[Genaro Flores]

Introduction to a Lesson plan;

This is a hands-on lesson plan. You need to have enough space to put all the students’ work and material, and depends on how many students you have in each class, and how many classes you are going to have doing this assignment. It is fun, interesting and if you can get pictures of Chinese art to put on the wall, will be a plus.

Have fun.

 

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Lesson Plan: Teacher’s name: Date: Period:

 

Objective:

Students will learn about where the piñatas come from, and how to make them.

 

Topics:

History of the piñatas. Where the piñatas come from?

 

Hand out: History of the piñatas. (this excerpt is from a chine web site).

Legend dates pinatas back to the 14^th century in China. It is said that Chinese farmers would create replicas of farm animals, such as cows and buffalo, out of clay pots to celebrate the new year. They would decorated their figures with color paper and use them in ceremonies to ensure a fruitful harvest.

 

Structure:

Base on how the Chinese celebrated important dates or festivities. For this class, make figures of thing or animals. Also, bring to class some pictures of Chinese art and post around the class.

 

Vocabulary:

Use hand-out to read the story of the pinata. Use compound sentences, independent sentences, and an independent. At the end of the project, ask the students to write a summary of their experience of activity.

 

Materials:

Construction paper, glue, balloons, multi-color Chinese paper (confetti). Newspaper, and glue.

Home-made glue can be use for this activity. Buy a few boxes of Maizena (Corn Starch). Use trays to put the glue for too or three students to work.

 

 

Length of the activity:

It takes from 3 to 5 days one hour class from start to finish one piñata.

 

Note: If it is the firs time, and depending how your students work, remember that you need to let it dry and then, if you feel that the cover is too soft put another layer and let it dry again. This is only if you are using balloons.

 

Procedure:

Boil water and add 4 spoons of corn starch and stir until it gets tick. Pour it into an aluminum saucepan and deep in strips of one inch wide of newspaper, length according to the size needed to cover, and cover the balloon completely. Then, add one more layer of paper, so when it drys, it will be strong. Inflate a balloon to make shape of the objects. Put long strips of wet paper on top of the balloon until the balloon is cover. Put two layers of paper to make it strong. Let it dry until the next day. Two layers of paper makes the balloon stronger. Once it is dry, take the air out of the balloon, and the balloon will come out. Then, continue building and give the form chosen for the piñata. This activity will be the center of the class, but remind the students that pinatas and other objects-forms combine with firework were brought by Marco Polo to Europe, and from there to America.

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Most people think of piñatas as a fun activity for parties. The history of thepiñata reveals many interesting facts that go beyond the playing of a game, although piñatas certainly have been intended for fun.

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Hand out

Piñatas may have originated in China. Marco Polo discovered the Chinese fashioning figures of cows, oxen or buffaloes, covered with colored paper and adorned with harnesses and trappings. Special colors traditionally greeted the New Year. When the mandarins knocked the figure hard with sticks of various colors, seeds spilled forth. After burning the remains, people gathered the ashes for good luck throughout the year.

When this custom passed into Europe in the 14th century, it adapted to the celebrations of Lent. The first Sunday became ‘Piñata Sunday’. The Italian word ‘pignatta’ means "fragile pot." Originally, piñatas fashioned without a base resembled clay containers for carrying water. Some say this is the origin of the traditional pineapple shape. Also the Latin prefix ‘piña’ implies a cluster of flowers or fruits as in ‘pineapples’ and ‘pine cones’.

When the custom spread to Spain, the first Sunday in Lent became a fiesta called the ‘Dance of the Piñata’. The Spanish used a clay container called la olla, the Spanish word for pot. At first, la olla was not decorated. Later, ribbons, tinsel and fringed paper were added and wrapped around the pot.

At the beginning of the 16th century the Spanish missionaries to North America used the piñata to attract converts to their ceremonies. However indigenous peoples already had a similar tradition. To celebrate the birthday of the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli, priests placed a clay pot on a pole in the temple at year's end. Colorful feathers adorned the richly decorated pot, filled with tiny treasures.. When broken with a stick or club, the treasures fell to the feet of the god's image as an offering. The Mayans, great lovers of sport played a game where the player’s eyes were covered while hitting a clay pot suspended by string. The missionaries ingeniously transformed these games for religious instruction. They covered the traditional pot with colored paper, giving it an extraordinary, perhaps fearful appearance.

The decorated clay pot also called a cantero represents Satan who often wears an attractive mask to attract humanity. The most traditional style piñata looks a bit like Sputnik, with seven points, each with streamers. These cones represent the seven deadly sins, pecados - greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath and lust. Beautiful and bright, the piñata tempted. Candies and fruits inside represented the cantaros (temptations) of wealth and earthly pleasures.

Thus, the piñata reflected three theological virtues in the catequismo. (religious instruction or catechism)

The blindfolded participant represents the leading force in defying evil, ‘Fe’,faith, which must be blind. People gathered near the player and spun him around to confuse his sense of space. Sometimes the turns numbered thirty three in memory of the life of Christ. The voices of others cry out guidance. 

 

 

 

[Genaro Flores]

How to write a haiku, the Japanese three-lines famous poem style. The first line has four words. The second line has three words and the third four words. It can be used for warm-up, at the end of the class, or for the whole period. All depends how you want to use it. Have fun.

Attachments:

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[Genaro Flores]

Mr. Bill Bikale talked about china’s plan to eliminate poverty by 2020. Year 2020 is right on the corner

It a real challenge for China and other nations that have embarked on a task that is very difficult to sustain. Many nations with a strong economic system, they have a large group of people who cannot enjoy the economic freedom that other people in their own country have. The plan is an optimistic plan, but many things grows to a certain ratio. The more power is put on laborers, the cost of items increases, and the items continue increasing but not the salary. A few years ago a European country broke it silence and a group of people went to the street and burned cars; and destroyed private property expressing their discontent with the government for not providing them with the same opportunity of the rest of the country. So, this is an optimistic plan to end poverty in china by 2020. 

[Genaro Flores]

Sinbad's work is really appreciated. It is like to be a devoted religious person. I admired his work and hopefully he will continue protecting the animals that in one way or another are losing their habitat and facing extinction. Congratulations to Mr. Simbad. We need brave people like him to dedicate part of their life to preserve wild life and make peace between human being and animals. Also, he reminded me that we, all, are responsible of teaching our students to respect all types of life. 

[Genaro Flores]

The Origin Of Japan Seminar was a very interesting conference. It clarified my doubts about the Origin of Japan. It also demonstrated that people from Asia were migrating from one place to another looking for a better way of living. That is how the island of Japan became populated by people from different places of Asia. The migrants took with them culture, art, language, food, and technology.

Japanese people, also, believe in the cosmos as vertical heaven and sky, and horizontal earth and sea. They were polygamist and there was no trace of a writing language. In addition, there were found two types of bloods from first Japanese people on the island that distinguish them from each other. Also, it was found that there were two types of finger prints patters in the Japanese people; the arch pattern and the circle pattern finger prints.

The archaeological evidence found in Japan, bounds Japan with the mainland China and other Asian countries. Later, Japan adopted the model of government and army from China. They also, were influence by the Shinto, the religion of Japan and Confucian work

[Genaro Flores]

The tour to Huntington Gardens was a wonderful learning experience about Asia culture. In the Chinese culture the round columns, windows, tables represent the universe. On the other hand, the square shape of the buildings walls, chairs, gardens boundaries, flat fences design meeting at 90⁰ degrees angle, represent hearth. Therefore, entering the building one can imagine that is going to see the representation of the universe and the earth.

The similarities of Path way were a long strip of pave ways connected each other in a certain point. The differences are on the design and hand-craft of each other. The multiple path ways in the garden represents the opportunity to choose which way to take there as well as the opportunities that one has in life.

When visitors observe the work that is display, it seems that they transport to another time (epoch) and place in time. It seems like for a moment they go out their present reality to another to return in a few seconds. They stop, concentrate, look at it, then continue or talk about what they are seeing. It is the opposite of going to a mall where people do not need to concentrate on a subject or going to the past.

The designer had in mind to convey to us in a little piece of land, how it is in China now and then. The rocks, stones and other materials used to construct each unit, were brought directly from China, if that is the case on each uni.

Mr. Lau, our guide, did an excellent job telling us about the different designs and colors found in this tour to Huntington Gardens. The pointing arcs at the end of each corner, on top of the buildings, represent protection, security and discourage evil spirits from coming into the house. The Garden achieves it balance with the dark and light colors used on the floor. With respect to the shape, the curves and straight lines, the circles and the square in the small buildings walls, and fences shows the smoothly transition from one form to another creating a beautiful balance displayed in the garden.

[Genaro Flores]

Hi friends, I am Genaro Flores. I teach Spanish and ELD at Academia Avance. I have taught AP Spanish and other lower levels of Spanish. Also, I teach basic ESL at night for LAUSD. In addition, I worked at Cal. State LA, for the Spanish Department Bilingual Play Production. We Presented plays from writers like Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Tirso De Molina and others.

I am enjoying this Seminar on East Asia. I have assigned to my students a project on China, Japan, and Korea. Also, we have been working on haiku that was consider the most famous Japan three-lines art form poems. Yes, definitely, this Seminar is giving me more tools to use in my classes of Spanish and English. It will expand the knowledge of my students on other cultures.

[Genaro Flores]

    Walking in Huntington Library, it was a learning experience about Asia culture. In the Chinese culture the round columns, windows, tables represent the universe. On the other hand, the square shape of the buildings walls, chairs, gardens boundaries, flat fences design meeting at 90⁰ degrees angle, represent hearth. Therefore, entering the building one can imagine that is going to see the representation of the universe and the earth.

The similarities of Path way were a long strip of pave ways connected each other in a certain point. The differences are on the design and hand-craft of each other. The multiple path ways give you the opportunity to choose the opportunities that one has in life.

When visitors observe the work that is display, it seems that they transport to another time (epoch) and place in time. It seems like for a moment they go out their present reality to another to return in a few seconds. They stop, concentrate, look at it, then continue or talk about what they are seeing. It is the opposite of going to a mall where people do not need to concentrate on a subject or going to the past.

The designer had in mind to convey to us in a little piece of land, how it was there, centuries ago. The rocks, stones and other materials used to construct each unit, were brought from China, if that is the case on each uni.

Mr. Lau, our guide, did excellent job telling us the different designs and colors use in this tour to Huntington Library. The pointing arcs at the end of each corner, on top of the buildings, represent protection, security and discourage evil spirits from coming into the house. The Garden achieves it balance with the dark and light colors used on the floor. With respect to the shape, the curves and straight lines, the circles and the square in the small buildings, walls, and fences shows the smoothly transition from one form to another creating a beautiful balance display in the garden.

 

[Genaro Flores]

Monday’s session was very interesting as well as the previous one. We talk about the four main philosophical schools

of thought in Asia (China).

At that moment, I didn’t have access to the readings, we were engaged in finding and comparing the similarities and opposites of those four schools of thought.

 3^rd.

In class, we were expose to four schools of thought and one of them was Confucius, Confucians did not approve fully how the empire was running their business. Also, They used to believed greed corrupted officials from top to bottom, such that they posted controls areas to ensure a fair distributions of goods, even though, equality was not achieve in the system.

The reason, Confucians did not want merchants to become official was because they could control goods and make an unthinkable profit. Instead, they emphasized benevolence. Also they believed that

focusing on profit, they will deviate from pursuing honesty and give ways to greed, as a result, the system of equable be vanished. Previous generations believe on virtue and when it is discarded reliance will be put on other things.

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