Teacher s Guide for Dig February 2015: Yellow River Teacher's Guide prepared by E. Renee Heiss, writer and educator. A Downstream Journey Page 2 Chart The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world. What is the longest river in China and the five longer rivers in the world? Make a chart that shows their relative lengths. Do those rivers have as many problems with flooding and course changes? Why or why not? A River Wanders Page 7 Fill in the Blanks 1. The Yellow River nourishes percent of China s farmland. 2. The water is clear until it winds through the. 3. increased soil erosion with the result that more silt entered the Yellow River. 4. raise the riverbed an average of two to four inches a year. 5. More than times in recorded history, the Yellow River has broken through its levees. 6. The governor of Kaifeng decided a flood was the best way to stop Jurchens from invading his land, so the flood caused an. 7. Then in, a fifth avulsion returned the Yellow River to its path flowing northward into the Bohai Sea. Meet Nu Gua Page 10 Compare and Contrast Compare the story of Nu Gua with the stories of creation and a flood in the Bible s Book of Genesis. How are they similar? How are they different? Why do you think they are so similar? The Floods the Good and the Bad Page14 Answer the questions 1. Why is it sometimes necessary to build higher and higher dikes? 2. How can floods be controlled without building dikes? 3. What two things control how much sediment is deposited from a river? 4. How were Gun s efforts to prevent flooding better than Yu s attempts?
The Grand Canal a Milestone in Engineering Page 17 Math Engineers had to plan for the removal of silt to create The Grand Canal. Can you solve these problems that the early engineers might have encountered? a c b 1. Look at the illustration above. Side a = 131 feet, the different in height between sections of the great canal. Side c = 786 feet, the hypotenuse of the right triangle. Using this formula (a 2 + c 2 = b 2 ) and a calculator, determine the distance the engineers had to excavate (side b) to make the ground even. (Hint: take the square root of a 2 + c 2 to find your answer. 2. If 100 workers can complete the task of leveling the land in 50 days, how long would it take for 200 workers to complete the task? 3. It takes one hour and fifteen minutes to fill the first lock and two hours forty-five minutes to fill the second lock. How long will it take to raise a boat to the top level of the lock to continue its journey on the river? The Farmer s Friend Page 22 Word find Find the words at the right in the puzzle below and then write a paragraph that uses all of those terms to describe how a river can be a farmer s friend. C D T R G Y A B H W E O M M M G G Q L B H X A Q J I U G R I W H E A T S K L Q J H J Y M L A P R D B F X P I G F T V M L T T R I B U T A R Y I W F T E W J V V J J T O M L G B M U T X X Y L O E S S I Q W H Y L F A X P F S J D T V B A L N J R T Z E H I T R T H S C N J J T K Q Q S I E F D G Q C D A V G H G X T F K V V R F R A T T Q I R R I G A T I O N U Y N A S B A R L E Y K N Q L Q H W A O G R O U N D W A T E R W G J L J H B Q Y C M O A A R I V E R barley canal fertility groundwater irrigation loess millet qanats river sorghum tributary wheat
A Source of Inventions Page 24 Opinion Imagine that you are a resident of Lanzhou during the Sui dynasty. There are plans to build a waterwheel in your town. Write a letter to the editor of The China Times that shows the advantages and disadvantages regarding that waterwheel and your personal opinion. A Military Weapon Page 26 Map Using information from the article and additional research, draw a map of The Yellow River as it meanders through the states of Qi, Zhao, and Wei. Show the following: Mountains, plains, embankments, moats, and the location of the Fen River. Why China Needs the Yellow River Page 30 Group work In your group, make a list of all the problems that occur in the Yellow River today. Then, form a plan that would help eliminate all those problems. Be creative in your plans your idea may be something the Chinese can actually use to return the Yellow River to its original unpolluted and overused condition! A Source of Power Page 34 Timeline Create a timeline that shows how engineers would construct a hydroelectric dam on the Yellow River. Begin with choosing the proper site for the dam and end with the generation of electricity for the residents of the area. Water Colors Page 38 Research Research other places in the world that are described by their color. (Example: Greenland) Tell how they got that name. Are there any colorful place names in your area? A Flood Devastates Sanyangzhua Page 46 Creative drama Re-enact Farmer Yan s life before and after the flood that hit his home. Include members of his family and even the animals that helped the farmer. Create props that the farmer might have used in his house or his farming effort. It s a Girl Page 51 Explain In your own words, explain 3D Scan Technology. What other purposes might this system have? What would you use it for in your own life?
The Yangshao Cultur Page 52 True/False Tell whether these statements are true or false. 1. Swedish geologist Johann Gunnar Andersson discovered the first Neolithic site in the village of Yangshao in Henan province. 2. Andersson organized an excavation team and found shards of painted pottery that provided the first evidence of a Jurassic culture. 3. In 1951, a large-scale excavation of the Yangshao area was conducted by the Archaeological Research Institute. 4. Excavation efforts found that the site dated back 5,000 to 6,000 years. 5. To date, more than 10,000 Yangshao culture sites have been discovered. 6. Some historians believe that the term culture is more appropriate than Yangshao period in describing the area. 7. Some tools found in the excavation were made of bones. 8. The Yangshao culture is perhaps best known for its beautifully painted pottery. 9. Many potter s wheels were found in this early period of the culture. 10. To obtain the elegant shapes, each vessel was made in two parts and then joined with clay while still wet. Swirling Spirals Page 57 Craft Using any clay-like medium and paint, re-create your own Neolithic Yangshao pottery piece. How were your methods different from those used by the original potters?
ANSWER KEY A River Wanders Page 7 Fill in the Blanks 1. 15 2. Lowess Plateau 3. Deforestation 4. Silt deposits 5. 1,500 6. Avulsion 7. 1855 The Floods the Good and the Bad Page14 Answer the questions 1. The huge amount of sediment that is carried along the river causes the waterway s bed to rise steadily. 2. This can be done by using dammed areas like basins or digging canals to hold the overflow. 3. The rate and the paths - whether straight or curved 4. Gun repeatedly used ineffective dikes, but Yu used seven streams to divert the water The Grand Canal a Milestone in Engineering Page 17 Math 1. 796.84 feet 2. 25 days 3. 4 hours The Farmer s Friend Page 22 Word find C D T R G Y A B H W E O M M M G G Q L B H X A Q J I U G R I W H E A T S K L Q J H J Y M L A P R D B F X P I G F T V M L T T R I B U T A R Y I W F T E W J V V J J T O M L G B M U T X X Y L O E S S I Q W H Y L F A X P F S J D T V B A L N J R T Z E H I T R T H S C N J J T K Q Q S I E F D G Q C D A V G H G X T F K V V R F R A T T Q I R R I G A T I O N U Y N A S B A R L E Y K N Q L Q H W A O G R O U N D W A T E R W G J L J H B Q Y C M O A A R I V E R
The Yangshao Culture Page 52 True/False 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. True 5. False 6. False 7. True 8. True 9. False 10. True