2014 Mao’s Communist China Lesson Plan
Dates:
Day One:
1.
Quiet Question: Type Two Prompt---You and your partner will be working with three primary
sources and use your Road to Communism Graphic Organizer Notes to analyze and explain
THREE different reasons as to why the Chinese peasants embraced Communism.
Reasons the Peasant Embraced Communism
Historical Evidence
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2)
Primary Source One: An excerpt written by Mao in a 1927 report to the Central Committee of China’s
Communist Party (CCP) about the peasant movement in the central province of Hunan. Mao notes
the tremendous potential power of the peasants to make revolution.
“ The present upsurge of the peasant movement is a colossal event. In a very short time, in China’s
central, southern, and northern provinces, several hundred million peasants will rise like a mighty
storm, like a hurricane, a force so swift and violent that no power, however great, will be able to hold
it back. They will smash all the shackles that bind them and rush forward along the road to liberation.
They will sweep all the imperialists, warlords, corrupt officials, local tyrants, and evil gentry into their
graves.”
“The main targets of attack by the peasants are the local tyrants, the evil gentry, and the lawless
landlords, but in passing they also hit out against patriarchal ideas and institutions, against corrupt
officials in the cities and against bad practices and customs in the rural areas.”
Primary Source Two: The following is a fable told by Mao in 1945.
“There is an ancient Chinese fable called ‘The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains.’ It tells
of an old man who lived in northern China long, long ago and was known as the Foolish Old Man of
North Mountain. His house faced south, and beyond his doorway stood the two great mountain
peaks, blocking the way. He called his sons, and hoe in had they began to dig up these mountains.
Another person from the village, known as Wise Old Man, saw them and said, ‘How silly of you to do
this! It is quite impossible for you to dig up these two huge mountains. ‘ The Foolish Old Man replied,
‘When I die, my sons will carry on, when they die, there will be my grandsons, and then their sons and
grandsons, and so on to infinity. High as they are, the mountains cannot grow any higher and with
every bit we dig, they will be that much lower, why can’t we clear them away?’ Having proved the
Wise Old Man’s view wrong, he went on digging every day, unshaken in his belief. God was moved by
this, and he sent down two angels, who carried the mountains away on their backs. Today, two big
mountains lie like a dead weight on the Chinese people. One is imperialism, the other is feudalism.
The Chinese Communist Party has long made up its mind to dig them up. We must work unceasingly,
and we, too, will touch God’s heart. Our God is none other than the masses of the Chinese people. If
they stand up and dig together with us, why can’t these two mountains be cleared away?”
Primary Source Three: Rules for Red Army---The Communist Party’s military forces were known as the
Red Army. Communist leaders enforced very strict discipline in their army. Here are some of the
rules for the Red Army soldiers:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Replace all doors when you leave a house.
Be courteous and polite to the people and help them when you can.
Return all borrowed articles.
Replaced all damaged articles.
Be honest in all transactions with the peasants.
Be sanitary, and, especially, establish latrines a safe distance from people’s houses.
2. Class: Have pairs share their reasons and create a class list on the board on the reasons the
working class people and peasants turned to Mao and the Communists instead of Chiang and
the Nationalists.
Class List:
3. Pairs/Triad: Formative Assessment---Mao Poster Project---You and your partner will be
assigned an aspect of Mao’s Communist China to research, take notes on, and create a poster
on to teach the class about your topic.
Resources:
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Textbook Pages: Great Leap Forward---pages 1012-103 and Cultural Revolution---page 1014
Two Supplemental Readings Uploaded on Ms. Barben’s Teacher Page
Several Powerpoints Uploaded on Ms. Barben’s Teacher Page
Poster Topics:
A. Political Approach: Mao’s Political Ideology, Red Guards, and Little Red Book
B. Economic Planning: First Five Year Plan and Second Five Year Plan known as Great Leap
Forward
C. Agricultural Reforms: Communes, Collectivization, Great Sparrow Campaign, and the Great
Famine
D. Industrialization: Expansion of Industries, Backyard Steel Campaign and Infrastructure
Improvements
E. Brainwashing and Attacks on Intellectuals: Thought Reform, Hundred Flowers Campaign,
Anti-Rightists and Forced Labor
F. Terror: Repression and Terror and Trials of Landlords
G. Mao’s New China: Cultural Revolution, Destroying the Four Olds, Socialists Education
Movement, and Sent-Down Youths
H. Propaganda: Censorship, Controlling the Arts and Media, Cult of Mao
Poster Requirements:
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At least ONE VISUAL PRIMARY SOURCE with caption identifying source and a well-developed
paragraph explaining how the source ties into the topic
At least ONE WRITTEN PRIMARY SOURCE with caption identifying source and a welldeveloped paragraph explaining how the source ties into the topic
Graphic Organizer Chart covering: Main Characteristics, Reasons/Causes, Historical Evidence
and Examples, and Effects/Impact
All written information should be typed.
The font should be Calibri, Bold, Size 16, and Single-Spaced.
The primary sources should be glued onto a construction paper backdrop to make it stand out
against the oaktag.
Supplemental One Pages for Topics:
A. Political Approach: Mao’s Political Ideology, Red Guards, and Little Red Book---page 1
B. Economic Planning: First Five Year Plan and Second Five Year Plan known as Great Leap
Forward---pages 6, pages 9-12, page 13
C. Agricultural Reforms: Communes, Collectivization, Great Sparrow Campaign, and the Great
Famine---pages 3-5, page 12
D. Industrialization: Expansion of Industries, Backyard Steel Campaign and Infrastructure
Improvements---page 10-11
E. Brainwashing and Attacks on Intellectuals: Thought Reform, Hundred Flowers Campaign,
Anti-Rightists and Forced Labor---page 1-2, page 7-8
F. Terror: Repression and Terror and Trials of Landlords
G. Mao’s New China: Cultural Revolution, Destroying the Four Olds, Socialists Education
Movement, and Sent-Down Youths---pages 14-17
H. Propaganda: Censorship, Controlling the Arts and Media, Cult of Mao
Supplemental Two Pages for Topics:
A. Political Approach: Mao’s Political Ideology, Red Guards, and Little Red Book---pages 15-16
B. Economic Planning: First Five Year Plan and Second Five Year Plan known as Great Leap
Forward---pages 3-4, pages 7-8
C. Agricultural Reforms: Communes, Collectivization, Great Sparrow Campaign, and the Great
Famine---pages 1-2
D. Industrialization: Expansion of Industries, Backyard Steel Campaign and Infrastructure
Improvements---page 3
E. Brainwashing and Attacks on Intellectuals: Thought Reform, Hundred Flowers Campaign,
Anti-Rightists and Forced Labor
F. Terror: Repression and Terror and Trials of Landlords
G. Mao’s New China: Cultural Revolution, Destroying the Four Olds, Socialists Education
Movement, and Sent-Down Youths---pages 9-11, pages 13-15, pages 17-18
H. Propaganda: Censorship, Controlling the Arts and Media, Cult of Mao---pages 5-6, pages 12-13
Chunking of Mao Poster Project:
Workday One and Homework:
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Break up into assigned partners.
Split the resources between the partners: Powerpoints, Supplemental Readings, Textbook.
Take notes in the provided graphic organizer on your assigned topics.
Days Two- Five
Workday Two and Homework:
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Partners share their research and add to graphic organizer notes.
Split up the Poster Tasks: Who is responsible for what?
o Visual Primary Source and Paragraph
o Written Primary Source and Paragraph
o Graphic Organizer Information
Do your parts.
Workday Three and Homework:
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Edit each other’s work.
Assemble the Mao Poster.
Be prepared to do oral presentation next class period with poster---10 minutes max per
presentation.
Presentation Day One:
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First four poster topics will present.
Class will fill in graphic organizer from presentations.
Presentation Day Two:
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Last four poster topics will present.
Class will fill in graphic organizer from presentations.