Shannon Gunter

Modern China Lesson Plan


Hands on Lesson Plan on Modern China

Hands on Lesson Plan on Modern China

This is part 12 of a 12 part a hands-on unit study on China. Taste bamboo while learning about pandas, visit the main tourist sites through videos, about the Tiananmen Square protests & about Xi Jinping, & more while learning about China from 1977 to modern day. Children’s book suggestions and video clips are included.

Modern China

(1977-Present Day)

*Xi Jinping, Panda Bears, Tienanmen Square, Tourism*

Touring China

The Great Wall of China is one of the most popular tourist destinations in China, receiving millions of visitors every year. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Great Wall of China is one of the most popular tourist destinations in China, receiving millions of visitors every year. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  1. If you visited China today, what is something you would definitely want to see? Why?
    • Read Let’s Visit Beijing!: Adventures of Bella & Harry by Lisa Manzione, which follows two Chihuahuas as they tour various famous sites in China such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, etc. The illustrations are delightful and there is just the right amount of text on each page to explain about the site in an engaging manner..

YOU WILL NEED:

  1. Watch the below video on what you might see if you toured China today.

Giant Pandas

A giant panda eating bamboo at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan

A giant panda eating bamboo at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan

  1. What animal do you think of when you think of China? Most people think of pandas. Read Baby Panda Goes Wild by David Salomon.

YOU WILL NEED:

  1. Watch the below videos on pandas.

Eating Bamboo

A bamboo forest

A bamboo forest

Tasting canned bamboo shoots before tossing them in a stir-fry

Tasting canned bamboo shoots before tossing them in a stir-fry

  1. Bamboo is the main food of the giant panda, making up 99% of its diet.
  • Bamboo is classified as a type of grass and are the largest members of the grass family.

  • They are some of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Some species of bamboo can grow 3 feet every 24 hours!

  • Bamboo is also is also used as a building materials and even as a food source for people.

  • Taste canned bamboo, which lacks flavor, and then toss it into an Asian stir-fry for a more delicious way of eating it.

YOU WILL NEED:

  • canned bamboo, such as Geisha canned bamboo shoots

Tank Man & Tiananmen Square

Monument in Memory of Chinese from Tiananmen in Poland, depicting a destroyed bike & tank track as a symbol of the Tiananmen Square protests. Officials destroyed the original monument the day after it was unveiled in 1989, but it was rebuilt in 1999.

Monument in Memory of Chinese from Tiananmen in Poland, depicting a destroyed bike & tank track as a symbol of the Tiananmen Square protests. Officials destroyed the original monument the day after it was unveiled in 1989, but it was rebuilt in 1999.

  1. Recently, what have you heard about China?
    • One of the most sensitive and widely censored topics in China today are the Tiananmen Square protests, which were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989.
  • The protests weren’t limited to Beijing. There were protests in over 400 cities. However, the main clashes occurred in Beijing where 300,000 troops were mobilized.

  • Several thousand students were killed or wounded by the Chinese military as they called for democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, greater accountability, and constitutional due process.

  • The Chinese government also made widespread arrests of protesters, expelled foreign journalists, and set limits on political expression in China, which still exist to this present day.

  • One of the most iconic photos from modern day China was taken during that time as it captured Tank Man” (because his identity is still unknown) as he stood in front of a column of tanks the day after the Chinese government’s violent crackdown on the Tienanmen protests.

  • In this TED Talk, a survivor of the student protests discusses how “Tank Man” wasn’t the only hero in the photo. Many tanks had already run over and killed students the previous day. The soldier driving the front tank in the photo was also a hero as he did not run Tank Man over, disobeying direct orders. The tank driver was most likely executed for this. The Chinese government has worked hard to make sure no one knows the identity of either man and no one knows what happened to them.

  1. Watch the below video on the photo of Tank Man.

Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping CCP General Secretary and President

Xi Jinping CCP General Secretary and President

  1. Xi Jinping has been the President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 2013.
  • Xi was born into a prosperous family with his father holding numerous high government offices. However, during the Cultural Revolution, Xi’s father was deemed an enemy of the revolution, paraded before crowds, and imprisoned. Xi was sent to a work camp to dig ditches.

  • Xi studied chemical engineering, though all students were required to study Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong thought. He later studied Marxist theory, graduating with a doctorate in law and ideology.

  • In 2018, he abolished presidential term limits, so he will most likely rule China until his death.

  • Watch the below video on Xi Jinping.

Oppression of People Groups Under Xi Jinping

  1. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has begun harassing Westerners and even worse, torturing and killing people groups in the Northern and Western regions of China. Chinese Christians are arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for attending unregistered church meetings, owning a Bible, and telling others about Christ.
  • Watch the below videos on China’s recent oppression of foreigners, Inner Mongolians, Uyghurs, and Christians.

Pray for China

modern-china-lesson

  1. Pray for China. We already regularly pray for China. We get current requests from Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors.

Children’s Books on Modern China

Best Children's Books List on Modern China

Best Children’s Books List on Modern China

Used in the lesson (so the links are above):

  • Let’s Visit Beijing!: Adventures of Bella & Harry by Lisa Manzione

  • Baby Panda Goes Wild! by David Salomon

More of our favorites:

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Over the years I have posted over 40 science and social-studies based unit studies, compromised of more than 170 lessons. The unit studies include the Human Body, Simple Machines, Japan, Earth Science, Medieval Period, American Revolution, Russia, Pioneer Life, Countries of the World, and many more! For each lesson I have included activities (with photos), our favorite books and YouTube video clips, lapbook links, and other resources. I posted links to all of my unit studies and lessons at Fun, FREE Hands-on Unit Studies .

© 2021 Shannon

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