Teacher’s Guide for

Tai Chi Morning

Snapshots of China by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Ed Young

Pre-reading Activity:

Have students find China on a world map. Discuss the longest trip they’ve ever taken. Why do people travel? How can they remember everything they see? Where would you like to travel? Why?

Comprehension Guide:

Knowledge:

1. Describe some of the people that Nikki Grimes sees on her journey.

2.  What things remind her of the United States?

Comprehension:

1. What do you think was the most surprising thing on the journey? What would it have been for you?

2. Do the poems reflect more on people or on places? Why do you think so?

Application:

1. Ms. Grimes talks about how they were lucky to get to go into the interior- Hohhot- find out if Americans can still go see this part of the country today.

2. Research the events of Tiananmen Square that Ms. Grimes refers to in her journal and poem from that location.

Analyze:

1. What poetic techniques does Ms. Grimes use to express herself in the poems? Find examples of:  simile, personification, rhyme, rhythm, mask.

2. Reread and compare the poems that focus on Chinese Women. How do these poems create a portrait? What does the portrait reveal?

Synthesize:

1. Imagine you were joining Ms. Grimes on her journey. What would you want to take with you to preserve memories? What would you take pictures of?

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?

Evaluation:

1. Which illustration is your favorite in the collection? Why?

2. Which poem is your favorite in the collection? Why?

Multiple Intelligence Projects for

Tai Chi Morning

Snapshots of China by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Ed Young

Verbal/Linguistic:

Keep a journal of what you see in your own neighborhood, school, or town for an entire week and try to see it like a tourist or foreigner would. Take notes like a journalist. Take snapshots of things you usually don’t notice. Then, write at least two poems gleaned from your work.

Click here for a note taking worksheet!

-or-

Keep a travelogue for a dream trip. Write about the transportation, food, the people you encounter and describe the settings. Write a couple of poems about what you learned. [ You will probably need to do research to make this authentic!]

Logical/ Mathematical:

Travel math. Plan a trip to your dream destination- and find out how much it will cost you to do so! Research discount airlines, find hotels in the city of your choice and estimate the costs for food and souvenirs. Create an invoice of prices and get a grand total. Then, figure out how many hours of  babysitting, lawn care, or odd jobs it would take to make the trip happen.

Visual/ Spatial:

Create illustrations for your journal above. You can use a mix of media- like pencil drawings and photographs- even ticket stubs and pictures from magazines. Use a variety of papers (old grocery bags, for example, have a great texture) and lay out a couple of pages for a scrapbook.

Body/ Kinesthetic:

Take a Tai Chi class (or rent a video). Explore this ancient art and exercise, then write a journal about what you learned and thought of the experience.

Musical/ Rhythmic:

Explore traditional Chinese music and instruments on the web at this site:

http://www.ibiblio.org/chinese-music/html/traditional.html

Compare it to traditional music from your own culture. How are the rhythms, instrumentation, and harmonies similar? How are they different?

Interpersonal: Cooperative learning activity:

In small groups explore one of these topics and report your findings to the class with a ten minute presentation, a poster, and a brief news report that you file (like a CNN news report).

United States trade with China

Tiananmen Square

Working conditions in China

Population control in China

Forbidden City

Dynastic Rule of China

Communism and China

China and human rights

Intrapersonal:

Write an opinion paragraph based on your study of China. Your opinion doesn’t matter as much as your ability to express it well with facts and examples backing up your ideas.

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