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The Chinese Cultural Revolution Dynamic Times, Dramatic Lessons for Today’S Kids by Deborah Pellikan

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The Chinese Cultural Revolution Dynamic Times, Dramatic Lessons for Today’S Kids by Deborah Pellikan RESOURCES LESSON PLAN The Chinese Cultural Revolution Dynamic Times, Dramatic Lessons for Today’s Kids By Deborah Pellikan Source: Red Guard Magazine, Beijing, June 1966 he lesson plans presented here could be used in At the conclusion of these activities, a high school World History course as part of students will be better able to: a larger unit on the People’s Republic of China. 1. Address specific knowledge outcomes of the National Standards T for World History: Prerequisite understandings would include: 1) basic Era 9, 1B—Assess the benefits and costs of Communist concepts of comparative governments, 2) the impact policies under Mao Zedong, including the . Cultural of Western imperialism on China, 3) an overview of Revolution 2. Demonstrate critical skills in Historical Thinking, as outlined twentieth-century Chinese history from the collapse in the National Standards for World History, including: of the Qing or Manchu dynasty in 1911 to the establish- 2E—Read historical narratives imaginatively, taking into ment of the PRC in 1949, and 4) the successes and account what the narrative reveals of the humanity of the individuals and groups involved. failures of Maoist China prior to 1966. 2F—Appreciate historical perspectives, describing the past Mindful of various teaching styles and the differences in its own terms, through the eyes and experiences of those who were there. in student populations, the attached handouts can be used 3B—Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in in a number of ways in your classroom. Each handout the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, explains one aspect of the Cultural Revolution and interests, hopes, and fears. 3C—Analyze cause-and-effect relationships. presents a firsthand account of its impact. When exam- 3F—Compare competing historical narratives. ined as a set, an overview should emerge. Hopefully, one of the lesson plans below will be successful in Procedure and Materials Divide students into five groups. Each group will become “experts” your classroom, provoking discussion and promoting about a single topic. Prepare enough copies of the five different understanding. handouts for each student to have one. 50 EDUCATION ABOUT ASIA Volume 10, Number 3 Winter 2005 RESOURCES LESSON PLAN Option 1: Jigsaw Lesson Students at Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas, discuss the impact of China's Cultural Revolution from the perspective of the person they researched earlier in the period. Photos provided by Deborah Pellikan. Assign each “expert” group a different topic. Pass out handouts so that each group has a separate topic and every student in each group half again, to produce a name placard has a handout. Ask students to read and discuss the information and for the person whose point of view be able to respond to all questions in the “Be able to . .” section at they will present. For five minutes, the end of the handouts. Advise them to take notes on a separate each student will then teach his or her sheet of paper. Allow approximately twenty minutes for them to topic to the other students, referring become experts. Have students count off within each group to pre- only to his or her notes—“bringing the jigsaw pieces together.” pare to rotate to new groups. To extend the group to full-class discussion, refer to the Then ask students to move to their “jigsaw” group, all ones in one “Suggested Discussion Questions” below. group, twos in the next, and so on, creating five new groups, each Note: The handouts shown in this article show all of the information on composed of experts on different topics. Direct students to fold the one side of a page. To download two-sided handouts, please go to the handout page with the Chinese name printed on it in half, and then in EAA Web site: http://www.aasianst.org/EAA/supplemental.htm Option 2: Reader’s Theater All first-person accounts in the five handouts are “action packed.” Arrange students into five groups and assign each a separate topic. Allow the groups half a class period to plan their presentations, which could include making props suggested by the reading (e.g., posters, hats, pins, armbands). The following day, have each group introduce its presentation, explaining the setting and important con- cepts, then act out the experiences of the person profiled. It is important to impress upon students the gravity of these events and that their reader’s theater presentation should be a serious han- dling of the subject matter. Following the presentations, the teacher can conduct a full-class discussion, referring to the questions below. When the "reader's theater" approach is used, each group dramatizes the events in their assigned reading, Suggested Discussion Questions: as these Ft. Bend ISD 1. What political and economic conditions set the stage for the students are doing. Cultural Revolution? What philosophy was behind each Photos provided by Deborah Pellikan. program? 2. Discuss the experiences of the person profiled in your read- ing. What did he or she sacrifice? What did he or she learn? 3. Can the events in your reading be compared to other events you’ve studied in World History or to events ongoing today? 51 HANDOUT 1 Origins of the Cultural Revolution hina became communist in 1949 when forces led by Mao pal denounced the two teachers at an all-school meeting, Zedong defeated the Chinese Nationalists after a civil war every wall of the school was covered with big-character Cthat had lasted more than ten years. For the next twenty- posters. This time, we were not as indifferent as we were seven years, Mao remained the supreme leader of China, despite when the target was (a writer). Each of us wrote at least ten serious economic problems and tragic errors in leadership. In 1966, posters on that day. Mao was on the defensive, fearing that opposition to his leadership The struggle was always very intense. We forced the was growing. He believed that certain people in the government teachers to wear caps and collars, which stated things like “I wanted to replace him. To prevent this from happening, he declared a am a monster.” Each class confronted and reviled them in “Cultural Revolution.” This would complete the process of commu- turn with slogans, accusations, and injunctions to reform nizing the country by exposing those he termed “reactionary bour- their ways. We made them clean out the toilets, smeared geois authorities,” “capitalist roaders,” or “revisionists”—and by them with black paint, and organized “control monster destroying all remnants of China’s pre-communist past. Then, to cre- teams” to see that it was done properly. We would charge ate a revolutionary atmosphere and the upheaval it brings, Mao them with specific mistakes and not relent until they admitted encouraged young people to organize themselves to carry out his they were true. It took nearly a week of constant struggle to policies. make the man admit he had said “Mao was wrong” in con- The following excerpts are recollections of seventeen-year-old versation with one of his fellow teachers. They had little rest student Dai Hsiao-ai, soon to become a Red Guard. In May 1966, the and were forced to sleep apart from their fellow teachers. We principal of his school was asked to suspend all classes and direct his would join into informal groups, raid their quarters, and students to make “big character posters” (handmade posters used to begin to work on them again. They could not escape us. criticize people) and to write essays denouncing certain “revisionist” After about two weeks, we were afraid that the literature writers Mao considered enemies. teacher would kill herself. We kept her under constant sur- At first, big character posters were fun. We would write our veillance and even wrote a poster and attached it to her mos- individual posters together and exchange ideas about the quito net over her bed reminding her that she was being best kinds of criticisms. There was a kind of competition to watched and could not succeed in committing suicide. see who could write the best one. However, we knew nothing In the beginning, I had mixed emotions. I was particularly about (these writers); they seemed distant and few of us had close to the literature teacher and had always thought that even read their essays. All of our information came from the she was a good person and an excellent teacher. At first I newspapers. We just copied phrases and accusations from was unwilling to criticize or to struggle against her, but my them and incorporated them into our posters. Discussions of classmates accused me of being sentimental and warned me our essays were the same. After 10 days of this, even the that I was becoming like her. They even told me that I was most active among us grew tired. We began to tell jokes in headed for trouble. I gradually realized that they were right. our meetings. Some people stopped attending entirely and The Party could not be wrong and it was my duty to join the dozed instead. We continued for about eight more days but struggle. I did so and eventually with enthusiasm. nobody was deeply involved any more. We thought the end Be able to . was in sight. 1. Explain Mao’s goals in starting the Cultural Revolution and the Everything changed with the denunciation of the two role that young people would play in carrying out his policies. teachers. We became more active than before. Since we were 2. Introduce your character to the other students, pronouncing his all about eleven or twelve during the anti-rightist campaign name correctly (somewhat like ‘Die-she-ao-eye’), and tell what in 1957, we had never before had the opportunity to partici- you know about him.
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