Teacher's Guide for FACES ^® Mongolia

Getting Ready:

Pair students. Ask them to examine the photographs in the issue and list five things they can discover about Mongolia. As they share their ideas, chart the information in categories such as dress, geography, work, food, housing, etc. Encourage students to add to the chart during their work on this issue.

Ongoing Project:

Inform students that on the last day of study, they will have a "FACTS" contest on Mongolia. As they read each article, one team will be assigned to list questions and short answers for the article on index cards, putting the page reference number for the information on the back of the card.

An example of a card might be the question,

"What is a lama?"

With the answer,

"A Buddhist monk"

and the page reference

"P. 7."

Save these cards and then have a quiz contest between teams at the end of the study.

"Only in Mongolia"

Research:

1. Have a small group find out more about sand dune formations. Encourage them to "build" the different kinds of sand dunes and experiment with how different winds change the patterns in the sand.
2. Explore the concept of desertification and how it is changing the Gobi desert.
3. Find out more about Roy Chapman Andrews and his fossil finds.

"Modern Mongolia"

Discussion:

How has Mongolia changed in the last century? Why? (Guide the conversation toward the concepts of urbanization, political authority, nationalism, education, modernization, traditionalism, etc.)

"The Secret History of Genghis Khan's Life and Times"

Compare and Contrast:

Have students list the stories that they associate with the formation of the United States and its first leaders, e.g., George Washington and the cherry tree, Ben Franklin and electricity, Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death."

What is being taught in those stories?

How do those "lessons" compare with those of The Secret History?

Creative Writing:

Challenge students to imagine and write a story that might fit into The Secret History of Genghis Khan's Life and Times.

"The Nomadic Lifestyle of the Mongols"

Co-operative Learning / Organizing Information:

Divide class into five or more groups. Have each group read the article and create a poster, chart, or report on one of the following topics: Modern Changes in the Nomadic Lifestyle, Nomadic Animals and their Uses, Mongol Crafts, The Role of Women, Mongol Clothing, Seasonal Changes in the Nomadic Lifestyle, Food and Dining Customs.

- OR -

Have each group add new facts and information to the chart begun in "Getting Ready."

"A Movable House"

Persuasive Writing:

Have students write and illustrate advertisements for an adventure trip in which tourists will live with Mongol nomads in a ger for one week.

"Let the Games Begin!"

Creative Exploration:

Encourage groups or pairs of students to use the information in the article to

1. Create a newspaper front page about the opening of the Festival.
2. Make a mural of the different events. - OR -
3. Write and perform a short skit about the Festival and its meaning.

"Making Music in Traditional Mongolia" and "The Legend of the Horse Head Fiddle"

Music Appreciation:

Discuss with students the importance of music and storytelling in Mongolian culture. Review the pronunciation and meaning of the Mongolian words: tovshuur, domog, tuuli, khuur, uryn duu, bogino duu, morin knuur, khuuchir, limbe, tomor khuur, khoomei. If possible, listen as a group to some Mongolian music. A search on www.google.com will turn up some sites such as www.angelfire.com/ms/dore and www.panasia.org.sg/news/mn/mn01i011.htm on which the class can listen to clips of Mongolian instrumental music and throat singing. Students may want to dramatize "The Legend of the Horse Head Fiddle" for another class or for each other.

"Eating Mongolian Style"

Have students imagine that they visit a Mongolian family for the day. Have them write or illustrate a diary page, recording their imagined visit.

Wrapping up!

Finish your class study of Mongolia by dividing the class into two teams and challenging them to answer questions, in turn, from the facts collected on index cards. Congratulate your students on how much they have learned about this fascinating, but little known, culture.

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Updated: 9/2/10 11:21 am
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