NCTA Implementation Plan
Ryan Folmer
Course: Social Studies (Modern World History, Global Studies, Human Geography)
Level: High School
Time: Five 90 minute periods or ten 45 minute periods
“Learning from Hangzhou about China’s Economic and Urban Transformation”
Overview:
This unit will introduce students to the transformational changes occurring in the economy, culture and urban life in China over the past three decades, using the city of Hangzhou as the primary example. Students will begin by looking at the urban economic situation in China under Mao up through the Cultural Revolution. This will be followed an examination of three key events during the 1970s (Nixon’s China visit, the death of Chairman Mao, and the beginnings of the opening up of the Chinese economy with the rise of Deng Xiaoping as leader of China. The third day will focus on the economic transformation of China and the changes in the urban landscape. The fourth day will focus on the urban landscape of China today, its positives and challenges still to be addressed. The final day will bring together all of the elements in a final assessment activity. This unit could be used in a Modern World History course, a Global Studies course, or a Human Geography course.
Objectives:
National Standards for History
Era 9 – Standard 2A: The student will be able to describe the global proliferation of cities and the rise of the megalopolis and assess the impact of urbanization on family life, standards of living, class relations, and ethnic identity.
Era 9 – Standard 2B: The student will be able to compare systems of economic management in communist and capitalist countries and analyze the global economic impact of multinational corporations.
National Council for Social Studies Standards
Standard 7 – Students will gather and analyze data and use critical thinking in making recommendations for economic policies.
Standard 9 – Learners will demonstrate understanding by collaborating to produce a number of podcasts or videos on the contrasting effects of globalization in different parts of the world.
Common Core Standards
Reading Informational Text 11.1 – Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Writing Production and Distribution 11.6 – Use technology, including the internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration 11.2 – Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
Pacing:
Day 1 – Life in Hangzhou from the 1949 Revolution to Nixon’s Visit
Day 2 – Nixon in Hangzhou, the death of Mao, and the opening up of China
Day 3 – Development of Hangzhou over the past 30 years
Day 4 – Hangzhou as a model of urban China today.
Day 5 – Final Assessment Activity
Lessons:
Day 1 – Life in Hangzhou from the 1949 Revolution to Nixon’s Visit
Opening: Before beginning the unit, students will read pages 522-528 on Chinese cities in the early 20th century (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzqUBHcxwQ-CSkVxMWt5OWs3SzQ ) Students will be asked to look at photos of traditional Chinese cities (http://goo.gl/8Eisi and http://goo.gl/ZY6l1 ) and asked to describe the features they see.
Activity: Students will read Urban Development in the Maoist Era from pages 528-531 https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzqUBHcxwQ-CSkVxMWt5OWs3SzQ and answer questions on the reading and discuss them with the class.
Closure: Students will write an exit ticket describing the change in status of cities from the early 20th century to the post-revolution era.
Day 2 – Nixon in Hangzhou, the death of Mao, and the opening up of China
Opening: Students will view a picture of Nixon and Mao shaking hands (http://goo.gl/jjmuU ). The will be asked why his is an important image? What had to happen to make this meeting occur? What where possible implications for each country?
Activity: The teacher will discuss the major historical events of the 1970s that led to the transformation in the relationship between China and the rest of the world, beginning with the visit by President Nixon to China and Hangzhou. Students will then watch a clip from China: A Century of Revolution on the Nixon visit and view a photo of Nixon in Hangzhou (http://www.absolutechinatours.com/UploadFiles/ImageBase/Ping-Pong-Diplomacy-113.jpg). Students will follow the teacher talk about the changing relations with the US ( http://goo.gl/J7nQD )Students will read the Shanghai Communique (http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v17/d203) and discuss its implications.
Closure: As an exit activity, students will be asked to predict what they believe would happen as a result of the political developments during the 1970s as related to economic development and urbanization in China.
Day 3 – Development of Hangzhou over the past 30 years
Opening: Students will have read pages China’s New Urban Era pages 531-535 (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzqUBHcxwQ-CSkVxMWt5OWs3SzQ) and discuss the connections between economic reform and development and urbanization.
Activity: Students will read THE CHARACTERISTICS ON THE GENERATION OF URBAN FORM OF HANGZHOU COMBINING WITH THE HIGH SPEED URBANIZATION by Xi Zhang & Lei Xu & Ka Wang http://newurbanquestion.ifou.org/proceedings/5%20The%20Transformation%20of%20Urban%20Form/full%20papers/D059-1_Zhang_Xi_The%20Characteristics%20on%20the%20Generation%20of%20Urban%20Form.pdf They will compare the situation in China in general to that of Hangzhou in their economic development over the past three decades.
Closure: Students will be asked to describe one major change that they saw as significant in Chinese cities in general and if they found this also to be true in Hangzhou.
Day 4 – Hangzhou as a model of urban China today.
Opening: Students will be asked to characterize what makes life in cities today “modern?”
Activity: Students will read Life in Contemporary Chinese Cities pages 535-539 and look at various images from the book Learning from Hangzhou (http://www.amazon.com/Learning-From-Hangzhou-Mathieu-Borysevicz/dp/9881803365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348007274&sr=8-1&keywords=learning+from+hangzhou) to get a sense of what modern life in China’s cities look feel and look like. Students will also view parts of the video The People’s Republic of Capitalism and Last Train Home to get a sense of how different social groups of people are affected by urbanization and economic change. Students will then begin to take the information they have and focus on one aspect of urban life that they want to investigate further.
Closure: Students will complete an exit ticket explaining how the topic of their choice fits into the idea of what makes life in cities today “modern.”
Day 5 – Final Assessment
Opening: Students will be instructed to go back to the one aspect of urban life that they focused on and to write a one paragraph (5-6) sentence description of that aspect as it applies to China.
Activity: Students will take the paragraph and edit it with the help of their peers and collect photos from the web and books that best represent their topic. Students will then use their phone/table/or computer to create a short 30 second video on http://animoto.com using their pictures and their paragraph as content.
Closure: The individual student clips will be downloaded and combined to make one class movie about economic and urban transformation in modern Hangzhou and published to the web.