A Trip to China: an Integrated Unit aims to help teachers undertake a comprehensive study of China in the upper primary classroom. Students will examine aspects of daily life, explores the cultural diversity of the nation, and discusses key industries, occupations and the arts in China. The kidcyberQuest sets an assignment for students who are to make a book about China. The kidcyberQuest provides students with directed practice in key information gathering and research skills, such as formulating questions, reading for information, making notes, compiling a bibliography and writing a report.

The student information pages are organised into categories to enable students to undertake preliminary research to enable them to plan their writing of the book. Selected links to other sites on the web are provided but should be used in conjunction with other traditional resources such as books, videos, magazines and human resources eg people who have been to China or who have migrated from China.

Introducing A Trip to China
Undertake an introductory activity for students to establish what students already know about the topic and set guidelines for future instruction, classroom activity and research.

Make lists: 'What We Already Know about China' and 'What We Want to Know about China'. This introductory activity will establish what students already know the topic, and will help students focus on the topic, collect data and determine what they need to find out.

After viewing a video or browsing through a collection of books, travel brochures and other resources, each student is given a sheet of paper and writes down 'facts' they know about China. They then cut their paper into strips, one fact to each strip. The strips are all placed into a large container. The teacher pulls out one strip at a time and reads aloud the fact. Students decide collectively whether or not it should be categorised as:
1. True
2. False
3. Don't know yet

The fact strips in each category are taped together to form charts. One day each week during the unit the charts are reviewed, and the facts are re categorised, refined or corrected. At this weekly session, new facts are added. As the list of true facts grows, it can be categorised further under headings such as : Wildlife in China, Chinese Food, Work in China etc.

Following this activity, some of the following could be undertaken to further introduce the topic:
display photographs, charts, posters and so on around the room;
collect books from library resource centre;
view videos from local libraries.
students write letters to the Chinese Embassy in your country, or Consulate offices in some capital cities to request information;
search the internet (see kidcyberQuest) for selected sites.
Display Chinese artifacts or posters brought to school by students;
survey students, teachers, friends and relatives to locate people with knowledge or expertise relating to the topic and invite them to speak.

Food
Introductory tasting activity: collect recipes and adapt some for cooking at school as an introductory activity about food.The meal can be added to from the students' research, and fresh fruit should be available also. Students will find out about other Chinese foods and their names and find recipes for some Chinese dishes. They can make comparisons between what they would eat at home and what they might eat on a trip to China.

As a conclusion to the integrated unit , plan and take students to a Chinese restaurant for lunch or order a takeaway lunch from a local Chinese restaurant

Agriculture and Industry
For a total perspective of China's industries, students should be directed to investigate Chinese crops and industries, such as food processing, petrochemicals, tea growing, rice, wheat etc.

Sightseeing in China
Students will look at a number of brochures obtained from travel agents, the Chinese Embassy and other sources. They can cut out pictures and paste them onto a wall map of China, with arrows and labels. This can be added to as more attractions are researched.

Flora and Fauna of China
After researching this topic using a variety of resources, students are required to include information about some species of flora and fauna in their book of China

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