Chinese Discoveries and Inventions

To prepare your mini-scroll about China's inventions and discoveries complete these steps.

• Select the top four inventions and discoveries based on how much they continue to influence our lives today.
• Create a scroll about them using the paper strip you were given in class.
• Include 
• a title "page" at the start of your scroll.  Put your name on this section.  Both should be in English and in Chinese characters
• a section (page) for each discovery/invention you selected with 
• the name of the discovery/invention
• the Chinese characters for it
• a picture of it
• a four to six sentence paragraph about it that
• explains  it
• describes which it is still important

You project will be graded on:

• Completeness
• Visual appeal
• Historical accuracy

This project is due on Wednesday, January 29, 2020.

This is a 60% project.

Here is a sample:

Witness in a Box: Make your own Cornell box

Here are some examples of Joseph Cornell and Betye Saar's work.  You can use these as models or inspirations for your own Witness in a Box project.

"Parrot for Juan Gris" by Joseph Cornell

"Cassiopeia 1" by Joseph Cornell

"We Was Mostly About Survival" by Betye Saar

"The Liberation of Aunt Jemima" by Betye Saar

Rules for your Witness in a Box project.

Must use: 

• a box provided by the teacher.
• images and shapes
• something that hangs or moves
• creativity

May not use:

• words.
• images of the person.
• photographs of the actual event.

May use any material in the classroom or at home.

This is a 60% project.*  Be creative. Take your time. Make your product look good.

*Final grade will include an artist statement, your written summary and a presentation to the class

Witness in a Box - A Research Project for Brown Girl Dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. 

How is where we come from important to who we are?

Much of Brown Girl Dreaming deals with the theme of how where we come from affects who we become.  This includes time as well as place.  The time period a child was born into, what was going on in history during your early life, affects the adult she grows up to become.

For this project you will research a person or event from the time period covered in Brown Girl Dreaming, the Civil Rights Era in American history.  You will then create a "Cornell Box" that illustrates your research as a visual metaphor.  You will also write up a 250 word account of your research.  Both your research and your Cornell Box will be presented to the class as a speech. 

You must select a topic/person from the list below.  As part of your research, you will use the audio/visual link attached to your topic, photographs of the event/person you can find online and one article that you locate on your own.

Here are the people/events you can choose from.  Be sure to let the teacher know what your selection is.  No more than two people may do the same topic.

1. Dorothy Mulkey (Fair housing advocate)
2. Shirley Chishom (First woman to run for president)
3. Ruby Bridges
4. The 16th Street Bombing
5. The Children's Crusade
6. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
7. Mississippi Burning
8. The Loving Decision (Mixed Race Marriage)
9. Greensboro Lunch Counter
10. Freedom Riders
11. James Brown's concert the day after M.L. King was killed
12. Muhammad Ali's decision to refuse the draft
13. Black Like Me
14. Petula Clark/Harry Belafonte (television controversy)
15. Dance Theatre of Harlem
16. Roots 
17. John F. Kennedy
18. Malcolm X 
19. Rosa Parks
20. United States Colored Troops 54th Regiment
21. Lena Horn
22. Black Panthers
23. James Baldwin (Author, Civil Rights Activist)

Each person is linked to an audio/visual program about them.  You are required to use this program as part of your research.  Listen to it once, then listen again while taking notes about it. 

Find a second article about that person or event and a few photographs to help you understand the importance of your selection.  You may print out a few photographs (1 to 3) to use as part of your Cornell Box.  However, you may not use a picture of the actual person or event.  Your Cornell Box must be a metaphor, not an exact representation.

You will use your research to create a box about your selection in class.

Middle Schools in China

The pictures below show scenes from middle schools in present day China.  Observe each picture and answer the questions that follow.  Some pictures do not have questions, just text to read.  Write your answers in complete sentences on binder paper.  Each student must write their own answers.  You may work with the people sitting near you.

1. These are three different schools in China. As you can see, they are very different from each other. Which one looks most like the school you attend?

2. This is a student arriving at school. Classes at this school meet from Monday through Friday. What are the students wearing? What are they using to bring their books and papers to school? How are these students different from students in your school?

 3.  This is a list posted outside of a middle school with the names of students who have performed well academically. Is there a similar system to honor certain students at the school you attend?

4. Students are allowed 10 minutes between classes. These breaks are often noisy and halls are often crowded with students. How does this compare with your school?

5.  Every Monday, schools have a "flag raising ceremony" during which the whole school participates in a morning assembly.  Here, a group of students marches and raises the flag of the People's Republic of China.  Is there anything similar to this ceremony in your school?

6.  Every morning at around 10 a.m., all students gather to do their morning exercises.  Exercises consist of stretching and some calisthenics. Students line up in rows and three or four students lead the whole school in this morning ritual. What do you think of this activity?  Is there anything similar to this in your school?



7.  In many Chinese schools, students are responsible for keeping the school clean. The badge on this student's arm indicates that she is on cleaning duty. Who cleans your school?  What do you think about the idea of having students in charge of cleaning?

8.  Students also engage in "eye exercises." Students rub specific parts of their face around their eyes and also their necks.  These exercises are designed to protect the eyes and are based on the practice of acupressure.  Acupressure is a Chinese medical technique in which specific points in the body are pushed or pressed to help relieve pain or treat illnesses.  How do you think American students would react if their teachers asked them to do this?

9.  Like many places in the world, this Chinese school is concerned with technology and wants students to have access to computers. Students in this middle school can take computer classes and have access to the Internet.  There is a huge "digital divide" in China with many schools not having computers.  How does this compare with your school?

10.  Occasionally, students host a talent show or student assembly. Many students choose to sing, like this student. Some of the songs are in Chinese, but some students choose to sing in English.  Are there any events like this in your school?

Martin Luther King of the Metaphor

This project is due on Thursday, January 9.  This project is for English classes only.

Students are to take one of the metaphors in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and turn it into a visual metaphor.  We began this assignment in class today.

Artwork should follow these rules:

1. cover the entire paper with other paper.
2. use the "I Have a Dream" speech page.
3. include the metaphor in writing.

Here are two samples from other classes.

Here is the video of the speech we watched in class today, just in case you'd like to watch it again.