1. 7th Grade UBD - Unit 4 - China

2. Preview
Economy and Government- China today mixes private enterprise with government ownership, but its government remains a dictatorship.
People in a Changing Environment- China is reshaping its environment as its population grows and economy develops.
Society and Culture- Although communism changed much in China, many traditions have survived.

3. Reach Into Your Background
Think about the ways in which your community has changed during your lifetime. What new highways and buildings have been built? Is there more traffic today? List all the changes you know about in your community. (5 minutes)

4. Partner Activity
Work with a neighbor and compare your answer with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different?
(3 minutes)

5. Key Ideas- Economy and Government
In the 1980s economic reforms spurred China’s rapid growth.
The Chinese Communist Party holds all real political power in China.
The explosive growth of Chinese industry has also created environmental concerns. Pollution has grown as factories send waste and smoke into the air and water.

6. Fast Facts China
China has the largest population in the world with 1.3 Billion people.
Beijing is the capital city of China.
China has a Communist government.
The most famous Communist leader in China was named Mao Tse-Tung.

7. Background Information
China’s push to become a modern, more open economy has been difficult for millions of Chinese workers.
Under Communist rule, factories were once secure in the knowledge that they had lifetime employment, but this is no longer the case.

8. Background Information
In the past few decades the government has ordered many formerly state-owned factories to become economically self-sufficient.
In China, few laid-off workers have pensions or health care benefits to ease retirement.

9. Develop a Modern Industry
The Chinese decided to do three major things:
Expand agricultural output.
Develop modern industries.
Improve Chinese science and technology.

10. Expanding Agricultural Output
The old government took over all the farmland in China and turned them into private farm communes.
Under the new government the land was still government- owned, but farm families lease the land and make decisions about what to grow and how much to sell.

11. Key Term
Commune- A rural community where village farmers work together and share equally what they produce.

12. Developing Modern Industry
China has forced governmental factories to become more efficient.
Managers became responsible for producing quality goods and making profit.
They allowed in some areas foreign businesses to open and permitted Chinese and foreign experts to work together.

13. Improving Science and Technology
China has sent thousands of students abroad to study advanced science and technology.
China today is a technologically advanced nation.

14. China and the World
China in the past has had a tough stand against democracy.
China today is an economic superpower and one of the United States’ largest trading partners.
China has a market-economy.

15. Key Term
Tariff- A tax placed on a product when it is imported into a country.

16. China Today Most people in China are farmers or factory workers.
Most Chinese people live along the eastern coast.
The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made structure in the world.

17. Key Ideas- People in a Changing Environment
Modern engineering and technology are helping China solve the many problems of an increasingly crowded society.
Because good farmland is scarce, the Chinese use intensive farming.
China’s huge population puts great pressures on its resources.

18. The Importance of China’s Rivers
Millions of Chinese live along the rivers in China. Rivers are important transportation systems for the country.
The rivers provide good soil for farming however, floods can cause tremendous damage.
Dams provide people with power and have been used to help control floods and assist in river navigation.

19. Eyewitness to History
Reading Handout- Eyewitness to History 10

20. Using Water for Power
Video- Using Water for Power

21. Using the Land
A large population needs large amounts of food. The government watches farming closely to avoid terrible famines.
China has a one-child policy to slow the population down.
The Chinese make the best use of limited land through intensive farming, double cropping, and aquaculture.

22. Key Term
Intensive Farming- Using all available fertile land for agriculture.

23. Key Term
Double Cropping- A method of maximizing limited farmland. Where the growing season is long, farmers plant a second crop between rows of the first crop.

24. Key Term
Aquaculture- Raising food products in water.

25. Environmental Impacts
Farmers use more chemicals to increase crop yields. All of this places more stress on China’s environment.
Clouds of polluted air hang over China’s cities. Its main source of energy is coal.

26. Environmental Impacts
China is second only to the United States in the emission of greenhouse gases.
The government has not enforced rules against pollution. Factories and people dump untreated wastes into nearby streams or rivers.

27. Questions Why are rivers important in China?
What source of energy pollutes so much of China?

28. Answers Why are rivers important in China?
China’s rivers provide a vast transportation and communication system. They also provide irrigation for cropland and are a resource that can be used to generate hydroelectric power.
What source of energy pollutes so much of China?
China’s main source of energy is coal. Coal smoke from homes and factories pollutes the air.

29. Key Ideas- Society and Culture
Despite the Communist revolution, old ways survive. Chinese life today often blends old and new ways.
In the arts and cooking, modern China has built on traditions.
China has made progress in educating its huge population.

30. Ancient China
China is well known for its early inventions like paper, gunpowder, fireworks, and the plow.
The most important trade route in the Ancient World was the Silk Road.
China’s long history is divided into dynasties.

31. Population
In China the total population is evenly split between rural and urban populations.
Cities attract large populations because they are centers of business and manufacturing.
Chinese cities have boomed as a result of China’s role as the key manufacturing center of the world.

32. Art and Culture
Museums around the world proudly display Chinese works of art. These include Chinese bronze objects more than 4,000 years old, hand painted scrolls of great beauty, or elegant porcelain vases. China’s art includes sculpture, painting, literature, and theater.

33. Culture
Confucius was a great philosopher, whose ideas changed Asia, even to this day.
The Chinese language is made up of characters called ideographs.

34. Education
Chinese students seem motivated to learn. Children attend school Monday through Friday and Saturday morning.
They learn reading, arithmetic, and science. They also learn politeness, discipline, and respect.

35. Education
After high school, students have to pass stiff three-day exams to get into college.
After completing university courses, the government assigns the graduates to jobs. Today, many prefer to begin working in private business.

36. Questions Why do cities in China attract large populations?
What do students in China study?

37. Answers Why do cities in China attract large populations?
Cities attract large populations because they are centers of business and manufacturing.
What do students in China study?
They learn reading, arithmetic, and science. They also learn politeness, discipline, and respect.

38. Establishing Modern China
Reading Handout- Establishing Modern China

39. Independent Activity
What has been the “muddiest” point so far in this lesson? That is, what topic remains the least clear to you? (4 minutes)

40. Partner Activity
Work with a neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)