Journeys, Change and Belonging

Overview

Students investigate how dynasties, inventions, celebrations and migration connect people across time and place. They compare the Shang Dynasty with later developments, then link the Silk Road and Chinese New Year to the experiences of Chinese miners who came to Aotearoa during the 1800s.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify key features of the Shang Dynasty and later imperial China.
• WALT explain how inventions and the Silk Road connected people and ideas.
• WALT describe Chinese New Year traditions and the story of Nian.
• WALT investigate why Chinese miners came to Otago and consider their contributions and experiences of discrimination.

Success criteria

• I can place key events and developments in a broadly correct historical sequence.
• I can compare two periods or experiences using evidence.
• I can explain one way Chinese history has influenced the modern world or Aotearoa.
• I can describe both the contributions Chinese migrants made and unfair treatment they faced.

Curriculum links

• Global History — studying dynasties in ancient and imperial China, using the Shang Dynasty as an example.
• Global History — considering differences between dynasties in ancient and imperial China.
• Global History — considering the historical significance of dynastic China in shaping the modern world.
• Global History — using sources to investigate Chinese religious beliefs and their impact on society; Social Sciences capabilities include thinking, using language, symbols and texts, relating to others, and participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Display the opening question in the complete history inquiry slide deck: “How can a celebration, an invention and a goldfield in Otago all be connected?” Show images of a compass, a Chinese New Year dragon or lantern, the Silk Road and Gabriel’s Gully. Students make a quick individual prediction, then share one connection with a partner. Record ideas without correcting them yet.

2. 7–17 min · Build the historical frame. Use the dynasty timeline and comparison slides to introduce the Shang Dynasty as an early Chinese dynasty, including kings, walled settlements, bronze work, farming, writing on oracle bones and religious beliefs involving ancestors. Briefly contrast this with later imperial China, when paper, printing, the compass and other technologies developed. Students place four teacher-provided labels in their books: Shang Dynasty, paper, compass, Silk Road. Emphasise that these developments occurred at different times and should not be treated as all Shang inventions.

3. 17–29 min · Connections across Asia. Present the inventions and Silk Road teaching slides. Explain that the Silk Road was a network of routes, not one single road, carrying goods, technologies, beliefs and stories between regions. Ask: “Why might paper and the compass have mattered beyond China?” In groups of three, students complete the China connections inquiry sheet by matching each development with a possible impact and writing one evidence-based explanation. Invite two groups to justify an answer.

4. 29–39 min · Chinese New Year and beliefs. Use the Chinese New Year story and symbols slides to introduce the lunar new year, family gatherings, cleaning, red decorations, lucky symbols, food, fireworks or lion and dragon dances. Share a child-friendly version of the Nian legend, making clear that legends are traditional stories and not historical evidence. Students discuss: “What values or hopes do these traditions show?” They add one tradition, symbol or value to the worksheet and compare it with a celebration familiar to them, avoiding claims that all families celebrate in the same way.

5. 39–51 min · Chinese migrants in Otago. Show the Gabriel’s Gully source and migration slides. Explain that Chinese miners came to the South Island goldfields in the 1860s and later, often after experiences on other goldfields. They worked in mining and business, helped develop communities and maintained cultural connections. Introduce discrimination, including anti-Chinese attitudes, unfair treatment and the poll tax imposed on Chinese immigrants. Students read the short source extracts on the worksheet in pairs and complete: “One contribution was…”, “One challenge was…”, and “This matters because…”. Stress that migrants were individuals with varied experiences, not a single group with one story.

6. 51–57 min · Compare and synthesise. Groups use the comparison and discussion slides to choose two connections—for example, Silk Road trade and Chinese migration, or Chinese New Year and community life. They prepare a 30-second response explaining one similarity, one difference and why the connection is historically significant. Groups share with the class; peers listen for evidence and respectful language.

7. 57–60 min · Exit assessment. Display the final prompt in the plenary and exit-ticket slide. Students independently answer on the worksheet: “Which connection best shows the significance of Chinese history: an invention, the Silk Road, Chinese New Year, or Chinese migration to Aotearoa? Explain why using two facts.” Collect responses as the exit ticket.

Resources

• the complete history inquiry slide deck
• the China connections inquiry sheet
• Projector or interactive whiteboard
• Pens, pencils and highlighters
• Four small timeline labels per group
• Short, age-appropriate source extracts about Gabriel’s Gully and Chinese migration
• Images of oracle bones, bronze objects, paper, a compass, the Silk Road and Chinese New Year
• Group tables or collaborative working space

Assessment

• Listen for accurate sequencing and explanations during the timeline and Silk Road discussion.
• Check worksheet responses for correct use of evidence, comparison, and understanding of both Chinese contributions and discrimination.
• Use the exit response to identify whether students can explain historical significance rather than only list facts.

Differentiation

• Provide a visual word bank, illustrated timeline, paired reading and sentence starters: “This was significant because…”, “Both…”, and “However…”.
• Read source extracts aloud, chunk them into short sections and allow oral responses or scribing for students needing literacy support.
• Pair EAL learners with supportive peers and clarify terms such as dynasty, ancestor, migration, discrimination, invention and significance.
• Extend confident students by asking them to distinguish between evidence from an artefact, a traditional story and a written historical source, and to explain how each source has limits.