FREE Ancient China Lapbook

Basic Timeline
Ancient China includes just three dynasties:

1. Zhou Dynasty 1100 - 221 BC
--Confucius lived 551 - 479 BC

2. Qin Dynasty 221 - 210 BC
--Unification of China under Qin Shi Huang Di

3. Han Dynasty 206BC - 9 AD
--Flowering of Chinese culture
--invention of the kite and of paper
--Buddhism introduced into China
--Silk Road opens

Create an accordion book with these Timeline Figures

Emperor Qin
Read the information in the file and create a mini-book.
Emperor Qin Tri-fold

Terracotta Soldiers
Read The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China by Jane O' Connor (if possible). If you can't get the book, just read the information in the file.
Terracotta Soldier Trifold
Terracotta Information and Images

If desired, watch this video a man making a replica of a Terra Cotta Warrior.

Great Wall
Read The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher
Great Wall 3/4 Book
Great Wall Information

If desired, watch this video about The Great Wall (this video has multiple parts)

Confucius
Read Confucius Information
Confucius Shutterflap
Confucius Quotes Copywork & Pocket

Ancient Chinese Book
Paper was invented in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). But before the invention of paper, books were made with strips of bamboo tied together with strings. Then the books could be rolled up like a scroll.

How-to Make an Ancient Chinese Book

Ancient Chinese Money
By 400 B.C., China was using bronze coins for money. The coins had square holes in the middle so that people could keep them on a ribbon or stick.

For extra fun for your lapbook, make some coin replicas. Roll some Sculpey clay flat with a rolling pin. Cut circle shapes out. Punch a square shape in the middle of each coin. Bake according to directions on package. When the coins are cool, paint them with bronze or gold craft paint. After the paint dries, add some Chinese characters with a black permanent marker. Run a ribbon through your coins. Make a special pocket (you may want to use a small plastic bag) and store them in your lapbook.

Ancient Chinese Inventions
Read Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China by Suzanne Williams
Complete Kite Mini-book OR complete Ancient Chinese Inventions Window book.

Note: The kite may be best suited for one invention while the window book can be used to record information about three different inventions.

Silk Road
Read The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major.

The production of silk began during the Shang Dynasty (1750 - 1100 BC). The secrets of spinning silk worm cocoons into luxurious fabric was a closely guarded secret for many years. During the Han Dynasty, the Silk Road opened, taking Chinese made silk the 7000 mile journey across Central Asia to the Eastern Roman Empire in Byzantium.

Make a three-square unfolding book. Open it up and draw the silk route based on the information in The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History (make it go diagonally through the center- see picture below). If desired, add the lifecycle of the silkworm on the outside empty squares. You can find nice images of the silkworm's lifecycle here.

Decorate your lapbook or make more mini-books with these Extra Images

Links
Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop
Ancient China Unit Study Squidoo Lens
Learning Page Great Wall Fact Sheet #30
How to Make Paper

Recommended Books

Life in Ancient China by Paul Challen
The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China by Jane O' Connor
The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher
Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China by Suzanne Williams
Adventures in Ancient China (Good Times Travel Agency)
The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major
The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Great Wall of China! by Jacqueline Morley
Yeh-Shen by Ai-Ling Louie