What's included
4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentMastery Evaluation
1 hour per week. Students can post their answers to any "Expand Your Knowledge" challenge to receive feedback from the teacher.Class Experience
US Grade 3 - 12
This course explores more than 35 Pokémon and their possible connections to Chinese mythology and culture. We will examine popular fan theories about the origins of these Pokémon, and weigh the merits in these ideas. Students will learn about cultural traditions that may have inspired Pokémon, and also several Chinese myths and legends that could have been the basis for many popular Pokémon. Other perspectives and theories are also included in order to provide a balanced approach and encourage reflective reasoning. This critical thinking approach allows learners to decide for themselves whether those fan theories have any credibility, now that they have a greater understanding of the cultural context. While the focus of this class is the culture/mythology of China, it is through the narrow lens of the Pokémon world, and thus is not a comprehensive review of the entirety of Chinese culture, folklore, or mythology. Please note that three of my Pokémon Social Studies courses are formatted differently than the others. These courses are the ones covering China, India, and the Middle East. These three courses DO NOT have one long video lecture; instead, the Pokémon are explored individually via written passages. This way, learners can explore as many or as few topics as they wish, and come back to the materials when they are ready. Please keep in mind the different format before enrolling. This is a self-paced course; there is no live component. Instead, students study 7-15 Pokémon per lesson for four lessons, using videos, descriptions, comparisons, and extension activities to expand their learning beyond the basic course content. All extension activities are optional and at the discretion of the parent. Depending on the number of extension activities a student chooses to complete, each lesson can be as short as 30 minutes, or take several hours to complete. Need a discount? Sure thing! All of my self-paced courses are "pay what you can afford." To get the discount you need, sign up for the course first, then message me with the discount you would like, and I will apply a partial refund.
Syllabus
4 Lessons
over 4 WeeksLesson 1:
Culture and History
Pokémon covered in this lesson: Golett, Golurk, Growlithe, Arcanine, Entei, Kubfu, Urshifu, Mienfoo, Mienshao, Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o, Kommo-o, Stakataka, Pancham, Pangoro
Lesson 2:
Religion
Pokémon covered in this lesson: Arceus, Lucario, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Hoopa, Gigantamax Urshifu
Lesson 3:
Mythology and Stories, Part 1
Pokémon covered in this lesson: Magikarp, Gyrados, Drampa, Tornadus, Thunderus, Landorus, Enamorus, Turtonator, Ninetales, Suicune, Cresselia, Sylveon
Lesson 4:
Mythology and Stories, Part 2
Pokémon covered in this lesson: Absol, Arcanine, Altaria, Spiritomb, Infernape, Emboar, Ting-Lu
Other Details
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Week 1:
https://www.dkfindout.com/us/history/ancient-china/terra-cotta-army/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/terra-cotta-soldiers-on-the-march-30942673/
https://books.google.com/books?id=PcvA373XEJwC&pg=PA109#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://olympics.com/en/news/what-is-wushu-chinese-martial-arts-south-east-asian-games-sport
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ming-period-evidence-of-shaolin-martial-practice-Shahar/6d92a4d3d76c49466371bb17d8d1617662d64851
Shaolin Kung Fu: The Original Training Techniques of the Shaolin Lohan Masters Paperback by Donn F. Draeger
Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater by Tan Ye.
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/traditional-chinese-clothing-accessories-chester-beatty-library/fQUByRYSK_TPLg?hl=en
Week 2:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/beginners-guide-asian-culture/buddhist-art-culture/a/bodhisattva-avalokitesvara-guanyin
https://oxfordre.com/religion/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-167;jsessionid=30C89A17E0DCE7637043ED0F3A379F43
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/imperial-china/tang-dynasty/a/taoism-in-the-tang-and-song-dynasties
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/whp-origins/era-3-cities-societies-and-empires-6000-bce-to-700-c-e/35-development-of-belief-systems-betaa/a/read-daoism-beta
Buddhism in Chinese History by Arthur F. Wright
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/taoism/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gPTOKcwp3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Tbsduk8o
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/japan-art/a/todai-ji
https://chinesemythologypodcast.wordpress.com/
Week 3:
Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends by Frederick H. Martens
Handbook of Chinese Mythology by Lihui Yang
Legend of the Chinese Dragon by Marie Sellier, Catherine Louis and Wang Fei
Stellarium.org (Chinese constellations)
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1125/the-dragon-in-ancient-china/
Far Eastern Fox Lore by T. W. Johnson (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1177503?seq=3)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/qilin
China Tales and Stories by Zhou Wenjing
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Change-Chinese-deity
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/shang-dynasty-china/v/shang-dynasty-in-ancient-china
https://chinesemythologypodcast.wordpress.com/
Week 4:
Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends by Frederick H. Martens
Handbook of Chinese Mythology by Lihui Yang
China Tales and Stories by Zhou Wenjing
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/zhou-qin-han-china/e/ap-ancient-and-imperial-china
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/zhou-qin-han-china/v/zhou-qin-and-han-dynasties
A Chinese Demonography of the Third Century B. C. by Donald Harper (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2718970?origin=crossref)
https://chinesemythologypodcast.wordpress.com/
http://www.outlawsofthemarsh.com/
The Four Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, Analects, Mencius by David Hinton
The Essential Chuang Tzu by Sam Hamill
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong and C. H. Brewitt-Taylor
The Deer and the Cauldron” by Louis Cha
The Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh: The Classic Chinese Novel by Shi Naian, J.H. Jackson
The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volumes 1-3 by Anthony C. Yu
The Deer and The Cauldron: The First Book by Louis Cha (Author) and John Minford (translator)
Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Brigham Young University
I have taught mythology class on Outschool since 2017. I was a certified middle school teacher in science, English, and social studies from 2005 to 2021. I now specialize in educational outreach at the University of Arizona, including giving planetarium shows that feature the mythology and astronomy of cultures throughout the world.
Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$8
weekly or $30 for all content4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks of teacher support
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1 year of access to the content
Completed by 23 learners
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Ages: 7-18