This in-depth study of ancient China is an example of an Asian society that flourished during ancient times. It focuses upon the key features of ancient Chinese society including social classes, the role of women, daily life and the influence of Qin Shi Huang Di.
History, Ancient China, Social Classes, Role of Women, Qin Shi Huang Di
As a result of completing this Learning Module, students will be able to:
EXPERIENTIAL OBJECTIVES
Chronology, terms and concepts
ACHHS2055: Sequence historical events, developments and periods.
China
ACDSEH005: The physical features of China (such as the Yellow River) and how they influenced the civilisation that developed there.
ACDSEH041: Roles of key groups in Chinese society in this period (such as kings, emperors, scholars, craftsmen, women), including the influence of law and religion.
ACDSEH042: The significant beliefs, values and practices of Chinese society, with a particular emphasis on ONE of the following areas: everyday life, warfare, or death and funerary customs.
ACDSEH132: The role of a significant individual in ancient Chinese history such as Confucius or Qin Shi Huang Di.
Historical Questions and Research
ACHHS208: Identify and locate relevant sources using ICT and other methods.
CONCEPTUAL OBJECTIVES
China
ACDSEH041: Roles of key groups in Chinese society in this period (such as kings, emperors, scholars, craftsmen, women), including the influence of law and religion.
ACDSEH042: The significant beliefs, values and practices of Chinese society, with a particular emphasis on ONE of the following areas: everyday life, warfare, or death and funerary customs.
ANALYTICAL OBJECTIVES
China
ACDSEH041: Roles of key groups in Chinese society in this period (such as kings, emperors, scholars, craftsmen, women), including the influence of law and religion.
ACDSEH042: The significant beliefs, values and practices of Chinese society, with a particular emphasis on ONE of the following areas: everyday life, warfare, or death and funerary customs.
ACDSEH132: The role of a significant individual in ancient Chinese history such as Confucius or Qin Shi Huang Di.
Analysis and use of sources
ACHHS209: Identify the origin and purpose of primary and secondary sources.
ACHHS211: Draw conclusions about the isefulness of sources.
Perspectives and interpretations
ACHHS212: Identify and describe points of view, attitudes and values in primary and secondary sources.
APPLIED OBJECTIVES
China
ACDSEH132: The role of a significant individual in ancient Chinese history such as Confucius or Qin Shi Huang Di.
Explanation and communication
ACHHS213: Develop texts, particularly descriptions and explanations that use evidence from a range of sources that are acknowledged.
ACHHS214: Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies.
Historical questions and research
ACHHS207: Identify a range of questions about the past to inform an historical inquiry.
Analysis and use of sources
ACHHS210: Locate, compare, select and use information from a range of sources as evidence.
General capabilities of the Australian Curriculum addressed in this Learning Module include literacy, ICT competence, critical and creative thinking and intercultural understanding.
The Cross-Curriculum priority is Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia.
The big questions we will focus on in this learning module include:
To get started, think to yourself - What do I know about China? Write at least three dot points down.
Turn to a partner and discuss what you have thought about. Write down anything that your partner says that you have not already thought of.
Contribute your responses to the class discussion.
Topics might include:
Teaching tips
Create a mind map of all of the students responses. Prompt the students' thinking by suggesting favourite restaurants, films, places e.t.c that they knew of.
Think, Pair, Share: A cooperative learning strategy, which allows students to think about a question/idea/issue/notion and share their thoughts with a partner before discussion in a small group.
Complete a timeline as a class (your teacher may decide to make this a display in your classroom). Include on it key events from ancient Chinese history and also from other civilisations that have been studied throughout the year.
Inclusions on the timeline could consist of (note that all dates are approximate and pronunciation is in brackets after title):
Timeline of Ancient Civilisations
Purpose
This activity, and the resulting timeline, are a useful source of orientation throughout the unit.
Teaching tips
The timeline can be added to throughout the year with other ancient civilisations as future units are completed.
Look at a map of the world. Mark out where China is and make note of it in relation to Australia.
Look at a map of modern China. Indicate the borders of modern China and the ancient Chinese dynasties. Compare the two maps and list your findings in a table with ancient China on one side and modern China on the other.
Purpose
The mapping activity that follows the mindmap allows students to see straightaway that there are differences between China that they know now and the China of the ancient world. It also gives them the opportunity to gain a geographical understanding of China.
Resources
Look at the map of China provided to you by your teacher. In pairs: what do you notice? e.g. landforms, physical features.
In table groups: What impact do you think that these landforms, features e.t.c would have had on the people living there?
Resources
Map from page 276 of Oxford Big Ideas History 7: Australian Curriculum.
Knowing what you do now from the first three activities look at the following pictures of the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Warriors and foot binding and answer the following questions:
Fig. 3: Woman with Bound Feet. |
Fig. 4: Great Wall of China |
Terracotta Army |
Resources
The picture activity allows students to take the information that they have learnt in the previous activities further and to gain an understanding of the students' attitudinal change throughout the unit. This will be facilitated through asking them to repeat this activity at the end of the unit.
Teaching tips
At this stage it is perfectly ok, and expected, that the students will know next to nothing about the images. When they come into contact with them again at the end of the unit and answer the same questions their answers will give some indication of how their knowledge has grown and evolved and how they have changed over the course of their learning.
Copy down the image of the social hierarchy of China during the Zhou dynasty.
Once complete participate in a class discussion about ancient Chinese society.
Social hierarchy
Teaching tips
Questions that could be used for discussion include:
- Why were certain classes higher than others? e.g. farmers higher than tradesmen? Why are merchants at the bottom?
- What does the diagram tell us about how the Chinese regarded education?
- What do you think would happen to a society that placed businessmen and merchants at the lowest level of society?
- How does modern Australian society compare with this image of ancient Chinese society?
Read through the descriptions given by each of the different classes about their roles in ancient Chinese society. In your table groups talk about one of these roles that your teacher has allocated to you.
Develop 2-3 questions that you might ask your character to find out more about their roles in ancient Chinese society.
Contribute to the class discussion about these questions.
Resources
Page 286 Oxford Big Ideas Australian Curriculum History Year 7
Teaching tips
Allocate each table group one of the social roles to develop questions about. Encourage students to try and think of potential answers to the questions that they have developed.
Read the text based upon Ancient Chinese women:
Ancient Chinese Women During the Han Dynasty
After reading the text your teacher will ask you to respond to the following questions:
What did you find interesting?
What surprised you?
How has life for women changed?
Role of Women
Purpose
This is an introductory text to introduce the concept of how women's status and role in Ancient China were different to women's lives in modern times. Future activities will expand on this concept. It is also gone into depth in the unit based upon Ancient Greece.
Read through the data set based upon women.
Continue to work individually or in pairs to read through these texts. As you are reading use the tree retrieval chart to gather notes about how women lived in ancient China.
Collating Information
Resources
Data Sets:
- Love and Marriage
- Family Life
- Education
- Foot Binding
- Work
- ??????
Teaching tips
For lower level students working in pairs may be a good idea to allow them more confidence in the task and ability to complete within the given time frame. If a learning assisstance teacher is available to assist these students they may also benefit from this.
Venn - Ancient Chinese and Greek women compared with Modern Australia
Using your knowledge from other history units studied in year 7, and teacher assistance, complete a Venn Diagram that shows the similarities and differences between the lives of Ancient Chinese, Ancient Greek and Modern Australian Women.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to allow students to think about how different societies view the female gender and also how this compares to the way in which women are viewed in modern, Australian times.
Each student forms a home group to research their given topic and record key information. Students return to their home group and share the information with their group. Students record information in their workbooks. Remember to include any information that you found to be interesting.
Information sheets include:
Teaching tips
Students form expert groups and are given a topic related to ancient China. Information sheets for each topic should be on the same coloured piece of paper. Students take notes on their topic before combining to form a new group. Each person in the new group should have a different colour original piece of paper.
Expert Groups: a cooperative classroom strategy in which students in small groups depend on one another for information needed to learn a topic in depth. Each student in the group becomes an expert on a particular topic, or section of a topic, as a member of an expert group. They then form new groups to share their information. The learning goal is for everyone in the group to have the complete set of information.
Move into a second group, each group member should have a different coloured sheet. Share your information with the rest of your group. Take down notes on what the other group members have written about their own topics.
Expert Groups - Form 2nd Group
Purpose
All students are given the opportunity to be an expert on their topic.
Read the following description of the philosophical principle that had the largest impact upon the ruler of China in ancient times.
The Mandate of Heaven: a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. Heaven would bless the authority of a just ruler, but would be displeased with a despotic ruler and withdraw the mandate. Heaven would manifest signs on Earth to show the Chinese people that the king had lost approval. Examples of these signs were:
The Mandate of Heaven would then transfer to those who would rule best.
The Mandate of Heaven was based upon four key principles:
1. The right to rule is granted by Heaven.
2. There is only one Heaven therefore there can only be one ruler.
3. The right to rule is based upon the virtue of the ruler.
4.The right to rule is not limited to one dynasty.
Teaching tips
Students struggle with this concept. For low level students it will be important to really focus on the main point of the mandate:
If bad things happened in ancient China them emperor was blamed and he could lose the right to rule and someone else could take his place as emperor.
If they are able to understand this in a basic form this will assist them in future activities.
Create a table and answer the following question: What are the positive and negative sides to the Mandate of Heaven? Consider the perspectives of different groups of people:
Teaching tips
May be useful to complete this as a table.
Read the information about warfare in ancient China - as you are reading use the reading guide activity sheet to guide you through the article and make notes upon it.
Resources
Information Text - Ancient Chinese Warfare (This information text is taken from pp. 296-299 of Oxford Big Ideas Australian Curriculum History published by Oxford University Press 2012. It is an amalgamation of these pages that removes the "check your learning" questions from the student version.
Reading Guide - Ancient Chinese Warfare\
Reading_Guide_Ancient_Chinese_Warfare.doc
Teaching tips
Reading Guide from pg. 52 of Tactical Teaching: Reading published by Christopher Witt for Steps Professional Development 2009.
"A reading guide provides students with a set of written directions, questions and activities that are devised by the teacher and intended to guide students through their independent reading of a text. When students are asked to read independently, many still require support monitoring their reading. Using a reading guide will assist comprehension."
Watch the documentary that outlines the life of China's first Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di (pronounced Chin She Hwan g De). As you are watching the documentary make notes on your note taking worksheet by listing down:
Resources
Teaching tips
Note Taking Strategy from pg. 45 of Tactical Teaching: Reading published by Christopher Witt for Steps Professional Development 2009.
"Note Taking is the recording of key words and information during reading as a means of monitoring understanding and linking new information with prior knowledge. Taking notes can also be a way of recording and summarising information from a spoken or written text. Note Taking enables readers to record information from lengthy or dense text, to organise and summarise information, and recall it for later use. It improves a [students] ability to recall significant concepts and the relationships between them."
Create a concept map showing the links between the different aspects of the reign of Qin Shi Huang Di. The template below can be used as a guide however it does not matter how many parts of the concept map there are or how they link - this is up to you and how you understand the reign of China's first emperor.
Purpose
This is a teacher led activity designed to be a practice for units later in the year in which a concept/mind map will be an assessment (Ancient Egypt).
Terracotta Warriors
Read the following article:
"How was the Emperor QinShihuang's Mausoleum Constructed?" from The Qin Dynasty Terra-Cotta Army of Dreams - Xi'an Press, 2005.
Work in pairs. As you are reading write next to each paragraph a summary of what you think the paragraph is about. High light or underline any words that are unfamiliar to you. Complete an interesting word chart using these words.
Resources
"How was the Emperor QinShihuang's Mausoleum Constructed?" from The Qin Dynasty Terra-Cotta Army of Dreams - Xi'an Press, 2005.
Teaching tips
Interesting word charts can be used throughout all activities in the unit and added to whenever a student/teacher finds a word that is interesting/difficult. It does not need to be a once off activity and can be built into a spelling program.
Use the AOCAMBUR source analysis method to analyse a primary and secondary source based upon Qin Shi Huang Di's Terracotta Army. Your teacher will work with you and complete this task as a class as you have never used this method before.
Source Analysis - Primary and Secondary Sources
Resources
Secondary Source: "How was the Emperor QinShihuang's Mausoleum Constructed?" from The Qin Dynasty Terra-Cotta Army of Dreams - Xi'an Press, 2005.
Primary Source: Show the class multiple images of the terracotta warriors. Focus upon the following image for the source analysis:
Teaching tips
Students will not have used this method of source analysis before and will have to be led through it.
Using the list of 'ancient Chinese inventions' research each individual invention to discover where each was invented. Which item on the list was NOT invented in China?
Teaching tips
This activity could be done using the library (especially the encyclopedias), thee internet or if you have access to netbook/laptop trolleys this could be a good activity to stay in the classroom for.
In groups of two create a poster based upon a Chinese invention. Ensure that you include the historical context of the invention, the key people involved with its creation and the effect that it had on Chinese society.
Use the following data sets to create your poster:
These are known as the "four great inventions" - Make sure you include a section on your poster that talks about the impact that your invention has had on the world - what if the ancient Chinese had not invented it?
Place your poster on the wall.
A bibliography where sources are acknowledged must be included.
Teaching tips
Place the posters on the wall for students to view the other topics. A gallery Tour may be a useful activity to complete once this has taken place.
Gallery Tour: Students display their work and one person stands by it in order to explain it and answer questions when small groups visit.
Oral Presentation and Powerpoint
2 - 3 minutes long
Focus upon limiting writing on slides and use of palm cards and rehearsal.
Research topic of their choice - go into further depth about any topic that has been touched on or any that have not been to do with Ancient China.
Student to come up with their own inquiry question - with help from the teacher - e.g. "Why are the Terracotta Warriors important to Chinese history?" and discuss this in their presentation.
A bibliography where sources are acknowledged must be included.
Teaching tips
Students struggle with oral presentations. As the first of the year some students may struggle a lot. All students need to complete it with an audience. For students who are really having a difficult time with the idea they may do it with the teacher and a support friend as their audience. They must have at least 1-2 peers present.
Encourage a variety of topics to avoid repetition. It may be useful to have a cap on the number of students who can do each topic.
Look at the following 'images' that you were given at the beginning of the unit and answer the same questions:
What do you know about Ancient China?
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