Monday's Class 2-27-12

Searching for China

EDU 220

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An Introduction

China is a land of many secrets and subtleties. Searching out the beauty in China's landscape, art, and wisdom is a fruitful exploration requiring a careful eye and an inquiring spirit. Through this WebQuest, you will be challenged to create your own understanding of China based upon your observations. Good luck, and remember the Chinese proverb:

A jade stone is useless before it is processed;
a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

And this "education" probably has a lot more to do with life and wisdom than it does with homework and good grades. Challenge yourself to get to know this wisdom.

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The Tasks

China is a complex country with a long history. What makes understanding China even more challenging is that you have to look carefully at the details. Your task is to look in this careful way at five main aspects of China:

Activity 1 - Exploring the Country

1. View Map
2. Name 10 countries that share borders with China.
3. Select 5 countries that you feel are probably the most important neighbors to China.
4. Use the CIA World Fact Book to find out the main ethnicity of the people in these countries.

Activity 2 -The Great Wall

1. Go on a tour of The Great Wall of China. Explore the Wall at various points.
2. How long is the whole wall in terms of miles? Convert kilometers to miles.
3. Who built The Great Wall and why?

Activity 3 -The Forbidden City

1. Enter The Forbidden City. Where is it located?
2. How long did the Ming and Ching Dynasties live in the Forbidden City?
3. Who has lived in the Forbidden City and what has changed this over the centuries?

Activity 4 - The World of Beauty

1. People say that once you've seen the Yellow Mountains you never have to see another.
2. After looking carefully at the Yellow Mountains, come to a decision as to whether you think these are probably very "young" or very "old" mountains. State the reasons for your decision.
3. Read about the “Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty”.  What type of painting did Chou Ying special in?

Activity 5 - Words of Chinese Wisdom

1. Take a look at the Chinese Zodiac
2. Look up the birth years of three people you know very well.
3. How do the predictions of their personality from the Chinese zodiac match with your understanding of them?
4. Skim through a neat selection of Chinese Proverbs that share truths and insights about life.
5. Select the one that you like the best and make up a modern American version that means the same thing.

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Learning Advice

The main point of this WebQuest is to come away with a good understanding of the historic and cultural aspects of China. By exploring the World Wide Web you have gained first hand insights into the thing people call "China." This understanding is an important first step. People call it "declarative knowledge." That means that you are so knowledgeable on a subject that you could declare, or state, the information you know. So you see, it's a lot deeper than just "knowing something about a topic." You have begun processing and working your "jade" into something truly special. Congratulations!

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