Sixth Graders Engage in Authentic Chinese Writing Activity

To wrap up their study of Early China, sixth graders in South Orangetown Middle School Social Studies teacher Eric Goldstein’s classes engaged in an authentic Chinese writing activity.

Using an ink stone, students learned how to grind their own ink before practicing vertical and horizontal lines using an ink stick on rice paper. Once they became accustomed to using the traditional calligraphy tools, each student learned how to write their name in Chinese characters.

“Each civilization needed to develop their own written language so we end each unit by learning how to write using their early writing systems. After our unit on Mesopotamia, we practiced writing cuneiform using clay and after our unit on Ancient Egypt, we worked on hieroglyphics on papyrus,” explained Goldstein. Next, the sixth grade classes will study Ancient Greece and they will be tasked with memorizing the Greek alphabet!