Theresa Preece Lesson Plan 1
Theresa Preece Lesson Plan 2
China, the world’s most populous country has a
continuous culture stretching back nearly 4,000
years, and is now the world’s fastest-growing
economy. The current industrial growth is
concentrated in manufacturing household goods
and clothing, resulting in China being the largest oil
consumer after the US, and the world’s biggest
producer and consumer of coal.
The rapid industrialization has created vast
differences between the wealth of urban workers
and those remaining as peasant farmers. Pollution
is a major issue, but in recent years the
government has announced a wish to slow
economic growth and to solve some of the
problems is has caused.
There has been a massive investment in
hydroelectric power, including the Three Gorges
Dam project, which is to dam the Yangtze River.
China hopes that the completed dam will help
control the flooding on the river, which has
claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
On some of the rivers of China, fishermen catch
fish without nets or hooks by using cormorants.
The birds have a ring around their neck to keep
them from swallowing the fish they catch when
they dive. After they return to the boat, the
fisherman takes the fish from the bird’s throat and
sends the bird off again.
In the 11th century the Chinese learned how to
bake their pottery at temperatures high enough to
produce porcelain (very fine, thin, and hard). When
this pottery came to Europe it was called “china”
and that name stuck around even after the
European potters learned how to make it
themselves.
Paper and movable type were invented in China
hundreds of years before they were used in
Europe. Movable type was invented in 1041 by Pi
Seng. He carved Chinese characters onto clay
blocks, and then made up one page. He then
reassembled the blocks ready for the next page.
Eventually movable type metal printing came
about in the 1200’s.
Chinese Agriculture
There are 329 million farmers in China, which
means that about half the country’s work force
works on land. Most of China’s arable land is used
to grow food crops such as rice, potatoes, millet,
barley, peanuts, and tea. Rice is one of the main
foods in the Chinese diet, as are vegetables,
noodles, soybeans, fish, and meat. The Chinese eat
with chopsticks, which are held in one hand.
Chinese Calendar and New Year
Chinese New Year is a very important holiday in
China. It is celebrated in late January to early
February (depending on the year). Chinese New
Year starts on a New Moon and ends with the
Lantern Festival on the full moon 15 days later.
Unlike most calendars, the Chinese calendar does
not count the years in numbers; instead, each year
is given one of the twelve animal names.
The twelve animals of the Chinese calendar are:
Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare or Rabbit, Dragon, Snake,
Horse, Ram or Sheep, Monkey, Rooster.
Data Bank
Longest river: Yangtze 3,964 miles
Highest mountain: Mount Everest 29,035 ft
Coastline: 9,010 miles
Climate: Tropical in the south to subarctic in the
north.
Largest city and population: Shanghai 9,110,600
Annual income: In US dollars- $6,800 per person
Fascinating Facts
 At 2,150 miles long, the Great Wall of
China is the longest wall in the world,
nearly three times as long as Britain. It also
has 2,193 miles of branches and spurs. It is
said to be the only human-made structure
that is visible to the naked eye from the
moon.
 Over 600 years ago China led the world in
technology, inventing paper, printing,
gunpowder, the magnetic compass, and
porcelain.
Questions and Answers
Q: Do the Chinese have an alphabet?
A: No. Each word has its own unique symbol or
character. It is a system that goes back 3,600 years.
It has helped different groups of Chinese to
understand each other because, although they
speak many types of language, the written form
can be understood by all. Traditionally, the Chinese
have written vertically in columns arranged from
right to left.
Q: Is rice the main food staple in China?
A: It is in the south, but in the north the Chinese
people eat more wheat-based products, such as
noodles or steamed buns.
 Theresa Preece Lesson Plan 3

The second sheet music is called Numbered Musical Notation

and is used in China.

"In China this kind of sheet music consist of numbers 1-7 and is
quite popular:

1-do (C)
2-re (D)
3-mi (E)
4-fa (F)
5-sol (G)
6-la (A)
7-ti (B)

It's called numbered musical notation ("jianpu" in Chinese -

simple sheet music) and used to be the only musical score for
the ordinary people."

A dot above or below a number raises or lowers the note an

octave.

A plain number is a quarter note. A line under the number cuts

it in half - so if it has one line under it - it's an eighth note.

A dash after the number adds a quarter note - so if it has one

dash after it - it's a half note.

If you're interested, you can read more about Chinese

numbered musical notation on Wikipedia.

To hear this song on piano:

http://www.mamalisa.com/midi/little_swallow.mid
 Theresa Preece Lesson Plan 4

Wang Li wrote, "'Little Swallow' is a children's song originally in a film called 'A Nurse's Diary' and has been
very popular in China for about half a century."

Little Swallow Little Swallow

Children's Song Children's Song
(Chinese) (English)

Little swallow, dressed colorfully,

Comes here every spring,
I asked her, "Why do you come here?"
She said, "The spring here is the most beautiful."
Little swallow, let me tell you,
It's more beautiful here this year.
We've built large factories,
And equipped new machines,
Please live here forever.