home to China. What would it take for you to get there? Would you need to travel by boat or plane or could you drive there? How long would the trip take? Do some research to find the answers to these questions and record them in your trip journal. You might want to include a map of China as well.

Here are some things you could add to your map:

* draw a star to show the location of the capital city of Bejing
* label the South and East China Sea
* label the countries which border China
* draw a wall to mark the location of the Great Wall
* label the three main rivers in China

Then create a minibook to include in your scrapbook.

You may also want to read some Chinese versions of the creation story. You could create a minibook for these as well.
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Language Lessons

What are those funny looking symbols, anyway?

The main language of China is Mandarin Chinese, although many other dialects are spoken throughout the country. The Chinese do not have a phonetic alphabet. Their writing is made up of characters known as hànzi. The characters were originally pictures of people, animals or other objects, but they have been changed over the years to make them easier to write and no longer resemble the things they represent. Many characters have been combined with others to create new ones.

Our tour guide tells us that Chinese dictionaries have as many 56,000 characters! But only about 3,000 are needed to read the newspaper and about 6,000 to read literature and technical writing. Why don't you try learning a few of these characters? You can copy the ones you learn into a minibook for your scrapboook, or write them on a page of your trip journal.

Chinese Lessons Online

Standard Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation Guide
Learn Chinese Online Free, Pinyin Chart, Listen to Basic Chinese Daily Phrases.
On-line Chinese Tools
Java and CGI tools to help people learn and use Chinese
Rainland Kids Discover Chinese
Chinese characters & sounds
The basic rules of stroke order
The remains of drizzling rain ...
The Chinese way of writing numbers

Some Books That Might Also Be Useful

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Dragon Mask 

Dressing For the Occasion

Information on Traditional and Modern Chinese Clothing

dragon maskWhen in China, do as the Chinese, right? But what do the Chinese wear? Visit a few of these sites and see if you can make your own costume to wear as you travel through this beautiful country. Be sure to have someone take pictures for your scrapbook!
Chinese New Year Costume - 123chinesenewyear
Chinese New Year Costume actually reflects a long and complex interaction between elegance and tradition.
The Art of Traditional Chinese Dress and Clothes
Explore the art of traditional Chinese Dress and Clothing
Ancient Chinese Clothing
Ancient Chinese clothing - silk, cotton, foot-binding and more
Han Chinese clothing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Destiny, the Culture of China - Clothing
An outstanding characteristic of traditional Chinese clothing is not only an external expression of elegance, but also an internal symbolism. Each and every piece of traditional clothing communicates a vitality of its own.
The Hand Colored Antique Book Collection
The Costume of China, illustrated by Sixty Engravings: with Explanations in English and French
Dragon Mask
Make a mask like the one shown above.
Paper Doll with 6 sets of China Traditional Costumes
Something extra to add to your "countries & cultures" unit and also suitable to put into your child's lapbook.

Chinabration: Traditional Fashion Show

Chinabration: Traditional Fashion Show
by toorad2b4u | video info

15 ratings | 5,277 views
curated content from YouTube

A Taste of China

Chinese Cookbooks

Chinese food is one of my favorite types of food. Why not try preparing a recipe or two, and see if you like it as much as I do?
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Explore China Through Literature

Stories are a great way to learn more about a land and its people. Here are some fun stories from or about China.
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China's Story
by William E. Griffis
Historical Tales: Japanese and Chinese
by Charles Morris
The Story of China
by R. Van Bergen

Chinese Versions of Common Fairytales

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Terra Cotta Statues 

Project Ideas

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Abacus 

Ancient Far East History Kit

dragon puppets
Ancient Far East History Kit
This kit form Hands and Hearts is great way to learn about Ancient Far East history. The supplies for all the crafts are included, so you don't have to go hunting for hard to find items. The included disk has printable instruction manual, notebook pages, and maps. We have used several of these kits, but this one was our favorite. The abacus and dragon puppets pictured were two of the projects my children completed using this kit.

Printables

Papercraft, Coloring Pages, and Other Things To Add To A Scrapbook

Colouring Book of Flags: Asia
Three sizes of the Chinese flag for you to print and color.
Chinese Paper Doll
Dress up boys or girls in traditional Chinese clothing. Great for scrapbook or journal cover.
Chinese Money
Print pictures of Chinese money, both old and new, to add to your scrapbook or journal.
Giant Panda Papercraft
A Giant Panda with its adorable appearance and comical behaviors.
Great Wall Papercraft
PaperMania! gathers buildings and transport from around the world so you can have the chance to become an engineer!
Chinese "Lucky Items" Papercraft
Learn about the science and culture of the world by building it yourself!
Forbidden City Papercraft
Canon Inc.
Costume Papercraft
Formal Dress of Government Official During the Imperial Regime
Chinese New Year Activities and Crafts
Chinese New Year preschool activities, crafts, lesson plans, coloring pages suitable for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten.
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year and General China Crafts
Rainbow Kids
Have fun exploring the culture of China through our puzzles, coloring pages, games and crafts.
Free Panda Lapbook
Lapbook by Ami with ideas and research contributed by Carisa Hinson
Chinese Paper Lantern
Make a paper lantern out of cardstock.
China Notebook Pages
Printable cover for your scrapbook or learning journal, China map page, and China profile journaling page.
Important!

forbidden city
You can build your own papercraft model of the Forbidden City using this free download from Canon Creative Park.

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LilliputStation

Homeschooling mother of nine: ages 8 months-16 years. We love notebooking, lapbooking, unit studies, and hands-on education. Visit Lilliput Station Adventures... more »

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