Photo Essay: Examining the Effects of China’s Rapid Growth

Directions: Your assignment is to investigate one issue relating to China’ rapid economic growth and to create and present a photo essay revealing your perspective (position) about your topic. You can pick a topic from the list provided or select your own with teacher approval.

Requirements:

1.Conduct research to deepen your knowledge of the issue. You should look for:

  1. A description of the issue, including why it is an issue and what is being done to address it.
  2. Stories from people who are affected by the issue. Think about who gains and who loses and why. How has life changed for that person?
  3. Statistics to help explain the issue.
  4. Social, Economic, or Political consequences of the issue. Things to consider include, but are not limited to, wages, job descriptions, job opportunities, working conditions, living conditions, family relationships, political rules/participation, and education. Has life gotten better or worse?
  5. What obstacles make it difficult to address the issue?

2.Generate a thesis that clearly identifies the issue and your position.

3.Generate ideas to support the thesis.

4.Use the graphic organizer to plan the evidence you will use to introduce your topic and to assert and support your thesis.

5.Select photos (at least 10) to use for your essay. Your photos should help you tell your story. Try to select photos that relate to stories you read during your research. This adds a human element to your issue presentation.

6.Provide a rationale to explain the connection between each photograph and your thesis.

7.Organize your photos to describe your topic, introduce your thesis, provide supporting evidence and details, and provide a conclusion.

8.Add descriptive captions for each photo to clarify your description of the issue or your argument for your viewers. The captions should be descriptive and typed in complete sentences.

9.Create a title for your essay that best captures the essence of your essay.

10. Assemble your final photo essay. The essay can be assembled and displayed using PowerPoint, Prezi, a poster, accordion book, or video slideshow with music and verbal reflection.

11.Your graphic organizer with thesis, description of supporting evidence, and rationale attached to the back of your photo essay.

12.Review the Scoring Guide. Use that guide to review your photo essay and make sure you have created a strong presentation.

13.Be prepared to share your essay with the class.

Topics to Explore:

  • Urbanization Plan: Urban centers and resettlement of people
  • Consumerism, life of urban teenager, materialism
  • Environmental Issues: pollution, water concerns,
  • Issues for Rural Residents
  • Issues for Urban Residents- Life in the City
  • Migrant workers & their children
  • Social Media and Democratic Reform
  • Factory Workers
  • Chinese Dream

Web Resources for Students

Examples of Photo Essays

Websites for Research:

Overview of Current Issues:

  • BBC Overview of Modern China
  • New York Times Collection of Articles
  • China’s Economic Miracle-
  • Too Much, Too Fast: China Sees Backlash From Massive Growth-
  • China The Dark Side of Growth-
  • Chinese Industrialization-

Great Migration, Migrant Workers, and Working Conditions:

  • Leslie Chang, Author of Factory Girls
  • Internal Migration Stories
  • The Largest Migration in History
  • Interview with Leslie Chang-
  • China’s Migrant workers seek a life back home-
  • The Great Migration, with charts and income chart
  • China’s Rural Millions left behind-
  • Reversal Migration-
  • New Generation of Migrant Workers-
  • Migrant Children Beset by Growing Pain-
  • China’s urbanization drive leaves migrants out in the cold-
  • Shanty China-

Government Urbanization Plan

  • China’s Great Uprooting, New York Times-
  • Pitfalls Abound in China’s Push from Farm to City-
  • Making Rural China, Urban-
  • This article includes a great video highlighting China’s Plan to move 250 million people to urban areas
  • BBC News article-
  • Hukou Reform-
  • Energy Innovation article-
  • Urbanization Stories-
  • China’s Growth Leads to Problems Down the Road-

Consumerism

  • China’s Consuming Billions – This video accompanies a New York Times article.
  • China’s Bling Dynasty-
  • Wild West Goes to China-
  • Chinese Dream-
  • Human zoos and disappearing languages-
  • The mad, mad world of China e-commerce-
  • Made in China Doesn’t Mean Cheap in China
  • What the Chinese Want , The Wall Street Journal

Social Media and Democratic Reform

  • Is Freedom of Thought in China Just a Dream-
  • Controlling the Web-
  • Chinese Voice Anger and Nostalgia over Urbanization on Weibo-

Environmental Issues:

  • Various articles about environmental issues-
  • Water issues in China-
  • Vacuuming Beijing Skies- This article link contains several videos about smog in China.

Resources for Teachers:

  • China’s Growth Strategy

Videos:

The videos I have listed provide segments relating to some of the issues the students will research. They can use the segments to get some first-hand accounts.

  • Young and Restless in China:
  • Beijing’s Vanishing Hutong:
  • China in the Red:
  • Koppel on Discovery: The People’s Republic of Capitalism. This series examines the downsides of China’s economic growth, China’s economic relationship with the U.S., growth of Chinese cities, and the Chinese automotive transformation. Each video in the series is available on discovery streaming.
  • China from the Inside:
  • China Insight Series on Migrant Workers: This series has great stories about the forces driving China’s internal migration, the challenges that migrant workers have to overcome, and the effects on those they leave behind.

Planning Your Photo Essay

Use this graphic organizer to develop a plan for your photo essay. First, write the thesis that you refined in Step 2. Then list the supporting ideas you have generated. For each supporting idea, write a description or draw a sketch of the image you think would communicate or represent that idea. Write a rationale explaining how each image helps support the thesis. You must have at least 10 photos.

Thesis Statement:
Supporting Idea / Description/Photo / Rationale
Conclusion

Project Rubric:

Scoring Criteria / Exemplary / Proficient / Emerging
Ideas / At least 10 photo images expertly convey and support the essay’s thesis. Titles and captions creatively convey a clear perspective on the issue. The thesis and rationale graphic organizer is thorough. / At least 10 photo imagesconvey the essay’s thesis.
Titles and captions communicate a clear perspective on the issue.The thesis and rationalegraphic organizer iscomplete / Fewer than 10 photo imagesattempt to convey theessay’s thesis. At times the thesis may be unclear. If
used, titles and captions
do little to provide a clearperspective on the issue.The thesis and rationalegraphic organizer isincomplete.
Organization / The layout and design of
the essay serves to expertly advance the argument and reflect thoughtful planning. / The layout and design ofthe essay are appropriate for the argument and reflect adequate planning. / The layout and design ofthe essay attempts, butdoes little, to enhancethe argument and/orreflect advance thought orplanning.
Content / The essay demonstrates a thoroughand detailed analysis of the issue being presented. The photo essay includes elements from all of the required research areas. / The essay demonstrates a thoroughand detailed analysis of the issue being presented. The photo essay includes elements from 4 of the 5 required research areas. / The essay does not demonstrate a thoroughand detailed analysis of the issue being presented. The photo essay includes fewer than 4 of the required elements.
Presentation of Essay / The student is prepared and is able to present the topic without relying heavily on notes. The student is able to answer reasonable questions about his/her topic. / The student is prepared, however, relies heavily on notes. The student is able to answer reasonable questions about his/her topic. / The student is not prepared. The students reads directly from a prepared sheet and/or is not able to answer questions about his/her topic.