New Horizon Liberal Studies: Modern China (Book 1)
Theme 1 China’s reform and opening-up (1)
Teaching Plan
Topic: Background and focus of China’s reform and opening-up (pp.5－22)
Time allocation: 3 periods (40 minutes for each period)
Number of lessons / Teaching focus and objective / Issue/Question of Exploration / Related units, topics and issue/question of exploration / Teaching procedure: approaches/activities / Related current issues / Assessment / Knowledge, skills, attitudes3 / ● To understand the background and focus of China’s reform and opening-up
● To help students:
◎To understand the background of reform and opening-up
◎To gain knowledge of the highlights of reform and opening-up
◎To analyze China’s need for reform and opening-up
/ ● What were the problems faced by China before reform and opening-up?
● Why did China implement reform and opening-up?
● What were the major internal reforms in reform and opening-up?
● What changes did the internal reforms bring to the country?
● What were the major external policies in reform and opening-up?
● What was the impact of the opening-up policy on the country’s economic development? / Module 3‧Theme 1
● The focus of reform and opening-up / 1. When doing ‘Let’s Warm Up’, teachers can ask students to get into groups of four to six with each group discussing on one of the news extracts. After the discussion, each group will send a representative to present their discussion results. Teachers can also provide extra news extracts to enrich the discussion.
2. Explain the background of China’s reform and opening-up and the major reforms and opening-up policies.
3. Teachers should note that the section ‘background of reform and opening-up’ is to provide students with relevant background information and to help them understand the reasons for reform and opening-up. Teachers only need to highlight the gist rather than teaching the details as in Chinese History class.
4. Begin the exploration journey. Before going into Station 1, teachers can ask students to pay attention to the news and commentaries concerning modern China and compare them with the China before reform and opening-up. This is to make them think about the highlighted question: ‘Was reform and opening-up China’s only way to success?’
5. After finishing Station 1, teachers can ask students to collect news reports and commentaries on China’s economic condition at present, and judge whether China has achieved the major goal of the early stage of reform and opening-up.
6. Before examining the data in Station 2, teachers can teach students how to analyze statistics and statistical charts first, and ask them to pay attention to the changes in the statistics over the years and then think about what is reflected by the changes.
7. When doing Station 3, teachers can organize a group discussion for Question 4 by arranging four to six students to form a group. The focus of the discussion is for students to point out whether Deng Xiaoping’s statement is reasonable or not, and find evidence from the opening-up policies to support their arguments.
8. After finishing Station 3, teachers can ask students a question: ‘The strategy of developing the coastal regions let the coastal regions get rich first. Do you think it is a good or bad policy?’ This question can be used to introduce the next Exploration Journey by bringing out the fact that the strategy helps the coastal regions develop rapidly but create regional differences in development.
9. Teachers can make use of the ‘Cross-topic Studies’ to direct students to think about the impact of reform and opening-up on the economic relationship between the mainland and Hong Kong.
10. After finishing the topic, teachers can make use of ‘Let’s Review’ on pp.21 – 22 to consolidate students’ knowledge. / ● An extract of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s speech ‘Reform and Opening-up—the Eternal Driving Force for China’s Development’, 2008 (p.13) / ● Teachers may make use of the exercise and worksheets of different topics in Bridging Materials to help students to bridge to the Senior Secondary curriculum.
● After teaching this topic, teachers may use the Knowledge Consolidation worksheets to help students consolidate what they have learnt.
● Teachers can ask students to do the Data-response Worksheets to strengthen their skills in areas such as knowledge & understanding, analysis, induction, expressing opinions, as well as in answering cross-topic questions.
● After teaching this topic, teachers can ask students to do the ‘Theme Test’. The suggested answers can be found in the Teacher’s Guide.
● Teachers can use the Test Bank disc to create test papers.
● Teachers can make use of the issues in Handbook for Cross-topic Exploration to investigate different modules and ask students to finish the corresponding worksheets and activities.
● School-based Assessment Resources Pack provides a variety of information and examples of Independent Enquiry Study. Teachers can ask students to do the worksheets in the pack and submit a report following the suggested steps.
● New Horizon Liberal Studies Website is equipped with a range of assessment materials for teachers to download any time. / ● Knowledge:
planned economy, public ownership economy, First Five-Year Plan, Three Red Banners, Cultural Revolution, reform and opening-up, socialist market economy, rural reform, reform of ownership system, reform of state-owned enterprises, urbanization, Special Economic Zone (SEZ)
● Skills:
knowledge & understanding, analyzing information, giving evidence, analysis, analyzing cause & effect, making comparisons, expressing opinions, critical thinking
● Attitude:
uniting to promote the country’s overall development
Topic: The impact of reform and opening-up on people’s living standards and ways of life (pp.23－52)
Time allocation: 6 periods (40 minutes for each period)
Number of lessons / Teaching focus and objective / Issue/Question of Exploration / Related units, topics and issue/question of exploration / Teaching procedure: approaches/activities / Related current issues / Assessment / Knowledge, skills, attitudes3 / ● To understand the impact of reform and opening-up on people’s living standards
● To help students:
◎To understand the impact of reform and opening-up on people’s living standards
◎To study the difference in the living standard between different social classes and regions after reform and opening-up
◎To study the causes and influences of the disparity between the rich and the poor, the issue of sannong, the disparity between urban and rural areas, and the problem of laid-off workers / ● How did reform and opening-up improve people’s living standard?
● How was the people’s quality of life after reform and opening-up?
● What is the difference in the living standard of different social classes in China?
● What are the causes of the difference in the living standard of different social classes?
● What is the difference in the living standard of people in different regions?
● What are the causes of the difference in the living standard of people in different regions? / Module 3‧Theme 1
● How have the changes in living standards and the way of life been viewed across the whole country? / 1. First explain the two major standards for measuring people’s living standards: per capita wealth and quality of life.
2. If students have already studied ‘Hong Kong Today’, teachers can ask them to assess the quality of life of people in China nowadays using the definition and content of the quality of life.
3. Introduce the current living standards of people nowadays from economic, educational and health perspectives.
4. Explain the division of different social classes in China. Teachers can ask students to search for images of China’s different social classes and identify their classes according to their appearance, clothing and expressions during the lesson.
5. Teach students about the causes and impact of the issue of sannong, the disparity between urban and rural areas and laid-off workers.
6. Explain the division of the four economic regions and the development of each of them. Teachers can make use of the photos of different cities in the PowerPoint Presentation disc or the Teacher’s Resources Disc and ask students to identify the regions to which the cities belong.
7. Begin the exploration journey. Teachers can first explain the definitions of the ‘Engel Index’ and the ‘Gini coefficient’ so that students can analyze the data effectively.
8. After finishing Station 1, teachers can ask students to collect a piece of news that reflect the quality of life (it can be from the economic, educational, healthcare, work or human rights perspectives) of people in China these days
9. For Station 2, teachers can make use of Question 6 and ask students to do a role-playing activity: Select several students to play ‘peasants’, ‘city dweller’, ‘news commentator’ and ‘Chinese official’, and express their opinions according to their roles.
10. Teachers can make use of ‘Different Views and Perspectives’ to conduct group discussions. Before the discussion, teachers can first introduce the household registration system (p.41). After that, teachers can ask students to explore the question ‘is the disparity between urban and rural areas the inevitable result of the household registration system?’
11. Teachers can make use of ‘Cross-topic Studies’ and ask students to ponder the impact of economic globalization on China’s workers.
12. For Station 3, teachers can predict to students the problems that can be seen from the tables: Source 1 analyzes the differences in living standards and GDP of different economic regions; Source 2 analyzes the differences in development between different cities in a same region.
13. After finishing Station 3, teachers can ask students to review what they have learned and point out the extent to which the living standards of people in China have risen and the problems they face.
14. After finishing the exploration journey, teachers can ask students with higher learning abilities and interest the following question: ‘What measures should the government take to deal with the disparity between urban and rural areas?’ to prepare for exploration journey 2.
15. After finishing the topic, teachers can make use of ‘Let’s Review’ on pp.37 – 39 to consolidate students’ knowledge. / ● Medical service is expensive and unavailable in the mainland? (p.29)
● Is China ‘s social security system still backward? (p.31) / ● Teachers may make use of the exercise and worksheets of different topics in Bridging Materials to help students to bridge to the Senior Secondary curriculum.
● After teaching a this topic, teachers may use the Knowledge Consolidation worksheets to help students consolidate what they have learnt.
● Teachers can ask students to do the Data-response Worksheets to strengthen their skills in areas such as knowledge & understanding, analyzing information, giving evidence, induction, analysis, analyzing cause & effect, making comparisons, critical thinking, as well as in answering cross-topic questions.
● After teaching this topic, teachers can ask students to do the ‘Theme Test’. The suggested answers can be found in the Teacher’s Guide.
● Teachers can use the Test Bank disc to create test papers.
● Teachers can make use of the issues in Handbook for Cross-topic Exploration to investigate different modules and ask students to finish the corresponding worksheets and activities.
● School-based Assessment Resources Pack provides a variety of information and examples of Independent Enquiry Study. Teachers can ask students to do the worksheets in the pack and submit a report following the suggested steps.
● New Horizon Liberal Studies Website is equipped with a range of assessment materials for teachers to download any time. / ● Knowledge:
wealth per capita, per capita GDP, the quality of life, HDI, social classes, the disparity between the rich and the poor, the issue of sannong, disparity between urban and rural areas, laid-off workers, regional difference, Changjiang Delta, Bohai Rim Region, Pearl River Delta economic development region
● Skills:
knowledge & understanding, collection of information, analyzing information, giving evidence, analysis, analyzing cause & effect, making comparisions, exploring change and continuity, critical thinking, making judgment, making evaluation
● Attitudes:
care about the living conditions of the people in the mainland, foster a caring and sharing spirit for our race
3 / ● To understand the impact of reform and opening-up on people’s ways of life
● To help students:
◎To understand the impact of reform and opening-up on people’s ways of life
◎To think about whether people tend towards utilitarianism after reform and opening-up
◎To study the impact of the urban-rural dual structure on the people in rural and urban areas
◎To study the causes and influences of urban-rural migration as well as the movement of peasant- workers / ● What changes occurred in people’s ways of life after reform and opening-up?
● Do people’s ideology and behaviour tend towards utilitarianism?
● What is the relationship between the household registration system and population mobility?
● Should the government adopt a unified urban-rural registration system?
● Was the movement of peasant workers a response of the people to reform and opening-up?
● How should the government resolve the urban-rural problems? / Module 3‧Theme 1
● How have the changes in living standards and the way of life been viewed across the whole country? / 1. Explain the changes in people’s consumer behaviour, family pattern, marital status and children’s education after reform and opening-up.
2. Explain the content of the household registration systems, and the background and highlights of the reform of the system.
3. Explain the conditions and problems of rural-urban migration
4. Begin the exploration journey. Before going into the stations, teachers can ask students the following questions to help them understanding the lifestyles of people in the mainland: ‘Have you been to the mainland? If so, what do you think of the life of the people there? Is there any difference between their lifestyles and those in Hong Kong?’
5. For Station 1, teachers can ask students to get into pairs, representing the affirmative and negative sides respectively and debate on Question 4.
6. Teachers can also make use of ‘Different Views and Perspectives’ and ask students to debate whether economic development has changed people’s family-oriented thoughts and behaviour in China. Teachers can first ask students to review the content of these thoughts and behaviour they have learned in Chinese or Chinese History lessons to enrich their discussion.
7. For Station 2, teachers can make use of Question 4 and divide the blackboard into three columns (population distribution, agricultural production and community development). Then ask students to write down related concepts or opinions in the columns. Finally, ask some students to summarize the written items to organize a more complete answer.
8. For Station 3, teachers can make use of Question 4 and divide the class into groups of four to five students. Ask three students in each group to express their opinions on the issue of sannong, disparity between urban and rural areas and the wave of peasant workers. For the remaining one or two students, they have to think, apart from revising the opinions of the above three students, about what other problems can be resolved with the aid of ‘deepening the rural reform’. Finally, each group should send a student member to report to the class.
9. Teachers can make use of ‘Multiple-perspective Exploration’ to direct students to think about whether the rural reforms raised in the Third Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the CPC can help to resolve the issue of sannong.
10. After finishing the topic, teachers can make use of ‘Let’s Review’ on pp.51 – 52 to consolidate students’ knowledge. / ● Does family education in China emphasize utilitarianism? (p.44)
● China will gradually establish a unified urban-rural household registration system (p.46)
● 3rd Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 2008, basic spirit of deepening the rural reform (p.49) / ● Teachers may make use of the exercise and worksheets of different topics in Bridging Materials to help students to bridge to the Senior Secondary curriculum.
● After teaching a this topic, teachers may use the Knowledge Consolidation worksheets to help students consolidate what they have learnt.
● Teachers can ask students to do the Data-response Worksheets to strengthen their skills in areas such as knowledge & understanding, analyzing information, inference, expressing opinions, empathy, critical thinking, as well as in answering cross-topic questions.
● After teaching this topic, teachers can ask students to do the ‘Theme Test’. The suggested answers can be found in the Teacher’s Guide.
● Teachers can use the Test Bank disc to create test papers.
● Teachers can make use of the issues in Handbook for Cross-topic Exploration to investigate different modules and ask students to finish the corresponding worksheets and activities.
● School-based Assessment Resources Pack provides a variety of information and examples of Independent Enquiry Study. Teachers can ask students to do the worksheets in the pack and submit a report following the suggested steps.
● New Horizon Liberal Studies Website is equipped with a range of assessment materials for teachers to download any time. / ● Knowledge:
ways of life, consumer behaviour, family pattern, marital status, family education, the household registration system, dual urban-rural system, urban-rural migration, unified urban-rural registration, the movement of peasant- workers
● Skill:
knowledge & understanding, analyzing information, induction, analysis, analyzing cause & effect, identification, inference, exploring change & continuity, critical thinking, making judgment
● Attitudes:
care about the living conditions of the people in the mainland, foster a caring and sharing spirit for our race
Topic: A country heading towards sustainable development (pp.53－72)