Brief Introduction to the Abacus

http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/index.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: This site will help readers learn about this amazing Chinese invention that can be used to perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication; the abacus can also be used to extract square-roots and cubic roots. You may not know that the Greeks and Romans had a similar instrument called counting board. Standard 7.3.5

Comments: An abacus lesson is available from the Chinese Histroical and Cultural Project is available at http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Anthropology/ANT0200.html

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 444

Buddhism Chronology

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/timeline.htm

Rating: 2, High!

Description: This brief timeline of Buddhism hotlinks to information on Indian and Chinese history with a special emphasis on Asoka. There is also a brief overview of Buddhist beliefs. Standards 6.5.5, 6.6.8, 7.3.1 and 7.5.1

Comments: This site, developed by the History Department at North Park University, approaches the topic from a scholarly rather than a religious perspective.

Resource Type: Other.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 462

China's Gifts to the West

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/readings/inventions_gifts.htm

Rating: 2, High!

Description: The article China 's Gifts to the West describes China's inventions of silk, tea, porcelain ("china"), paper, printing, gunpowder, the mariner's compass, medicines, lacquer, games (including cards, dominoes, and kites), and miscellaneous items such as umbrellas, as well as natural resources, such as plants (including peaches, apricots, and citrus fruits) and minerals (including coal and zinc), first discovered and cultivated by the Chinese. Standard 7.3.5

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 3793

Essentials of Buddhism

http://www.buddhaweb.org/

Rating: 2, High!

Description: This site briefly but clearly describes the following elements of Buddhism: Four Noble Truths; Noble Eightfold Path; Three Characteristics of Existence; Four Boundless States; Seven Factors of Enlightenment; Five Hindrances; Ten Perfections; Five Aggregates; and Ten Fetters of Existence. Standards 6.5.5 and 7.3.1

Comments: This site is by an individual, Saresh Ramaswamy, but it is recommended by New York State High School Regents Exam Prep Center as an excellent resource for students.

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 1113

History of China

http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/welcome.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: This interactive historical timeline of Chinese history is based on the Army Area Handbook on China written by Rinn-Sup Shinn and Robert L. Worden and converted into electronic form at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. It also includs maps, pictures and mini biographies which help illuminate the information. Standard 6.6.0, 7.3.0 and 10.8.1, 10.9.4

Comments: The Army Area Handbook on China is also available at the Library of Congress web site, but the interactive timeline with Chinese characters makes this information more accessible and the hyperlinks to maps, biographies and information makes it easier to understand.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 1578

Korean Folktales

http://park.org/Korea/Pavilions/PublicPavilions/KoreaImage/hangul/litera/

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Here are four illustrated Korean folktales that provide an interesting window on Korean culture for people of all ages. Standards 1.4.3, 6.6.3, and 7.3.3

Comments: The tales will be a very useful illustratoin of Confucianist ideals in a sixth or seventh grade class.

Resource Type: Literature/Story.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 1896

Land of Genghis Khan

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/genghis/index.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Follow National Geographic photo journalists along the ancient routes traveled by Genghis Khan. Meet the man behind one of the world's most powerful images of "conqueror." Standard 7.3.4

Comments: This is a virtual online adventure with incredible photography and, of course, wonderful maps.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 1922

Marco Polo and His Travels

http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner who ever traveled on the Silk Road. He exceeded all the other travelers in his determination, his writing, and his influence. His journey through Asia lasted 24 years and ignited a passion for things Chinese among Europeans of the 14th century. Here is his fascinating story as written by the Silroad Foundation. Standard 7.3.3 and 7.8.3

Comments: Using sections of this source as content, students could create an illustrated children's book.

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 2089

Queen Sondok (or Sonduk)

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine7.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Her father was the king of the Silla kingdom, which had emerged in the south about 250 and 350 AD, and by the end of the 7th century would manage to unify the whole peninsula. Having no sons, he chose as his heir his daughter Sondok. Her reign was a violent one; rebellions and fighting in the neighboring kingdom of Paekche. Yet, in her fourteen years as queen of Korea, her wit was to her advantage. She kept the kingdom together and extended its ties to China, sending scholars to learn from that kingdom. Standard 7.3.1

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 2555

The Art of Buddhism

http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/buddhism/default.htm

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Buddhism arose in an area bordering present-day India and Nepal. As it spread across Asia, the religion both influenced and was influenced by the religious, cultural, and artistic life of the regions it touched. This Smithsonian site has links to art at the Freer and Sackler Galleries related to Buddhism in India, Japan and China. Standards 6.5.5, 7.3.1, and 7.5.4

Comments: The thumbnail pictures expand but are not large enough for full screen project.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 3593