中文
HOME
HOME / LATEST NEWS / Content

Primary and Middle School History&Geography Department: Grade 7 Project Presentation Day

June 11, 2024

Before the Age of Exploration, the world map only included three main land masses that were unrecognizable. The size and location of these scattered islands was difficult to label accurately, often leading to whole fleets getting lost in the vastness of the ocean. Today, when we rotate the globe, the world map, with its seven continents and four oceans, appears in front of us easily. How did the world map evolve into what we see today? This can be attributed to the great navigators of the 15th and 17th centuries who explored unknown lands and oceans. Their voyages mapped the world more accurately and made the modern-day map what it is today.

During the past month, the 7th grade students of S and S+ level history classes have been working on a project titled “What lies beyond the edges of the Map?”. This project directly relates to the Age of Exploration, and allowed the students to learn hands-on. The task of this project was to explore the relationship between financial sponsorship and exploration. The great navigators of the 15th and 17th centuries often had to raise funds and advocate for the importance of their excursions, which to many, seemed unnecessary and dangerous, as they took course “beyond the edges of the map”. The students were tasked with leading their "fleet" as historical navigators by showcasing their prior voyage(s), and attracting the attention of nobles and kings to fund their next journey. Each group consists of four members: Captain (Chief Explorer), Navigator, Ship Surgeon, and Ship Quartermaster. The students needed to write a script detailing their adventures, charting their routes on a realistic map, writing what the explorer encountered in the travel log, and creating a realistic artifact from the travel. All these diverse works needed to advertise the voyages and convince the kings and lords to be their patrons. After several weeks of preparation, the presentation of the project kicked off in the 16th week of history class. Let's follow our "explorers" and embark on their voyages!

In the B1 Atrium of Zhongxing Building, the stalls were decorated with flags of European powers such as Portugal, Spain, Britain and France. This project presentation was jointly completed by students from S and S+ classes. S level students presented their projects, while the S+ students visited their stalls as sponsors. Afterward, they rotated to learn from each other. The students dressed in costumes portraying nobles, captains and sailors and went around the different groups. In order to raise funds, the students introduced their voyages to convince the other students and teachers to patron them. They were also tasked with answering questions from the possible sponsors. When the coins from the sponsors financed the adventurers, it meant that the next voyage was more likely to be actualized.

There were so many impressive works on display for the project presentation. Some crew members introduced their journey in the form of a rap, and some created a short play to show the moment of landing in a new world. Many students strove for authenticity: there were creases on the maps, the use of yellow paper, and some burned marks on edges. All these small details and more made the maps look realistic. Students also designed and made artifacts, such as an authentic Zulu shield that was almost as tall as an adult. Island landscapes made of cardboard, rock artworks on stones, Indian style masks, "diamond and gold" jewelries, spices and fruits made of clay. The ideas that the students put on display were endless and incredibly impressive, truly enticing for a future sponsor.

Through this project and presentation, the students not only gained a deeper understanding of the experiences of explorers, but also learned more about the civilizations in the Americas and Asia. It also allowed them to understand how our modern world was shaped. In order to complete this project, the students collected and read historical resources to write the logs and draw accurate navigation maps. This project cultivated their historical learning skills, and promoted their collaborative learning. In addition, through the role-play and presentation activities, students' practiced language expression and communication skills, which will help them continuously progress in the future.

Written by Liu Chen

Pictures by David O’Leary, Laura Chen, Liu Chen

Edited by Cong Luo, Bianca Noguera