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Lesson Plan - What's Up, World? China
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Learning Objective
Students will read about the unique characteristics and features of China.
Text Structure
Description
Content-Area Connections
Social Studies; Global Communities
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, L.3.4, SL.3.1
NCSS: Global Connections
TEKS: Social Studies 3.13
1. Preparing to Read
Watch a Video: A Trip to the Ice Festival
Ask: Would you want to visit the Harbin Ice Festival? Explain.
Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about why people might want to visit China.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. What can you infer about Harbin’s climate from the article’s description of the Harbin Ice Festival? The article states that the festival includes castles and sculptures made of snow and ice. You can infer that this area of China has a cold winter climate.
(RI.3.1 TEXT EVIDENCE)
2. According to the article, what was the purpose of the Great Wall of China? The purpose of the Great Wall of China was to protect the country from outside attacks.
(RI.3.2 KEY DETAILS)
3. List three facts about China that you can learn from the map. Sample response: The map shows that Beijing is the capital city of China. It also shows that China has other cities, like Chongqing and Shanghai. It shows that China shares a border with many countries.
(RI.3.5 TEXT FEATURES)
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Compare and Contrast
Use the skill builder “Comparing Communities” to have students compare and contrast their own communities with China.
(RI.3.8 COMPARISON)
Multilingual Learners
If you have Mandarin Chinese speakers in your class, invite them to model the pronunciation of nĭ hăo for the class. Have other students share greetings from their own native languages.
Striving Readers
Point out that the red and yellow circular icons give clues about the focus of each section. For example, the camera icon shows that the section is about something people can see and photograph. Discuss other examples.
Writing Extension
Have students plan travel brochures for China in which they address the country’s location, special places, etc.