{"id":1014,"date":"2025-07-16T04:49:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T04:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app"},"modified":"2025-07-16T04:49:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T04:49:59","slug":"ancient-china-lesson-plan-xia-dynasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/?p=1014","title":{"rendered":"Ancient China Lesson Plan Xia Dynasty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><time datetime=\"2025-07-16T00:49:59-04:00\" title=\"Jul 16, 2025\">Jul 16, 2025<\/time><br \/><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hands on Lesson for Plan on Ancient China &amp; the Xia Dynasty  \" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/2db81835553354ede918db941c493bc7.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hands on Lesson for Plan on Ancient China &amp; the Xia Dynasty  <\/p>\n<p>This is part 1 of a 12 part a hands-on unit study on China. Study the early legends of China, design a Chinese Dynasties scroll, create a dragon puppet, &amp; more while learning about Ancient Chinese History and the Xia Dynasty. Also included are our favorite Children&#8217;s books and YouTube video clips. Use these ideas with your class, family, or homeschool co-op group!<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction to China &amp; Dynasties<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Geography of China<\/h2>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Locating China on a globe\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/1d266798fa3dcbcb8aac97bd36e7d9fd.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Locating China on a globe<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Have children locate China on a globe or map. What do you notice about where it&#8217;s located?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maps or globes (preferably ones that show geographical features) for each child or pair of children<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>With my younger children we agreed that China looks like a dragon sitting on top of India. The fire coming out its mouth is North Korea, South Korea, &amp; Japan. Mongolia is like a saddle on the dragon&#8217;s back, and Russia is the sky above it.<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>When I was in school, we didn&#8217;t learn much about China until we got to the Age of Exploration with Columbus looking for the lands Marco Polo described. Why do you think Europeans probably did not interact much with China before then? (There were many geographical barriers such as enormous mountains [including Mt. Everest], the Gobi Desert, and the Pacific Ocean, which is the largest ocean.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>While China has a rich history which we&#8217;ll focus on during this lesson, it is a modern society today. Read<em> Living in . . . China<\/em> by Chloe Perkins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1481460471\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\"><em>Living in . . . China<\/em> by Chloe Perkins<\/a> or other book about modern China<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<h2>Chinese Dynasties<\/h2>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A Scroll Timeline of the Chinese Dynasties\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/fd2b2873521f15265a3d4d7cf32a7c7d.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A Scroll Timeline of the Chinese Dynasties<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Briefly discuss what dynasties were.<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Have children work together to create a Scroll Timeline of the Chinese Dynasties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Ahead of time my older children taped together 9 sheets of paper and taped the ends to markers. They drew a line through the middle and marked off 100 year increments from 2000 BC to 2000 AD.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li>Each child took a turn marking the year of the end of the dynasty, writing the name of the dynasty at the bottom, writing a few things for which that dynasty was know, and drawing a quick sketch.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li>We then rolled up the Timeline like a scroll.<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paper on a roll or 9 sheets of paper (we used 1\/3 sheets) taped together, tape, a ruler, &amp; markers<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<h2>Chinese Dynasties Scroll<\/h2>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The rolled up Scroll Timeline\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/1af444bff847921879c2a46bb7882ac7.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The rolled up Scroll Timeline<\/p>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Unrolled Chinese Dynasty Scroll Timeline\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/15209978d9ead3a074e09a23b0825097.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unrolled Chinese Dynasty Scroll Timeline<\/p>\n<p>*If you are using this lesson for older children, have them each create their own timeline AND do the research about each dynasty. If you&#8217;re using this lesson with younger children, you can assist in the research and just make one scroll.*<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Xia Dynasty<\/strong> (2205-1766 BC) *Dragons, Silk*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Shang Dynasty<\/strong> (1766-1122 BC) *Jade sculptures, Chopsticks, bronze, spices*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Zhou\/Chou Dynasty<\/strong> (1122-221 BC) * Confucius &amp; Lao Tzu\/Lao Zi, Science &amp; astronomy, Literature, Chariots, Feudal lords, Roads &amp; canals, Iron, Multiplication tables*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Qin\/Chin Dynasty<\/strong> (221-206 BC) *Terracotta Army, Great Wall*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Han Dynasty<\/strong> (206 BC-220 AD) *Silk Road opened, Buddha, Paper &amp; Kites invented, Compass, Stir-fries &amp; soy sauce used*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Six Dynasties Period<\/strong> (220-589)<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Sui Dynasty<\/strong> (589-618) *Grand Canal*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Tang Dynasty<\/strong> (618-907) *Tea drinking, Gunpowder, Bronze\/silver\/gold\/copper, Scroll painting, Music &amp; dancing, Painted pottery, Fancy hats &amp; silk robes, Carp*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Five Dynasties<\/strong> (907-960)<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Sung\/Song Dynasty<\/strong> (960-1279) *Fireworks, Opera, Paper cutting, Paper money, Tangrams, Compass*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Yuan or Mongolian Dynasty<\/strong> (1279-1368) *Kublai Khan, Marco Polo, Capital Zhongdu\/Beijing, Blue &amp; white porcelain, Extensive trade between East and West, &amp; Theater*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Ming Dynasty<\/strong> (1368-1644) *Forbidden City built, Great Wall rebuilt, Blue &amp; white porcelain, Abacus, Mariner explorers like Zeng He*<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><strong>Qing\/Manchu Dynasty<\/strong> (1644-1911) *Forbidden City, The Last Emperor, Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, Mandarin, Cricket pets*<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<h2>Creation &amp; the Flood<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Read a brief account of Pan Ku. I used the one page account &amp; illustration from <em>Chinese Mythology <\/em>by Jim Ollhoff. Are there any similarities to the creation account in the Bible?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00SB3T73O\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\"><em>Chinese Mythology<\/em> by Jim Ollhoff<\/a> or other account of Pan Ku<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Read <em>Yu the Great: Conquering the Flood <\/em>by Paul Storrie. How does this story compare to the Biblical account of the flood during the time of Noah? Which son of Noah might have started the nation of China? [We don&#8217;t know. Different experts have different theories.] Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/answersingenesis.org\/the-flood\/flood-legends\/flood-legends\/\">this Answers in Genesis article<\/a> comparing ancient flood legends with the Biblical account.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B009DQW8DY\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\"><em>Yu the Great: Conquering the Flood<\/em> by Paul Storrie <\/a>or other account of Yu the Great<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Watch the below video giving an introduction to Ancient China which came from: <em>https:\/\/www.edyoutoo.com\/video\/9582A3E5F969DEE6\/ancient-china<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>EdYouToo Video: Ancient China Video Sneak Peek, Xia Dynasty<\/h2>\n<h2>Yu the Engineer and Flood Stories from China<\/h2>\n<h2>Dragons<\/h2>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon puppet created by middle-school aged child\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/9a436742bae99c071627c908a92aab55.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dragon puppet created by middle-school aged child<\/p>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon Puppet created by a preschooler\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/05cd71a5b809e3ccd41e2bb6f8c0da47.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dragon Puppet created by a preschooler<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Read a <em>The Sons of the Dragon King<\/em> by Ed Young.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0689851847\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\"><em>The Sons of the Dragon King<\/em> by Ed Young<\/a> or other account of dragons<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Map Work: Locate the Huang (Yellow) River and Four Sacred Mountains.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maps of China<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Create dragon puppets. We printed a copy of a dragon from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.madewithhappy.com\/chinese-dragon-puppet-2\/\">https:\/\/www.madewithhappy.com\/<\/a> . Cut out the stack before handing them out to make it easier. Allow children to color them, tape them together using construction paper or crepe paper, and then on 2 sticks (or straws) to the back. *If you&#8217;re teaching older children, you can have them design their own dragons.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>YOU WILL NEED:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>copies of the dragons already cut out, markers, construction paper or crepe paper, tape, and pairs of sticks or straws per dragon<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<h2>Memorizing the Major Chinese Dynasties<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Start memorizing the major Chinese Dynasties in order using the below song sung to the tune of <em>Fr\u00e8re Jacques.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Sui, Tang, Song<br \/> Sui, Tang, Song<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic<br \/> Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Mao Zedong<br \/> Mao Zedong<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Courtesy of the teachers on the College Board AP-World History<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Xia Dynasty Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>(2205-1766 BC)<\/p>\n<p>*Dragons*<\/p>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Xia Dynasty Books\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/088b817c5ba7aaa89d6570c5a96bff48.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Xia Dynasty Books<\/p>\n<h2>Our Favorite Xia Dynasty Books<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0689851847\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\">The Sons of the Dragon King<\/a> by Ed Young<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0822565625\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\">Yu the Great: Conquering the Flood<\/a> by Paul Storrie<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1602209944\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\">Cang Jie, The Inventor of Chinese Characters<\/a> by Jian Li<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0804838070\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\">Treasury of Chinese Folk Tales Beloved Myths and Legends from the Middle Kingdom<\/a> by Shelley Fu<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00SB3T73O\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\">Chinese Mythology<\/a> by Jim Ollhoff<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1602209782\/?tag=hubacct7155-20\">The Water Dragon<\/a> by Jian Li<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li>KONOS History of the World: Volume II (pp. 511-516) &#8211; Activity &amp; Discussion ideas<\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ready to Study the Next Dynasty?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ancient-china-lesson-for-kids\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/903d5335346592f52a31d962f47d0685.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Ancient-China-Lesson-for-Kids\">Xia Dynasty (2205-1766 BC)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Shang-Dynasty-for-Kids\">Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BC)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Zhou-Dynasty-Lesson\">Zhou Dynasty (1122-221 BC)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Qin-Dynasty-Lesson\">Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Han-Dynasty-Lesson\">Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) &amp; Six\/Southern Dynasties Period (220-589)<br \/><\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Tang-Dynasty-Lesson\">Sui Dynasty (589-618) &amp; Tang Dynasty (618-907)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Song-Dynasty-Lesson\">Five Dynasties (907-960) &amp; Song Dynasty (960-1279)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Yuan-Dynasty-Lesson\">Yuan or Mongolian Dynasty (1279-1368)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Ming-Dynasty-Lesson\">Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Qing-Dynasty-Lesson\">Qing\/Manchu Dynasty (1644-1911)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Republic-of-China-Lesson\">Revolutions in China (1911-1976)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Modern-China-Lesson\">Modern China (1977-Present)<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/Chinese-New-Year-Lesson\">Chinese New Year Celebration<\/a><\/li>\n<p><\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking for All My Lessons?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ancient-china-lesson-for-kids\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/f1ebfefaef76e448bbfe15f0e149a102.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/fun-hands-on-unit-studies\">Fun, FREE Hands-on Unit Studies<\/a> <\/strong>&#8211; Over the years I have posted over 40 science and social-studies based unit studies, compromised of more than 170 lessons. The unit studies include the Human Body, Simple Machines, Earth Science, Medieval Period, American Revolution, Pioneer Life, Countries of the World, and many more! For each lesson I have included activities (with photos), our favorite books and YouTube video clips, lapbook links, and other resources.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Would You Like More?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"KONOS History of the World Volume II\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/archived\/348423e33de36f24243df91f4b6e9590.jpg\" style=\"max-height: 500px; width: auto;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>KONOS History of the World Volume II<\/p>\n<h2>KONOS History of the World Volume II<\/h2>\n<p>Would you like more? These lessons are inspired by <a href=\"https:\/\/konos.com\/high-school\/?v=47e5dceea252\">History of the World: Volume II by KONOS Curriculum<\/a>, which includes many more discussion topics, interesting facts, activities, writing topics, and book suggestions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a9 2021 Shannon<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jul 16, 2025 Hands on Lesson for Plan on Ancient China &amp; the Xia Dynasty This is part 1 of a 12 part a hands-on unit study on China. Study the early legends of China, design a Chinese Dynasties scroll, create a dragon puppet, &amp; more while learning about Ancient Chinese History and the Xia [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shannon.wasmer.app\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}