Unit 4: Ancient China
Ch.19- Geography and the Early Settlement of China
January 24-28
CA Content Standards:
6.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations
of China.
6.6.1 Locate and describe the origins of Chinese civilization in the Huang-He Valley during the Shang
Dynasty.
6.6.2 Explain the geographic features of China that made governance and the spread of ideas and goods
difficult and served to isolate the country from the rest of the world.
Objectives
• compare the areas controlled by various Chinese dynasties.
• identify the length of time it took China to expand to near its present-day boundaries.
• make hypotheses regarding the influence of geographic features on China’s history.
__________________________________________________________________________
Learning Projects
1. Reading OutlinesThis project engages the students into reading the learning content, synthesizing and
writing summaries of the data… They will also make predictions on further content reading
2. Workbook Pagesa. Geography Challenge (128-129)
b. Reading Support (130-133)
This project engages the students to form/state opinions and summaries of the content
data, and understand the geography connection to studying history.
3. Study GuideThe final project to engage the students into reading, summarizing, and synthesizing the
learning content. This guide challenges them to draw conclusions, deductions and
predictions.
4. GRAPES paperGeography – Religion – Achievements – Politics – Economics – Society
This project engages the students to discover about a given people by learning about
the 6 key areas of their culture and history.
Learning Projects Schedule and Score
Date
Monday
Assignment
Reading Outline
Due
Fri
Tuesday
Workbook- Geography Challenge
Worksheet Questions and Map pg.129,
Fri
Wednesday
GRAPES Paper
Fri
Thursday
Study Guide
Fri
Friday
TEST
Fri
Unit 4: Ancient China
Workbook Geography Challenge
Question 1
-Label the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea.
-In what two ways might these seas have influenced China’s history?
Question 2
-Draw the boundaries of the territories covered by the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties.
-Use a different color for each dynasty. Add them to the map key.
-Why do you think the areas controlled by various dynasties kept expanding?
Question 3
-Label the Huang He and the Chang Jiang.
-Why do you think these geographic features were important in the early history of China?
Question 4
-Which dynasty controlled the smallest area of China?
-Which dynasty controlled the largest area of China?
Question 5
Approximately how many years were there between the time a Chinese dynasty controlled
the smallest area and the time a Chinese dynasty controlled the largest area?
-Why do you think the Han dynasty never expanded into the southwest or the far northeast?
Question 6
-Draw and label the Great Wall.
-The Great Wall was 1,500 miles long, 25 feet high, and 15 to 30 feet wide…Why do you
think it was built?
Question 7
-Under which dynasty did China control territories that are not part of modern China?
Turn to the map on page 385.
-What present-day country south of China, and what present-day country northeast of China,
were controlled by this dynasty?
Question 8
-Why do you think the majority group in China today calls itself the “Han people”?
-Where do you think minority groups that do not consider themselves Han people might live
in China today?
Name_____________________________________ Date_____________ Pd________
Unit 4: Ancient China
Ch.19-Geography and the Early Settlement of China
Study Guide
Terms
Himalaya Mountains (p. 184)
Tibet-Qinghai Plateau (Tibetan Plateau) (p. 184)
Northeastern Plain (p. 185)
North China Plain (p. 185)
Chang Jiang Basins (p. 185)
Huang He (Yellow River) (p. 186)
Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) (p. 186)
oasis (p. 187)
Taklamakan Desert (p. 187)
Gobi Desert (p. 187)
silt (p. 189)
tributary (p. 190)
Timeline
-Label and illustrate a timeline with the events listed below.
-For each event, draw a creative and appropriate symbol near its proper place on the timeline.
-Write the date the event occurred and an appropriate headline for each event.
- Rise of civilization of Ancient China
- Fall of civilization of Ancient China
- Unification of Outer and Inner China
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------
Essential Questions
1. Describe the physical features, climate, and vegetation of each of China’s five geographic
regions: (CA History Std.6.6.2)
Tibetan Plateau,
northwestern deserts,
Northeastern Plain,
North China Plain,
Chang Jiang Basins.
2. Where did people first settle in China? (CA History Std.6.6.1)
Why was this location a good place to settle?
3. In what ways did its geography keep China isolated from other parts of the ancient world?
How did this isolation impact China’s history? (CA History Std.6.6.2)
4. How did differences in the geography of Outer and Inner China create different ways of life?
In what ways was daily life in Outer China different from daily life in Inner China? (CA History Std.6.6)