[Tiffany Chang]

It has been a privilege to attend my first course with the US China Institute, and it was all thanks to an email that I received, one week before the course started. I gained a new perspective from this course about East Asian history, and it was a pleasure to attend lectures by Dr. Dube and all the other professors. Thank you, Catherine for everything as well!

At first, I wasn’t sure how this could help my teaching in the classroom, since 5th grade curriculum mainly covers the beginnings of US history. However, as I continued to attend these sessions, I realized how it important it is for students to keep up with current events and how it could affect them. Granted, reading about current events isn’t the most exciting part of school in most 10-year-old’s minds, but it is truly valuable, and if I could make that relatable to them, then I would have achieved a great goal. One of the lectures that really stayed with me was Barbara Finamore’s Will China Save the Planet? Although I would like to teach more about events in history prior to 1800, I think this is the most prevalent topic considering how everyone’s decisions on this planet affects our planet environmentally. One introduction activity I would like to start out with for my students is for the students to document everything they do for a week, from the food they eat, how many times they get in a car, etc. Sometimes our habits are very conditioned, we do not think about the impact we make based on those decisions, no matter how small we think they are. Teaching students about human activity affects the environment and stressing how they are the ones who could be the ones to help solve these problems is crucial.

Starting in the fall, I might slowly introduce more Asian history through aspects such as art, music, fashion, dance, and food. These topics are what interest students most and capturing the students’ attention is sometimes difficult, when they think about “history” or “social studies”. I want to change that mindset that it is beyond reading a textbook. These experiences are what make an impact on their learning.

Based on everything I have learned in this session, I know that incorporating East Asia into our conversations, ours students’ minds and studies, will be a very valuable tool to have.

[Tiffany Chang]

I am now part of the population that has googled, "Yanxi Palace" to see the reviews by fans and critics. Any Cinderella type plot is always a fun watch, but I am intrigued by how they will portray women in the imperial court considering it is a female dominant cast. In our household growing up, my grandparents probably watched the entire archive of Chinese period dramas and that attributed to how I learned to understand Mandarin. Sounds like something I will watch as my summer vacation is about to begin! 

[Tiffany Chang]

Thank you for sharing your experience and your information! I have yet to visit CAMLA after living in Southern California for quite a few years now. My students are predominantly Asian, more specifically of Chinese descent. It is very telling how students do not know what is beyond San Gabriel Valley and the history of Chinese immigrants and early generations of Chinese Americans. I hope that they can see how life in the United States for Chinese Americans was a rough time and it is important for them to see who paved the way for them or their families to come to America. 

[Tiffany Chang]

This is such an important WWII topic that students need to study as it was on US soil. The general American mindset of WWII includes Pearl Harbor and fighting outside of the US, but for Japanese Americans, this was a very real and devastating time as they had to prove their loyalty. I teach near the Santa Anita race track in a district that is predominantly Asian, but many students did not realize that WWII history was in their very own backyard. Last year, we had a guest speaker visit our school to talk about her experiences living in these relocation camps. I was very moved to see that my students wanted to learn more and could not believe that the US could sign such a document. When given the chance to hear from someone who witnessed and lived through those time periods, students would empathize and these stories stay with them.

[Tiffany Chang]

One of the takeaways from the lecture was about Marco Polo. My knowledge of Marco Polo was limited and based on whatever textbook was used in 7th grade history. For a social studies lesson, it would an engaging way for students to understand primary sources and different accounts of history to determine whether Marco Polo really did do everything he claimed. As a writing teacher, I would provide different documents and resources for my students to use and have them write an opinion essay on whether they think he really made it to China or not. An activity to draw students in would be to brainstorm all the stories they have heard about Marco Polo and then determine whether those are fact or fiction. 

[Tiffany Chang]

I agree that the US needs to follow China's role in taking action to reduce pollution and reverse the effects of climate change. The fact that China can make it happen where the country can see blue skies after not driving cars and other transportation shows that everyone has a role in taking care of this planet. The ultimate goal is to make Earth sustainable to live for future generations since human activity has made a negative impact on climate change. I hope that nations of power can come to realize this and it is more important to focus on the environment rather than any political or economic gain at this point. 

[Tiffany Chang]

China is the "make it or break it" piece of the climate change puzzle. The nation has recognized its role, and has made huge strides to reduce pollution. I was in China in the summer of 2012, and I remember the skies. At first, I thought that it was a cloudy day until I realized that the thick, gray sky was pollution. The feeling of standing outside was unbearable at times and the face masks made sense. In 2013, air pollution was a wake-up call for the nation and a turning point in fixing the problem. China published the National Strategy for Climate Change adaption in November 2013, which was a report that had goals and targets for the country to reach in order to reduce pollution. 

[Tiffany Chang]

If one does not study the depths of religion, it is very easy to generalize the practices and rituals. I found it very interesting how Buddhism evolved over time and how there were many schools of thought even though they were all stemmed from the same origin. Different culture and social aspects led to the continuous shaping of the religion. When dynasties and rulers change, so does the school of thought. The fact that women were the first monastics in Japan, but were eventually excluded. I hope to show students how women play such an important role in different cultures and history, and my goal is for students to see how it is crucial to study the marginalized groups. 

[Tiffany Chang]

I think that is an excellent way of integrating certain life teachings with classroom mindfulness. My goal is to have more restorative justice class meetings, and I think integrating the noble truths is wonderful. Have you integrated into your class discussions yet? If so, how did your class respond? Do you plan to use other teachings in your discussion as well? 

[Tiffany Chang]

I love incorporating escape rooms and digital break outs in the classroom! This makes it much more engaging and motivating. Setting up with different options makes it easy for teachers to plan depending on their schedule. Your clues really show a variety of information and the pictures will allow students to identify different aspects of the rise of Communism. I think it is crucial to show how this way of running the country affects all areas of life and with this fun game, students can use their problem solving skills to get a sense of what life was like during this specific time period. 

[Tiffany Chang]

This is a great way for students to explore history independently! My elementary students still view history and social studies as reading a textbook or looking something up on Wikipedia and it is important to show how they can be historians as well! Using a variety of resources such as looking at maps and artifacts allows students to make their own observations and conclusions. It is a great activity to allow students to guess what the artifact was used for and write a description of its purpose and how it was used. I hope to do something similar to this with my students in the future so they can see how tools, utensils, and other inventions can look in different time periods. 

[Tiffany Chang]

Your lesson plan is really well thought out. I think having a template allows students to break down the parts of a Sijo. Allowing students to think creatively in a small writing assignment like a Sijo can be challenging and an exciting break from writing a more traditional narrative response. Adding the element of a parody will definitely give students a chance to show off their sense of humor. This breaks the stigma of poetry always being deep and sentimental, but Sijos can also teach students how theme can be shown in a "less is more" form. I hope to teach Sijos and Haikus in my classroom in the future! 

[Tiffany Chang]

I had no idea what I was getting into when I read this lesson plan! This is a very creative way to teach culture and have fun! I, personally, am not too familiar with K-pop, but I have many students who are live by it. I appreciate how you included a "Music Video Definition Match Game" so students can understand the different aspects to a music video such as shooting the video and editing it. Although your lesson plan is designed for high school students, I can see how elementary students can be invested in this and could be a form of physical education or visual performing arts. This could be a chance for students to learn how to work together to choreograph something new to a song that they like. Love it! 

[Tiffany Chang]

I think it's a wonderful way to connect cross-culturally with the standards that you have to teach. As subjects can overlap with each other, combining social studies and language arts is important for students to see how reading is important in every aspect of our life as well as how social studies plays a crucial part in understanding how society develops.

The way your lesson plan is set up is very organized and easy to follow. It is very helpful to have a script to go along with the lesson plan so anyone who uses this can fall back on the script. Since there is extensive vocabulary in the stories, it is important to explain what those words mean and allow students to process what it means before diving into the story. 

[Tiffany Chang]

This is a wonderfully, detailed lesson plan! I appreciate all the resources you provided in this document. The first time I ever learned about comfort women was in college at a Korean club meeting. I had no idea about the tragic history, and it is crucial for people to learn and acknowledge what had happened during this time period. Personal accounts and film will really speak to students as they can learn the horrible details of those stories. In times of war, students mainly think about the weaponry and the thirst for power, but the way history is being taught in schools need to have a vast change as it is important to read accounts of victims of those who may not be personally involved in the war but are still greatly affected by it. 

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