Session 5 (field trip, 3/17 afternoon)

[Sandra Soltero-Torres]

The trip to the Huntington Library inspired me in many different ways.  I know that my students would absolutely enjoy this outing and I found that the websites offered many ways to tie in this type of field trip into my classroom curriculum.  I specifically found the web asssets and templates web site helpful.  I thought the lesson plan on Earth Science Processes,  "Rooting Into the Soil" would be a great way to teach my students about the relationship between plants, soil and water.  In addition, I thought it would be a perfect waya to teach my students about environmental pollution and awareness.  This would be a great gateway to have a discussion about the pollution crisis that China is experiencing with their water and soil.  I am excited to plan a trip to the Huntington Library next year with my fourth graders.  The possibilities of many different lessons and connections to East Asia are definitely present.

[Tanish Fortson]

Visiting the gardens at the Huntington Library was very informative and would be a great place to take your students on a field trip throughout the grade levels.  The Japanese Garden features this crescent shaped bridge that is breathtaking. Another feature of this garden is the Japanese House. According to the history, this house was created in Japan and shipped to Pasadena in the early 1900s and Henry Huntington acquired this in 1911. There is also a ceremonial Teahouse in the Japanese garden that was built in Kyoto in the 1960’s and given to the Huntington. Its placement is in the middle of a manmade lake with koi fish. The Japanese garden also featured the Bonsai and Zen Court. The Chinese garden featured architecture and rocks from Lake Tai. The architecture has lattice and hard-carved decorations across bridges and pathways. I think both gardens have a lot to offer in terms of showing harmony, beauty, and grace. 

[Stella Castro]

- I agree with you that there are many ways to teach students about Asia  regards to the Huntington Library. For instance one touch on the subject of architecture by showing the students pictures of the dwellings/teahouses. One can teach about landscaping/gardening, or how to plant a seed and have a plant/tree grow, (Cherry Blossoms or bonsai trees, or just a nice beautiful flower. Research is always good, but your idea of a shoebox rock garden is an excellent one, but I would opt for the shoebox to be the inside of a Japanese house, because according to our docent at the time of the visit to the Huntington Library, the furnishings in a Japanese house are minimal and the homes are furnished in a way that only what is needed at the tiem is put out and can accommodate different times of the day accordingly.  But it is simple and my students would be able to do this, (with lots of help though), But they will feel proud of their project.

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

I struggle to find a valuable history lesson to connect to these gardens. While it would be fun to visit the garden and learn about architecture and design, I can't justify a lesson on garden styles in a high school history course. Students should be working on common core skills such as analyzing sources and writing arguments. I think some research into the creation of the garden and articles related to this could be more useful. I wonder if there was any controversy in the creation of either garden. We learned that the Japanese garden was not designed by Japanese architects. Sourcing the creation of the gardens and comparing them might be a good lesson related to the gardens. Newpaper articles about the gardens can also be worked in if I can find them. I would love to justify a visit to the Huntington!

[Tanish Fortson]

During our trip to the Huntington the bonsai trees really caught my eye. It would be great to do a lesson on these little trees with my students. During our visit to the Huntington I learned that the Bonsai is a Japanese term that means planted in a container. This art form comes from ancient Chinese horticultural practice. The bonsai is a miniaturized but realistic representation of nature in the form of a tree.. Growth is redirected and usually kept less than four feet.

If I was to do a lesson plan on the bonsai tree I would start by explaining that bonsai begun in China and was continued by Japan. We would next explore culture, art concepts, different pots and sculpture.  We would talk about bonsai symbolism, for example how we would reflect the same qualities in such a small tree. I would discuss balance. We cannot have a large pot with one little branch or vise versa. I would discuss harmony, which would reflect the overall flow. For the overall lesson we would of course make representations of bonsai trees, we wouldn’t use the real thing. 

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