Launching into a study on China
can be very daunting for many teachers. The place, the people, the culture, the
history, and the economy of China can be a lot to wrap your head around, let
alone teach others. Here are five fun ways to teach your students about the
beautiful land of China.
One: set up your classroom as
though it was China itself.
This sounds like a lot of effort,
but it can be successfully done with minimal effort. Think splashes of red
(this color is very symbolic to the people of China) everywhere with pictures
of Chinese cities displayed around the room. To get a really authentic
experience, seek help from your local community. If you have a parent who
identifies with the Chinese culture, get them to come in and tell the class
what living in China is like. Or better yet, get them to talk about how
attending a school in China is different to attending your school.
Two: go for the basics with
little learners.
If you want to teach very
little kids (lower elementary) about China then go for the approach of
teaching them the basics: what the flag looks like, what the country looks like
geographically, along with some fun facts that the children are bound to leap
home to share with their families. This can be done through sourcing flags,
maps, and facts online.
If you want a no prep way of
doing this that saves you time, then check out my
China Country Study | Cultural Booklet of Fun Facts.
Three: act it out
Get your students to act out what
a typical day in the life of someone living in China could consist of. What
time do they wake up? How much do they enjoy their jobs? What do they do as a
hobby? To add some complexity to this, (for older learners) get your students
to pick what life they would want to live if they were in China (rural living,
city living, what job?) and then to act this out as a group.
Four: get your students involved
in a research project
If you are wanting to do an
in-depth look into the country of China with big kids (upper elementary)
then there is nothing better than getting your students to engage in authentic
research. Using the internet to gather and analyze information is an essential
skill for today's youth. The best way to do this is to put together a bunch of
questions or prompts that you want answered/ researched by your students.
Want to save time doing this?
Check out my China Country Study | Research Booklet for Big Kids.
It includes 20 research pages on the place, the people, the culture, the
history, and the economy of China. It also includes some teacher cheat sheets
and an end of unit travel brochure.
Five: set up a Chinese themed
classroom shop
For a fun hands on learning
experience around China, set up a Chinese themed classroom shop. Get the
students to look into what traditional Chinese food items are eaten in China,
then get them to make them. Use recyclable materials for this (plastics, cardboard
etc.) to add an element of sustainable learning. Your students will absolutely
love doing this! For older kids, make sure you incorporate Chinese currency
into the mix. You could also look into how much money a grocery store worker
would get paid in China and compare this to the going rate in your local area.
I hope you and your students have
an awesome time learning about China! Feel free to share in a comment below any
ideas you have for teaching children about the country of China.
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