Middle School Students Write a Play Based on China Trip

Our trip to China provided our middle school class the opportunity to see and learn about a lot of Chinese history. They came back eager to learn more and to share what they learned! Recently, they decided to work together to write a play, “Scenes from Chinese History.” 

After spending an hour or so pouring over the different timelines we have in the classroom and consulting the Internet, they came up with a list of scenes that particularly interested them. It was wonderful to watch the excitement they brought to this work, and their willingness to answer the questions arising from their explorations: “Are the Huns and the Mongols the same people?” “Who are the Tartars, anyway?” They also took time to compare what was happening in China versus other parts of the world, and were amazed to realize how ancient Chinese civilization truly is. Once the list of scenes was established, the students organized themselves and divided up the work - different students would be responsible for researching and writing up different scenes.

It was truly fascinating to observe the enthusiasm the students brought to this project - it goes to show how exciting history can be to students when they are allowed to explore it in a manner that is developmentally appropriate! The students’ initiative and ability to organize themselves efficiently and easily clearly reflects the years of practice they had working on projects in Elementary. We look forward to seeing their scripts!

Read about our visit to Longmen Grottoes and the Shaolin Temple.

Read about our upper elementary and middle school students visit to Kaifeng City.