The following lesson plans will give the teacher an idea on how I plan to run the various “stops” along the route. The lessons that I plan for are forty-two minutes so it may seem too short if your school uses block scheduling. This section of the unit is focused on Beijing, China.
Sample Lesson Plan One-Arriving in Beijing
Objectives
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- Students will locate Beijing on the map
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- Students will map out train route from departure to Beijing on their own maps
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- Students will discuss what they think a “Forbidden City” looks like
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- Students will make predictions of who they will see/what they will find inside the Forbidden City
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- Students will locate the “Forbidden City” on a map of Beijing
Materials needed
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- Wall map, atlas, globe
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- Student travelogues
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- Magazines, pictures of Beijing and whatever else you have that will help students begin to see the city of Beijing.
Initiation
Finding Beijing-This section of the lessons will go best with a large wall map or globe. If you don’t have one of either use an atlas. Ask students who can find Beijing on the map that you are using in front of the class. Tell them they only have twenty seconds to find it. Call them up one at a time to try until someone gets it. Now ask them to find where Beijing would go on their maps. Ask the students to put their fingers on the maps in the spot where they think Beijing will be located. Check on where they have located Beijing.
Procedure
Once students have located and marked where they think Beijing will be located, review where other places are in relation to Beijing. Ask students to map a flight route from Hong Kong or Taiwan or wherever they decide they are flying in from. When everyone is done announce to the class “We have arrived in Beijing.” Have a brief discussion with students to see what they know about the City. (For example it is the capital of China, it has a population of 8 million, scene of the 1989 massacre at Tianamen Square.) Ask students if they know anything about the Forbidden City. Once the students have discussed what they think, ask them to write in their travelogues. Set up the scenario for them. They have just arrived. It is nighttime and they are tired. They go to the hotel, and like the awesome travelers they are, take the time to jot down their thoughts about where they are and where they are going. Remind them that tomorrow they will visit the Forbidden City. Let the students begin writing in class and finish for homework.
Closure
Allow students to share what they have written so far (including maps).
Sample Lesson Two-The Forbidden City
Objectives
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- Students will share journal entries/predictions on Forbidden City
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- Students will view parts of The Last Emperor
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- Students will comment on film in their journals through words and illustrations
Initiation
Quick write-Ask students to write down as many adjectives as they can to describe how they feel as they get ready to enter Beijing’s Forbidden City. Share the adjectives quickly and ask if anyone is interested in sharing what they wrote in their travelogues last night for homework.
Procedure
Before starting the film set the scene for the students. They are in the city now after a good night’s sleep in a hotel. They are getting ready to see the city and their first stop will be The Forbidden City. Give the students background on the city. National Geographic has a great issue in which the city is mapped out in relationship to the rest of Beijing. Remind students that the parts of the Forbidden City are now just one part of a much bigger metropolis, Beijing. Roll the film and enter the city with the children. What you really want to watch with the students is the magical part in the beginning of the film where the child emperor is greeted by thousands. It is a wonderful scene that students will enjoy. Other parts of the film reveal the beauty and magnificence of the city. Make sure you view and cue up the parts of the movie you want. There are some scenes that are inappropriate for younger audiences. After viewing ask students if it was what they expected. Get feedback from the students before once again setting the stage for their next journal entry. They spent the day in the “Forbidden City, they saw and heard many fascinating new things. Now is time for reflection what did they see, who did they meet? Have students illustrate their entries.
Closure
Ask students to look at their maps, mark the Forbidden City on their maps and look at how far they have come. Ask them what they would like to do tomorrow. Try to spark some interest in meeting some people in Beijing.
Sample Lesson Plan Three- Meeting the Poet
Objectives
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- Students will view a portrait of Li Pai
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- Students will read several poems written by Li Pai
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- Students will discuss their impressions of Li Pai
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- Students will make connections by writing poems similar to the style of Li Pai
Materials
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- Pictures of Beijing/people of Beijing and Li Pai
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- Li Pai Poetry
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- Student Travelogues
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- Clips from other films (include Beijing Bicycle/ Not One Less)
Initiation
At this point in the journey I like to show students more pictures of the people of Beijing and let them know that these are the people that they are meeting as they make their way through the streets of the city. Use clips of movies here to help place the students in the city. The last picture I will show them is that of the famous Chinese poet Li Pai. Since this journey is a fantasy I see nothing wrong with bringing the poet into the picture although he lived in the 8th Century (AD). Either Li Pai or his fellow poet, contemporary and friend, Wu Fu can be used in this section of the trip. They are both classic poets who traveled extensively throughout China in their day. Both had connections with the ruling courts of the day and both spent time in exile due to fighting and civil war. Ask the students what sort of man this Li Pai might have been.
Procedure
Once students’ interests in the poet have peaked, pass around some of Li Pai’s poems to be read in class. Rewi Alley’s book Li Pai has over two hundred poems in it. If that book is unavailable, any anthology of classical Chinese literature will surely have a section on the poet.
Many of Li Pai’s poems are short, easy to read commentaries on his travels and meeting with the people of his times. Use the poem “To My Distant Folk” in which the author misses a loved one “in thinking /of her, I become like a dropping/autumn leaf, my tears like white/dew falling on the moss beneath”4 to remind students that they too are far from home and may feel homesick. There are many poems written by Li Pai that lament on loved ones left behind. Among them are; “Farewell at Chingmen,” “Farewelling a Friend to Szechuan,” “Farewelling My Wife” and others. Have students read some of the poems in class and think about how Li Pai must have felt. Ask them to imagine how them might feel and have them write a poem to a loved one in their journal.
Closure
In this section of the lesson I will share my own poetry with students in hopes of helping them to feel comfortable writing their feelings in simple blank verse like the poems we read by Li Pai.
Sample Lesson Four-Saying Goodbye to Beijing
Objectives
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- Students will share ideas/new insights gained from stop in Beijing
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- Students will jot down unanswered questions to be revisited at end of journey
Materials
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- Journal entries
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- Maps
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- Illustrations and portraits
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- Chinese music (background)
Initiation
Quick Write-Ask students to jot down the one thing that made the most impression on them at this stop. Share ideas with class.
Procedure
This part of the unit, at the end of each stop, is meant to review and share what we have learned along the way. Students will sit in a circle on this day. Chinese folk music will play softly in the background and we will spend the period sharing. Students will be asked to share their feelings about what we have seen and heard in Beijing. Maps will be shown and discussed. Poetry, pictures, journal entries and observations will be shared. It is basically an open-ended discussion in which I hope that students will be able to display some new ideas, some shattering of stereotypes and some of their personal feelings.
Closure
At the end of the discussion I will ask students to jot down unanswered questions or feelings that they have as we pack up to head back on the train. One final farewell to Beijing as we continue on our wonderful journey.
