California State Standard 7.3 is delineated in the following manner: "Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structure of the civilizations of China in the middle ages." Seventh-grade students focus on the reunification of China under the Tang Dynasty and reasons for the spread of Buddhism; agricultural, technological, and commercial developments during the Tang and Sung periods; the influences of Confucianism; the importance of overland trade and maritime expeditions between China and other civilizations; the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper, wood block printing, the compass, and gunpowder; and the development of the imperial state. China in the Middle Ages provides a rich landscape in studying how a sophisticated global civilization maintained a traditional culture. With the stability regained by the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties, China solidified the political structure of a strong centralized government through practical methods of unifying the various Chinese subcultures. The lesson discusses the uses and significance of the topic; presentation and activities ("Beginning the Topic"; "Developing the Topic"; "Culminating the Topic"); extended and correlated activities; resources for the sample topic; and contains two figures. Appended are selections from Confucian Teachings, Doist Teachings, and Buddhist Teachings; four readings about China; and three poems. Suggested time for lesson implementation is three to five class periods. (BT)