Reference
Lauren Fawcett
6th Grade Math and Science
Founders’ Hall Middle School, McKeesport Area School District
Wild China
Wild China is a breathtaking film that talks about China’s wildlife and the culture that resides within China. It is a 5 hour film that has many great clips of wildlife and scenery. It explains what the animals are and what they do to survive in their habitats. All of the exotic animals would be neat for students to see because they would not see them here in North America most likely. This film shows how the people of China fish, which I thought was interesting because they use other animals (cormorants) to catch the fish then spit them out. The people of China are very creative because they utilize their resources to the fullest extent. People need to witness this because the Chinese use skills that were derived from centuries ago and still work efficiently today.
The film Wild China would be appropriate for any grade level above first grade. First graders should be exposed to documentaries because it is considered nonfictional. I would only play small clips of the video though because the wording may bore or over stimulate the students. At least seeing what another country let alone what another continent looks like would be beneficial for a younger student. In addition, this film would be great for middle school or high school students because they would have a more robust vocabulary and understand the documentary better and they may become interested in the culture or geography in general. You can use this film for social studies and math.
I did play clips from this film to my sixth grade class after I watched the film and I told them to write down three interesting facts or questions about anything that they viewed. They loved the film because it was something different and they enjoyed seeing animals in their natural habitat rather than a zoo. They wanted to watch it all day long because each section wasn't too long and they were excited to see what was coming next. Many of the students had both questions and interesting facts about the film and if I did not know something specifically I took them to the computer lab and we looked information up, which led to a computer lesson. It was nice that I got to integrate computer skills with the lesson of China.
I would like to know the history of the people so I can explain things easier to the students and know more about the animals and their habitats. Preparation is key and learning all the ins and outs of China’s wildlife specifically would be extremely beneficial to me as an educator for this lesson. I would need to view it a few times before allowing my students to watch it so I can have questions and comments already prepared for the lesson. If the film company would have anything else to offer I would look into that as well.
I highly recommend this well written film for any classroom. I just wouldn't play the film the whole way through in one sitting because 300 minutes would be overwhelming for any grade level. If you like nature you will love Wild China.
