My 2 cents, this may be China's biggest challenge.

China’s Shotgun Approach to Fixing Pollution - Via Media

I did a Chinese Pollution lesson plan a few years ago, that is still pretty usable. Some of the recent articles I have seen on pollution in China are unbelievable.

Labels: chinese lesson plan, chinese pollution

Interesting article from the NY Times - Selling Lessons Online Raises Cash and Questions

That brings up a lot of issues should teachers be allowed to sell their lessons online. Especially since they may have been developed during time paid for by a school.

My opinion is yes, they should be allowed to sell them because:

1. Many teachers spend a huge amount of time outside of regular school hours preparing for class.

2. It increases the amount of materials available for use by Teachers by giving an incentive to put materials out there. And the prices mentioned in the article are very reasonable. So the end result is a win win. A teacher who wants material has the option to buy materials, and other teachers will take the time to prepare materials.

The two sites mentioned in the article are Teachers pay Teachers and We Are Teachers.

Childbok has free Chinese Lesson Plans as well as free Chinese Coloring pages and worksheets.

Labels: chinese lesson plan

I finally updated my Chinese Lesson Plans and Teacher Resources area. There is a really useful page I added that has all the books I have in stock that I have found lesson plans for or have had them written for. Books and DVDs with Chinese Lesson Plans

I also added in, finally, Chinese Poetry Study Guide, Teachers Handbook, and Lesson Plans that is 40+ pages and is free.

And on the images on the bottom of the Lesson Plans Page, it either proves I do have a sense of humor, I like my daughter's pictures, or both!

Labels: chinese lesson plan

I stumbled across Lesson Plans for the following books and I have included them in the description. Many of them are done as part of a unit on Chinese Culture. Chang's Paper Pony, a very cute story, can be done as part of a unit on the Gold Rush.

The lesson plans range from ancient China, such as The Lost Horse : A Chinese Folktale by Ed Young to the Gold Rush, Chang's Paper Pony, to literature with Lon Po Po A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young that has a lot of activities for comparison to the European version of Red Riding Hood to the modern immigrant experience in Yang the Third and the impossible family and I Hate English by Ellen Levine to everyday culture in a cute book Dim Sum For Everyone! by Grace Lin. There is a cute scene in Yang the Third and the impossible family (may be the other Yang book, Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka ) where the family who just immigrated to Seatle Washington from China, goes to a Chinese Restaurant and discovers fortune cookies.

References:

Dim Sum For Everyone! by Grace Lin
Our Price: $6.99 Sale Price: $5.99 You Save $1.00!
Just right for young children, Dim Sum for Everyone! celebrates a cultural custom and a universal favorite activity--eating! Great book!

The Lost Horse : A Chinese Folktale by Ed Young
Our Price: $7.00
The Lost Horse : A Chinese Folktale , English, Soft Cover. English

Chang's Paper Pony. English. Softcover.
Our Price: $3.99
Cute story of Chang during the Gold Rush who wants a horse of his own...English. Softcover.

Lon Po Po A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
Our Price: $6.99
Lon Po Po by Ed Young. Three young sisters staying home alone are endangered by a hungry wolf who is disguised as their grandmother. English, Paperback English. Paperback.

Yang the Third and the impossible family
Our Price: $5.50
Can Mary keep her Chinese Culture, yet still fit in? Third daughter Mary Yang makes an unexpected new friend while trying to hide a kitten from her family in a challenge of American and Chinese Culture.

I Hate English by Ellen Levine
Our Price: $5.99
I Hate English by Ellen Levine. When her family moves to New York from Hong Kong, Mei Mei finds it difficult to adjust to school and learn the alien sounds of English. English. Paperback.


Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka
Our Price: $4.50
Nine-year-old Yang and his family have immigrated from China to Seattle and the father is a professional Violin Play. He has been giving Yang Violin lessons for years, and Yang hates the Violin. Yang discovers Baseball! A great story about fitting in and getting used to a new country and culture.

Labels: chinese lesson plan

Good article in the NY Times on Environmentalism in China. I need to update the lesson plan I created on Pollution in China a while ago. China changes so fast! Pollution is a major challenge that China faces in it's amazing rapid growth. Pollution is a problem and needs to be weighed against the economic growth needed to sustain the party in power. It's a huge positive the amount of people in China whom are no longer in poverty because of all the growth.

The Economist had a front cover story about some of the challenges China is facing and it's free without subscription!

China, beware
The country's rulers care too much for their own welfare, and too
little about the rural peasants
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9947069

Economist is one of my favorite magazines.

Labels: chinese environment, chinese lesson plan, chinese pollution