session 1 (3/28) - Orientation, Geography and Demography Basics

[Ying Yu]

In the last few minutes of the video, Professor mentioned the Dragon Boat festival and mentioned Zongzi. I'm so appreciated. I know there are some picture books about dragon boat competitions. Also, there are some picture books about how to make Zongzi. I plan to use those picture books to teach my students about Chinese culture. Then I may tell the story about Qu, Yuan to them. When I was young, I didn't know the meaning of Chinese culture, and I just followed what others did: eating Zongzi and Eggs, washing my body by using a specific herb, putting that kind of herb in front of our front door, which could prevent evils to enter the house. Those unique memories are still fresh in my mind, so I would like to pass my experience to the next generation.

[Hannah Klein]

I love the connections you're making here Jennifer! I can definitely see myself designing an interdisciplinary unit where we draw from social studies (geography) and science standards to compare and contrast the emergence of civilizations around water and how people use water in different times and places. We discuss the water cycle in 3rd and 5th grade so there would definitely be some opportunities to make this happen at the elementary level!

[Hannah Klein]

This is so fascinating to me. I wonder how and when the different technologies societies today use to manage water as a resource developed and how cultural/knowledge exchange factored into that process. How could we trace a line from the way that the LA River is managed here in our own backyard to human responses to water features in their world in ancient civilizations both near and far?

[Hannah Klein]

These are incredible images! I would love to use these with students using the VTS (visual thinking strategies) protocol (https://vtshome.org/). Could be a great way to introduce an inquiry into east asian culture/history or population!

[Hannah Klein]

I did a quick search and found this one! https://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Dragon-Boat-Festival/dp/0887768059. Could be great to use to teach about this tradition... maybe even integrate some kind of engineering challenge!

[Ying Yu]

I'm keeping thinking about Qin Dynasty after I watched these lectures. I wondered if the dynasty did follow the laws properly, would history of China change? The concepts of laws in Qin dynasty was so improtant and advanced, but they didn't do it well. How to repect people and meet people's needs first and the follow the laws for people's willingness? I'm thinking of how to create a new story about Chinese history if Qin dynasty can continue it's governing.

[Ying Yu]

Thanks for recommendation!  Water is so important but there is such a heavy water pollution in China.

[Ying Yu]

Yes, lots of young Chinese people are not willing to get marriage. They do not want have any babies as well.

[Author]

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