Introduction

 

Peasants Were Mistreated in Ancient China

 

            Around 1122 BC, a new dynasty claimed the Mandate of Heaven in China.  This dynasty was called the Zhou.  The Mandate of Heaven, according to ancient Chinese beliefs, was an order from the gods to rule.  The Zhou created a new social class structure.  The king was at the top of the Zhou society, while the nobles made up the middle class.  At the bottom of this social class system were the peasants.

            Throughout the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, the peasants held no authority.  They were forced to show loyalty to both the king and the nobles.  Their life was constant work with little regard for their well-being.  This is evident when they were forced to construct the Great Wall of China.  In seven years of construction, 500,000 peasants died.  When they weren’t constructing the Great Wall, they were farming, serving in the nobles’ army, or ordered to build thousands of miles of road and other public works.

            What were the roles and responsibilities of each social group?  How did these responsibilities change during the Qin and Han Dynasties?  How did the peasants overcome the hardships they experienced during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties?  How did the Conflicting philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism affect the lives of Chinese peasants?  These questions are to be researched to accurately define

the lifestyle of the ancient Chinese peasant.


The Task

 

As a class, students will complete tasks from the text book for background information about Ancient China.

Students will complete class worksheets relating to the text.

Students will then research specific information on how the Peasants found ways to overcome their hardships within the three Dynasties: Zhou, Qin and Han.

In groups, students will complete the GPPA worksheets:

1.      Identify the problem

2.      Gather evidence

3.      Determine the causes

Students will then go to the library for a lesson on using power point.

Using the information, students will begin to create several slides describing their findings.

 


Confucius

 

The Process

 

1.      Complete reading and writing assignments on ancient China, specifically the Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties

2.      Read and gather information from resource sites for more in depth information

3.      Complete the GPPA worksheets

4.      Compare and contrast the ancient Chinese social class system to modern America in a Venn Diagram

5.      Learn how to use Power Point from our school’s Library Media Specialist

6.      In groups, work on creating Power Point slide show on their research findings that compare and contrast the treatment of Chinese peasants during the Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties.

7.      Class Presentations


Qin Shi Huangdi

 

The Resources

 

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/

http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/China/Zhou.html

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCCHINA/ANCCHINA.HTM

http://www.friesian.com/confuci.htm

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/

http://explanation-guide.info/meaning/Qin-Shi-Huangdi.html

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/qin.html

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/zhou.html

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/

http://www.ancient-china.net/books/0520064410

http://www.kidskonnect.com/AncientChina/AncientChinaHome.html

 

 

EVALUATION

Group Planning -- Research Project: The Mistreatment of Peasants in Ancient China

Teacher Name: Mr. Curcio


Student Name:     ________________________________________

 

CATEGORY

4

3

2

1

Ideas/Research Questions

Researchers independently identify at least 4 reasonable, insightful, creative ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research.

Researchers independently identify at least 4 reasonable ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research.

Researchers identify, with some adult help, at least 4 reasonable ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research.

Researchers identify, with considerable adult help, 4 reasonable ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research.

Delegation of Responsibility

Each student in the group can clearly explain what information is needed by the group, what information s/he is responsible for locating, and when the information is needed.

Each student in the group can clearly explain what information s/he is responsible for locating.

Each student in the group can, with minimal prompting from peers, clearly explain what information s/he is responsible for locating.

One or more students in the group cannot clearly explain what information they are responsible for locating.

Plan for Organizing Information

Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information as it is gathered and in the final research product. All students can independently explain the planned organization of the research findings.

Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information in the final research product. All students can independently explain this plan.

Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information as it is gathered. All students can independently explain most of this plan.

Students have no clear plan for organizing the information AND/OR students in the group cannot explain their organizational plan.

Quality of Sources

Researchers independently locate at least 2 reliable, interesting information sources for EACH of their ideas or questions.

Researchers independently locate at least 2 reliable information sources for EACH of their ideas or questions.

Researchers, with some adult help, locate at least 2 reliable information sources for EACH of their ideas or questions.

Researchers, with extensive adult help, locate at least 2 reliable information sources for EACH of their ideas or questions.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Students will present their Power Point as slide show, explaining how they worked together as a group to develop their conclusions. Each person will have a chance to read a slide as it appears. Students will be evaluated based on their ability to research the information and their knowledge on Ancient Chinese history. Students will also have a chance to evaluate each other.

 

 

Social Studies

 

Standard 2 - World History

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

 

Standard 3 - Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live-local, national, and global-including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth's surface.

 

Standard 4 - Economics

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

 

Standard 5 - Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.