From The Secrets of The Forbidden City To The Massacre At Tiananmen Square: China, A Journey Through History And Literature

Participants: Chris Boulé, Susan Wilson:

Overview/Purpose:
The 10th grade students are now required to pass the Comprehensive Examination in English and the Global Studies regents exams at the end of their 10th grade year. This has placed additional emphasis on the reading and writing requirements during their 9th grade year. In order to develop and improve upon these skills, it is important to take a comprehensive approach with special education students.

This unit is an attempt to better utilize technology to increase student understanding of Chinese culture, geography and history while also improving upon writing skills and fostering comprehension. After attending the Superintendent’s Conference Day in March where the expert from Google demonstrated its uses and options, we were excited about the opportunity to integrate this technology into an existing unit. The inclusion of an English teacher into the team and the curriculum mapping done by the English Department at PHS warrants further unit development of the unit on China and The Forbidden City, a 9th core text.

Students in our classroom have been identified as either special education classified students or AIS Level 1 or 2 students; both categories demonstrating a need for skills based instruction and multiple instruction methods. The combination of both writing and reading programs into our team taught 80 minute 9th grade English/Global class will benefit students by offering creative options to writing while focusing on skill building enhancements and infusing Global Studies content into the application of writing and reading selections.

NYS Learning Standards Addressed:
English Standards-

Students will listen, speak, read and write for information and understanding.
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression
Students will listen, speak, read and write for critical analysis and evaluation.
Students will listen, speak, read and write for social interaction

Global Studies Standards:

Standard 2: World History
Standard 3: Geography

Mathematics, Science and Technology Standards:

Standard 5: Technology
Standard 2: Information Systems

PCSD Standards:

Critical Thinker
Effective Communicator
Healthy Citizen
Lifelong Learner
Responsible Citizen

Essential Questions:

What constitutes a hero?

What makes writing worth reading?
What unites people behind a certain cause for which they will dearly sacrifice?
What role does government play in protecting our freedoms?
How do geography, climate and resources affect the history and development of culture and civilizations?
How do the decisions of certain leaders affect the long-term future?
Is our view of other cultures biased by our own way of life?

Declarative knowledge:
Students will know or understand…

the literary elements: theme, setting, character, conflict, plot, and point of view and how these effect a story
the 6 traits of writing
literary techniques (characterization, figurative language, foreshadowing, flashback) and the difference between simile, metaphor, hyperbole and personification.
point of view and how it affects the reader/adds to the reader’s understanding of the intention of the written work.
Smiley Face Tricks (magic 3, hyphenated modifiers, humor, figurative language, expanded moment and repetition for effect).
how to read, interpret and write a RAFT.
methods of characterization (appearance, what others would say, environment, speech, actions and thoughts/feelings)
the incorporation of The Forbidden City into China’s history and its present culture.
the important Chinese leaders and their impact on China’s culture today.
the historical events in China’s history relevant to the development from a dynastic culture to the adoption of Communist philosophies to the Tian An Men Square Massacre.
the key geographic features that affected China’s history
how geographic isolation resulted in choices that led to China’s technological downfall
how geography greatly affected the history, everyday lives, and specific events in Chinese history
the issues that are part of the controversy over the Beijing Olympics, including Tibet and alleged human rights abuses on behalf of the Chinese communist government

Procedural Knowledge:

Students will be able to:

Determine which writing traits are the most important in a specific writing task
write a selection after being presented with a RAFT- creating their piece for the specified audience, in specified format, developing the content utilizing a determined strong verb.
while reading and upon completion of the core text, students will identify literary elements and techniques evident in the selection.
determine how point of view effects a piece of writing
write personal responses to events in The Forbidden City and discuss these responses in groups
make predictions based on events in The Forbidden City
construct a piece of writing which displays proper placement and uses at least 3 different smiley face tricks.
create a power point presentation which incorporates a research based model for the acquisition of their information.
select vocabulary words from the core 9th grade text The Forbidden City to define and use in their written work samples.
synthesize questions for classroom discussion generated through the reading of the core text.
write a literary analysis paper that focuses on character development.
accurately identify key geographic features and specific locations that affected China’s history
proficiently explain in writing how the isolation of China led to ethnocentrism in China
demonstrate proficiency on a quiz in which they must identify “where they are in China” (virtually)
create a cartoon illustrating the crowded nature of Chinese living, due to their geography
define “spheres of influence” and create a visual demonstrating how their self-imposed isolation (based on their ethnocentrism) eventually led to China’s loss of sovereignty
identify Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, and briefly explain how the location of the Tian An Men Square protest was symbolic and served to provoke Communist leaders
write a short piece explaining the importance of students in traditional Chinese culture (Confucianism), and how that history may have led to student overconfidence in the Tiananmen Square Massacre
complete a writing assignment (RAFT) that will look at the Tiananmen Square Massacre from different perspectives: a Chinese student, Deng Xiaoping, and a neutral observer OR complete a persuasive essay: Deng Xiaoping: reformer or reactionary?
research and briefly summarize current controversies surrounding China (e.g. Tibet, alleged human rights abuses), and (acting as a US Senator) write a persuasive speech either supporting or denouncing favored trade status with China