Victorian Essential Learning Standards
LOTE Unit Plans
The Great Wall of China
Level 6 (Pathway 2):
Chinese, Interpersonal Development, Thinking, Communication
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2
Learning focus ................................................................................................................... 3
Victorian Essential Learning Standards ........................................................................... 4
Teaching and learning activities ....................................................................................... 6
Cluster 1: Activities Engaging Word Intelligence ............................................................... 7
Cluster 2: Activities Engaging Logic and Mathematical Intelligence .................................. 9
Cluster 3: Activities Engaging Space and Vision Intelligence .......................................... 10
Cluster 4: Activities Engaging Body Intelligence ............................................................. 11
Assessment ...................................................................................................................... 12
Unit resources .................................................................................................................. 14
List of resources ............................................................................................................. 14
Teacher materials........................................................................................................... 15
Student materials ........................................................................................................... 15
Glossary of Vocabulary .................................................................................................. 16
A to Z.......................................................................................................................... 17
Oh, I Know I Know! ..................................................................................................... 18
My Secret Messages .................................................................................................. 19
My Calligraphy ............................................................................................................ 20
Published by the Department of Education
March 2007
© State of Victoria 2007
Introduction
In The Great Wall of China unit, students explore Chinese ancient civilisation and its impact
on their life in the 21st century. Students use individual and cooperative learning tasks to
complete an in-depth study of the language related to specific knowledge; they look at the
core communication skills of listening, reading and viewing, speaking and writing in
Chinese; and they obtain cross-cultural and intercultural understandings that are all defined
as the key elements of communicative competence.
Students work individually as well as cooperatively in teams to develop, analyse and
implement: group tactics; presentation skills using various presentation forms for a range of
purposes and audiences; and thinking skills of reflection, evaluation and metacognition.
This unit provides opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement against the
standards in Chinese (LOTE), Interpersonal Development, Communication and Thinking.
2
Learning focus
This unit addresses learning focus statements from all three strands at Level 6:
Physical, Personal and Social Learning
Interpersonal Development

work in teams to assign and take leadership roles, gain confidence in
revealing own views, allocate tasks, determine action plans, monitor and
evaluate task achievement

assess own contribution to the team and provide useful feedback to peers

reflect on the success of team management and learning in achieving
agreed goals.
Discipline-based Learning
LOTE (Chinese – Pathway 2)

learn to communicate in Chinese in relation to the tasks defined

interact and communicate to exchange information and opinions on topicspecific issues

discuss the general concept of culture associated with the topic, identify
general cultural patterns.
Interdisciplinary Learning
Communication

organise ideas into a coherent structure and make appropriate adjustments
of ideas and mode of presentations in response to feedback to suit an
audience

experiment with communicating complex ideas in a variety of ways

increasingly use metaphors and symbols to communicate

use agreed criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of these presentations.
Thinking





develop and modify questions and elicit information from a variety of sources
analyse the relationships between ideas to connect existing knowledge and
new information and synthesize them to form coherent bodies of knowledge
recognise gaps in their understanding
identify assumptions that may underpin a particular line of reasoning
put effort into sustained thinking in order to construct deep comprehension of
key concepts.
3
Victorian Essential Learning Standards
The Great Wall of China can be used to assess a range of Victorian Essential Learning
Standards.
The table below is an example of how this unit might be used to assess some Level 6
standards.
Strand
Domain
Dimension
Physical,
Personal and
Social Learning
Interpersonal
Development
Working in
teams
Disciplinebased Learning
LOTE
(pathway 2)
Communicating
in a LOTE
Intercultural
knowledge and
language
awareness
Key elements of standards
Students:
... engage all team members in group
processes...
…use strategies when creating ideas
and solving problems…
…use strategies for motivating group
members and working towards task
completion…
…able to evaluate group task
performance.
... recall the main points from the
spoken texts through oral responses to
questions…
... order and present information in a
given format (diagram, graph or
chart)…
... participation in oral interaction on
factual topics using recycled or
modelled language and appropriate
pronunciation, tone and intonation…
…comprehend key points of
information when reading short
modified texts…
…aware of context-sensitive language
use through appropriate register, body
language and gestures.
...identify general cultural patterns that
flow across specific settings…
…understand some cultural influences
on the ways people behave and use
language…
…contributes to discussions about the
general concept of culture and the
relation of cultures to each other…
…demonstrates an awareness of
difference and similarity between
languages…
…awareness of language rules
applied to and patterns found in
speech and writing in familiar
situations.
4
Interdisciplinary
Learning
Communication
Presentation
Thinking
Reasoning,
Processing &
Inquiry
Reflection,
Evaluation &
Metacognition
…experiment with different
presentation content and form (the use
of humour, audio, etc)…
…skill in identify specific aspects of
their own and others’ work
(expressive, technical or aesthetic
qualities)…
…commentary on the effectiveness of
strategies used by others in
developing their presentations, and
suggestions for alternatives…
…choice of appropriate domainspecific vocab and conventions for
particular tasks.
…conduct information search from
varied sources…
…discriminate the way they use a
variety of sources…
…validate existing knowledge, build
ideas, make connections and create new
knowledge.
…analyse alternative perspectives and
perceptions…
…make informed decisions based on
their analysis.
5
Teaching and learning activities
Refer to Unit resources (see page 11) for materials required throughout the unit, and for
other student and teacher support materials.
To comply with both Principle 3 and 4 of the PoLT, all learning activities in this unit are
organised into clusters of learning tasks reflecting the concepts of Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligence and Bloom’s Taxonomy (see Teaching and learning resources). To complete
this unit of work, each and every student in your class should complete a minimal of two or
three clusters of tasks (at your discretion) with the cluster of word intelligence tasks as the
compulsory one for all. Please feel free to adapt the workload and activities in this unit to
suit your own situation.
Teachers should also be mindful that assessment practices are always an inseparable part
of teaching and learning (PoLT: Principle 5). Teachers should at all times attempt at
engaging students in the assessment process (assessment as) and inform their own
teaching using the assessment results (assessment for). Please refer to Teaching and
learning resources and PoLT for details.
Interpersonal skills and thinking skills are both an integral part of this unit of work. Students
may discuss and learn about the work of these skills (see Teaching and learning resources)
in separate arrangements prior and during the course of this unit. Opportunities should be
allowed for students to apply these skills in the completion of tasks chosen, as well as to be
assessed for reporting.
Teachers introduce this unit of work by showing students the BBC documentary Mysteries
of Asia Secrets of The Great Wall and possibly one of the films (The Emperor And His
Shadow, The Emperor And The Assassin, Fight And Love With A Terracotta Warrior, Hero)
related to the content of the topic.
For the non topic specific linguistic elements (vocabulary and grammar) appropriate to this
unit,
teachers
may
refer
to
the
CSFII
web
page
for
details
(http://csf.vcaa.vic.edu.au/home.htm). Teachers should be mindful about the difference of
CSF and VELS levels. For the topic specific vocabularies, teachers may engage their
students and work out the specific list in a joint effort. Alternatively, they may refer to the list
provided in the sample history unit which is published together with this unit under the same
topic of The Great Wall of China. A Chinese glossary, though, is also provided as a teacher
resource in this unit.
6
Cluster 1: Activities engaging word ontelligence
1. Facts file
Students research the following issues and conduct a PowerPoint presentation

when was the Great Wall initially built?

how and why was the Great Wall built?

why was the Emperor Qin Shi Huang so important in Chinese history?

what were the strategies the Emperor Qin Shi Huang employed to
strengthen his rule after he unified the country?

why was the Silk Road so important in Chinese history?
This activity engages comprehension, application, analysis and evaluation in Bloom’s
Taxonomy.
2. A to Z
With reference to all resources (internet, books, dictionaries, class notes, peers, etc),
students play A to Z with words (Pinyin and Chinese characters) around the vocabulary in
Chinese associated with the Great Wall, the Silk Road and the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The
whole class will work together to create a list of the 20 most important words. Refer to
Student Material (see page 14).
This activity engages remembering in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
3. Picture dictionaries
Students of different language abilities work cooperatively in groups of two to learn the
meanings, spellings and pronunciations of the list of key vocabularies identified in the
previous activity with teacher assistance. They then design and create their own picture
dictionary accordingly.
This activity engages remembering, understanding and analysing in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
4. Sound discriminations
Students develop a set of sound discrimination exercises base on the chosen vocabularies
and use that with the rest of the class under teacher supervision. Refer to Student Material
(see page 15).
This activity engages remembering, understanding, applying, analysing and creating in
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
5. Sentencing
Students, working in groups of three, create as well as practise saying their own secret
messages (minimum of three) using their LOTE knowledge of both previous and present
learning. Each group will then take turns to read out their messages and the group which
gets most of the correct translations wins an award. Refer to Student Material (see page
16).
This activity engages understanding, analysing and creating in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
6. Descriptors
Students, working in groups of three, chose two from a list of ten topics identified by you as
a teacher in relation to the key persons, historical events, legends and policies associated
with the Great Wall and the Emperor and write a description of eight sentences (minimum)
7
about each topic using either Pinyin or characters. All topics should be covered. Peer
assessment of the completed works should be organised amongst groups upon completion.
This activity engages analysing, evaluating and creating in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
7. Conference speakers (advocate)
In groups of two, prepare a conference speech. Students should put together a logical,
rational argument for the propositions that:

the Great Wall was effective/ineffective in defending the nomadic invasions

the Emperor Qin Shi Huang was/was not a cruel man at heart.
This activity engages understanding, analysing, evaluating and creating in Bloom’s
Taxonomy.
8
Cluster 2: Activities engaging logic and mathematical intelligence
1. Timelines
In groups of two, students develop timeline charts (in Chinese) including:

all the major battles won/lost by the solder of Qin under the rule of Emperor
Qin Shi Huang prior to him unifying the whole country

the Qin, Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
2. Abacus
Learn to use the abacus and practise adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with it.
Learn all the key words in Chinese.
3. Calculator
Research the measurements (e.g. the width, height, length) of the Great Wall at different
periods of Chinese history (Qin, Han and Ming dynasties) and calculate the total number of
cubic meters of earth each used in the construction of the Great Wall. Learn all the key
words in Chinese.
4. Venn diagram
Use a Venn diagram to compare the similarities and differences between the way China
was ruled under the Emperor Qin Shi Huang and the way Australia is run by the current
three tiers of government.
5. Rankings and ratings
Consider and rank all the measures taken by Emperor Qin Shi Huang to establish a central
ruling system for the first time in Chinese history. Justify your rankings.
6. Six Thinking Hats
Use deBono’s Six Thinking Hats to analyse one of the following topics:

the Emperor’s strategies to develop his own warring state so that there
would be ample supply of foods and materials in the wars he launched later
against all other states

the Emperor’s decision to order so many terracotta warriors to be made to
safeguard him after his death.
9
Cluster 3: Activities engaging space and vision intelligence
1. Map drawing
Draw the map of China including all seven warring states around 250BCE. Students should
manage to clearly identify the locations of all sections of the Great Wall and the route of the
Silk Road on the map. Students should learn all the key words in Chinese
2. Draw what you know
Draw:

the portrait of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang base on your understanding about
him

the portraits of a terracotta warrior in different poses

the sketch map of the royal palace constructed for the Emperor Qin Shi
Huang

the weapons used by the Emperor’s army.
3. Slide shows
Use PowerPoint to create slide shows for one or two of the following:

a story of the Emperor’s childhood

the construction process of the Great Wall

the trading activities that occurred along the Silk Road

the procedure used to make a terracotta warrior.
4. Designer
Based on their knowledge of related areas, students design each of the following to
represent the Kingdom of Qin:

a flag

a badge

a logo, or a T-shirt.
5. 2D/3D Modeling
Students create replicas of some works of art based on those made during the Chinese Qin,
Han, Tang or Ming dynasty. It must be accompanied by a written note including the
following information:

the time it was first created

what was the function of it

approximate area of origin

how it was made (e.g. materials, tools, etc).
Examples: painting, calligraphy, pottery, ceramic painting, mask-making, toy-making, model
of ancient architecture, etc.
10
Cluster 4: Activities engaging body intelligence
1. Body sculpture
Recall two or three scenes from the visual resources. As a group, students act out the
scenes.
2. Chinese calligraphy
In groups of three, students to use Chinese brushes and ink and draw the chosen Chinese
characters (e.g. ‘the Great Wall’) using different colours to create a rainbow effect on a
piece of paper (see page 17). All group members must be engaged in the activity.
3. Performer
In groups, plan, rehearse and act out their understanding of two of the scenes for 60
seconds.

the Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his warrior

the officers and labourers at the construction site of the Great Wall

the child Emperor and his teacher.
4. Puppeteer
In groups, put together and rehearse a short silent puppet show using finger puppets or
paddle pop stick puppets, about an argument between the emperor and his assassin.
5. Sculptor
Make a model of three people of significance using clay, plasticine, pipe cleaners or other
materials.
11
Assessment
The Victorian Essential Learning Standards supports a combination of assessment
practices:
 assessment of learning (summative)
 assessment for learning (formative)
 assessment as learning (ongoing)
Domains/Dimensions
Assessment Focus
(Outline specific knowledge,
skills and behaviours that each
assessment task will focus on)
LOTE
Ability to
 communication in Chinese  recall the main points from
the spoken texts through oral
responses to questions
 order and present information
in a given format (diagram,
graph or chart)
 participation in oral
interaction on factual topics
using recycled or modelled
language and appropriate
pronunciation, tone and
intonation
 comprehend key points of
information when reading
short modified texts
 aware of context-sensitive
language use through
appropriate register, body
language and gestures.
 intercultural knowledge
and language awareness
 identify general cultural
patterns that flow across
specific settings
 understand some cultural
influences on the ways
people behave and use
language
 contributes to discussions
about the general concept of
culture and the relation of
cultures to each other
 demonstrates an awareness
of difference and similarity
between languages.
Assessment Tasks
(C: Cluster
A: Activity)
 C1A5
 C1A2, C1A3, C1A4, C1A6
 C2A1,
 C4A3-4
 C1A6
 C1A6, C1A7
 C1A1
 C1A2-7, C2A1, C4A3-4,
 C2A5
 C1A2-7, C2A1, C4A3-4,
12
Interpersonal Learning
 working in teams
Thinking Process
 reasoning, processing &
inquiry
 reflection, evaluation &
metacognition
Communication
 presentation
Ability to
 engage all team members in
group processes
 use strategies when creating
ideas and solving problems
 use strategies for motivating
group members and working
towards task completion
 able to evaluate group task
performance.
Ability to
 conduct information search
from varied sources
 discriminate the way they use
a variety of sources
 validate existing knowledge,
build ideas, make connections
and create new knowledge.
 C1A2 – A7, C2A1, C2A3
 C2A4, C2A6, C4A1-6
 C1A3, C1A4,
 all group tasks
 C1A1, C2A1
 C1A2
 C1A7, C2A3,
 analyse alternative
 C2A4, C2A5, C3A2,
perspectives and perceptions
 make informed decisions
 C2A4, C2A6,
based on their analysis.
Ability to
 experiment with different
presentation content and
form (the use of humour,
audio, etc)
 skill in identify specific
aspects of their own and
others’ work (expressive,
technical or aesthetic
qualities)
 commentary on the
effectiveness of strategies
used by others in developing
their presentations, and
suggestions for alternatives
 choice of appropriate
domain-specific vocab and
conventions for particular
tasks.
 C1A3, C1A6-7, C3A2-6, C4A1-6
 C1A3, C1A6-7, C3A2-6, C4A1-6
 C1A3, C1A6-7, C3A2-6, C4A1-6
 C1A3, C1A6-7, C3A2-6, C4A1-6
Key Features/Evidence
(State what key features of student performance teachers expect to see.)
At this chosen level, students are in year 9 and 10. Their progress should match the related
progression points 5 to 6 at the end of each semester. If a student’s performance matches a
progression point either higher or lower than the designated progression point, this student
in particular is either performing above or below the level required.
Below the Level
refer to progression points
below 5 of the related domains
At the Level
refer to progression points 5 to
6 of the related domains
Above the Level
refer to progression points 5.5
and above of the related
domains
13
Unit resources
List of resources
DVD
Mysteries of Asia - Secrets of The Great Wall and possible one of the films
The Emperor And His Shadow
The Emperor And The Assassin,
Fight And Love With A Terracotta Warrior,
Hero
Books
Tim McNeese The Great Wall of China
, Lucent Books, 1997.
Eleanor J. Hall Ancient Chinese Dynasties
, Lucent Books, 2000.
Software
Microsoft Word
PowerPoint
Flash
Movie Maker
Websites
At the time of publication the URLs (website addresses) cited were checked for accuracy and
appropriateness of content. However, due to the transient nature of material placed on the Internet,
Their continuing accuracy cannot be verified. Teachers are strongly advised to prepare their own
indexes of sites that are suitable and applicable to this unit of work, and to check these addresses
prior to allowing student access.
Chinese Cultural Studies
http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images.html#Archaeology
The Great Wall: A Virtual Tour
http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/greatwall.html
Asia For Educators
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/
Melbourne Museum
http:/melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au
Victorian Essential Learning Standard
For information regarding Level 6 standards
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au
Principles of Learning and Teaching
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/pedagogy/plt/index.htm
VCAA CSFII
http://csf.vcaa.vic.edu.au/home.htm
14
Teacher materials
Teaching and learning resource
This document provides information about teaching and learning strategies referred to in the
unit. It is available at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/teaching.html.
Assessment resource
This document provides information about assessment strategies referred to in the unit. It is
available at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/assessment_resource.html.
Student materials
A to Z (page 17)
Oh, I Know, I Know! (page 18)
My Secrete Messages (page 19)
My Calligraphy (page 20)
Using the student materials
The student and teacher support materials provided are designed to assist teachers in
guiding the learning process. These are available to download and modify.
15
Glossary of Vocabulary
1. the Great Wall:
长城
cháng chéng
2. Qin Dynasty:
秦朝
qín cháo
3. Han Dynasty:
汉朝
hàn cháo
4. emperor:
皇帝
huáng dì
5. nomadic tribe:
游牧 部落
yóu mù bùluò
6. mile:
英里
yīnglĭ
7. to protect:
保卫
băowèi
8. the Silk Road:
丝绸之路
sī chóu zhī lù
9. to unify:
统一
tŏng yī
10. cruel:
残酷
cán kù
11. why:
为什么 wèi shén me
12. how:
怎样
zĕn yang
13. terracotta warrior 兵马俑 bīng mă yŏng
14. assassin:
刺客
cì kè
15. army:
军队
jūn duì
16. weapon:
武器
wǔ qì
17. abacus:
算盘
suàn pán
18. strategy:
决策
jué cè
19. great:
伟大
wĕi dà
16
A To Z
Complete this task as per requirement set out in Cluster 1, Activity 2. Circle 20 of the most
important ones using coloured pens.
The Great Wall
The Silk Road
The Emperor Qin
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
17
Oh, I Know I Know!
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
18
My Secret Messages
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Messages of Other Groups
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
19
My Calligraphy
长 城
伟 大
* This is a sample only. Teacher may wish to choose their own characters. This
template can be made by following the procedures below in Microsoft Word:

create your own form with appropriate number of squares

add shade of light grey to the form by highlighting it first and then chose
borders and shade

write the characters in the squares, and change the character colour to white.
20