Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) [Paperback]

Lance Kramer (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Build It Yourself series

From Buddhism, feng shui, and porcelain pottery to gunpowder, dynasties, and trade routes, this interactive activity guide explores the incredible ingenuity and history of ancient China with more than 20 hands-on projects. Comprehensive coverage of the ancient culture—everything from the daily lives of both the rich and poor to the history of architecture, dynasties, religion, trade, and science—are combined with step-by-step instructions for creating Chinese inventions with ordinary household materials. Key vocabulary, time lines, and factual sidebars are included to further educate young readers about this innovative society and its continuing influence on modern culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a fun book! Use it on weekends, holidays, and vacation to keep kids busy and having fun."  —Bookselling This Week, American Booksellers Association

"Candy for the eyes and the brain. . . . Activities include making a Chinese puppet, an abacus, a miniyurt, a compass, a paper snowflake, ice cream and a Chinese string instrument."  —The Gazette.net

About the Author

Lance Kramer is a journalist and former ESL teacher. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Nomad Press (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934670022
• ISBN-13: 978-1934670026
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Children's Books > History > Asia
  • #50 in Books > History > Ancient > China
  • #69 in Books > Children's Books > History > Ancient

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great craft based learning of ancient civilization, July 31, 2009

By 

The World Is My Classroom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) (Paperback)

This is a very thorough and unbiased book for teaching ancient China with the added bonus of hands on activities to reinforce the concepts. This book can be integrated into every subject.
Here's what is covered:
Timeline from Shang Dynasty to Mung Dynasty (1600 BCE-1644 CE) with highlights from each time period
Intro
Ch. 1 Cities and Architecture includes the Great Wall
Projects: mini-yurt and feng shui house
Chapter 2 Paper
Project: make your own paper
Chapter 3 Writing and Education includes Confucius
Projects: movable type and making your own ink from berries
Chapter 4 Warriors and Weapons
Projects: terracotta army including how to make an animation of them and kite
Chapter 5 Jade and Silk
Project: jade bi jewelry
Chapter 6 Merchants and Trade includes the Silk Road
Projects: suspension bridge and relief map
Chapter 7 Explorers and Sailing includes Zheng He
Projects: compass and Chinese junk
Chapter 8 Healers and Medicine includes acupuncture
Project: learn T'ai Ch'i
Chapter 9 Farming includes wheelbarrow and trace harness
Project: bronze foundry
Chapter 10 Food includes fortune cookies and tea ceremony
Projects: moon cakes, egg noodles, tea and ice cream
Chapter 11 Time and Space includes Chinese calendar and Su Song's water clock
No projects in this chapter
Chapter 12 Music includes bells, orchestras and theater
Projects:Chinese string instrument and puppet
Chapter 13 Chang Heng's Seismograph
Project: seismograph
Chapter 14 Numbers includes decimals and negative numbers
Projects:abacus, tangrams and paper snowflakes

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Engaging Book, July 30, 2008

By 

D. Hickson (Sandy Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) (Paperback)

This is a great book for children, with a wealth of information about ancient Chinese culture and history. It is probably most appropriate for children between 8 and 13. Younger children would need to be strong readers or could enjoy this book by reading and doing the activites together with a parent - a great way to absorb the contents of this book for parent and child alike! Weinberg's illustrations are essential to the playful nature of each chapter. Each chapter focuses on an aspect, invention, tradition, or object from Chinese history, and each includes side bars and boxes of "words to know" and an explanation of relevant Chinese characters. The book has a lot of text but is also very visual - making for a deceptively rich presentation. I believe a strength of this book is that it does not simplify things to the point of talking down to the child reader. The activities provide just enough information to spark a child's imagination and don't squeeze out all the fun by providing step-by-step "must be done this way," cookbook directions (except for the recipes, of course). That said, there are a couple of activities where an additional illustration or two would have helped, but this is a minor criticism. I imagine that most children will finish this book having gained a useful body of knowledge about Chinese culture and a heightened curiosity for more.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun, June 8, 2008

By 

R. Bartlett "www.kaisora.com" (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) (Paperback)

I had a lot of fun playing around with these projects and I'm way too old to be a kid. They're clearly described, simple to do, historically interesting, and they're just plain fun. A great way to get kids interested in the history of one of the world's most important countries, while still letting them make a mess and have fun. It's just the kind of book to pull out on a rainy Saturday.