China and Japan in 7th Grade

China and Japan in 7^th Grade

Nee How! (Hello in Chinese). We finished our China Unit in which the seventh graders were learning about the geographical features of China, The Dynastic Rule of the Sons of Heaven, the Civil Service Examinations, their immense amount of inventions and much more.  At some point in this unit all students wrote a persuasive letter to a Venetian Editor persuading the Italians than Marco Polo really did go to China, by sharing the wonders they have seen in The Middle Kingdom.

         This unit was interrupted by our Middle School Model United Nations.  Students become delegates of a country, researched a world issue, wrote a position paper, and then debated on how to solve it by using the rules for parliamentary procedure. The resolutions they wrote are well thought out and impressive.  The seventh graders took this seriously, rose to the occasion and maturely promoted solutions to world problems.  This activity was a joint effort of the Upper School MUN class and the social studies teachers.

         The last unit of study is on Japan.  In this unit the students study geography, Japan’s golden age and the Shoguns during the Japanese feudal era and compare it to the European Middle Ages we studied at the beginning of the school year.  Towards the end of the unit and of the school year, the 7^th graders make carp kites and mons or Japanese crests while studying the culture of Japan.  Sayonara!