Miao Minorities

Judy Beal

INTRODUCTION

This lesson will allow students to investigate the cultural aspects of the Miao Minority in Southeast China. Students should have previous knowledge of China's history and how/why minority groups were identified. A brief background page is provided for teachers. Students will then collect pictures from two identified web sites that reflect the Miao culture. Pictures will be presented in a created Publisher Brochure, where students will give a thumbprint observation of their cultural interpretation on each page. With brochure, students will meet in small group (maximum four) to find patterns in culture and work toward predicting the outcome of the Miao's future. From this graphic organizer, students will write a five paragraph reflective paper.

Grade Level: Middle School Grades 6-8

Time for Lesson: Five 110-minute classes (Humanities block class)

Course: Asian Cultures

Day One: Identify the cultural aspects of the Miao minority group, by capturing pictures from the web of
the Miao zu
Day Two: Create a Publisher brochure on the Miao Minority
Day Three: Continue work on brochure
Day Four: In groups of four, students will share observations from brochure, look for a pattern, and project
an outcome of what will become of the Miao minority in China.
Day Five: Write a reflective paper on you prediction. This may be extended into homework.

Determining the Goals

National Objective

Historical Understanding Standard and Benchmarks

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=3&StandardID=1

Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns
Understands patterns of change and continuity in the historical succession of related events

State Objective

2.1 Compare and contrast ideas in different places, time periods, and cultures, and examine the interrelationships between ideas, change, and conflict.
2.1.2 Explain the origin and historical context of major ideas of cultures and their impact on society.

Snoqualmie Valley School District Continuum

Analyze at least one major historical decision affecting an Asian culture and a Pacific Rim culture. Develop alternative decisions and project their possible outcomes.
Describe the cultural influences that affect the political structure of an Asian region from the past to the present.

Objectives

Students will learn background of why minorities were formed
Students will research the Miao minority
Students will create a Publisher brochure on Miao, reflecting their geography and customs
Students will work in small group to evaluate the collected information, look for patterns
Students will predict how the minorities will succeed in China
Students will write a response paper based on collected facts

Extension Activities

This lesson could be used to evaluate different minority groups in the world. In particular, for Pacific
Northwest Studies, Native American tribes of Pacific Northwest:

Snoqualmie Tribe

Minorities in Washington State History:

Chinese building the railroad
Black miners in Washington

Background Information

Joseph Stalin

Determined a minority group to have in common

common language
common culture with similar psychological base
common economic capitalist approach
common territory
Resource: Minglang Zhou, Defining Ethnicity in China Institute, July 19, 2002

Dr Sun Yet Sun

Saw China as a "Republic of Five Nationalities" (the five stars on the national flag of the People's Republic of China reflect this idea)
Resource: http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/minority/minority.html#ethnic

Chairman Mao

The idea of creating ethnic languages was first proposed by late Chairman Mao Zedong soon after New China was founded in 1949. Mao and other top Chinese leaders suggested written languages be created for those which had vocal ones in order to help preserve ethnic cultures and improve ethnic economic conditions.
Resource: http://www.edu.cn/20020319/3023011.shtml

What determines an ethnic group?

Distinct language

While hundreds of Chinese dialects are spoken across China, a minority language is not simply a dialect. Rather, it is a language with distinct grammatical and phonological differences from Chinese. Language families include Sino-Tibetan, Altaic, Indo-European, Austro-Asiatic, and Austronesian. Twenty-one ethnic minority groups have unique writing systems.

A Recognized Indigenous Homeland

A territory within the national boundaries of China, from which the group originated. Native history and mythologies are interwoven into this native land.

Distinctive Customs

Ranging from dress, marriage rituals, cuisine, religion, and so forth.

A Strong Sense of Identity

Feeling of relation with other members of the group, along with historically perceived friends and
enemies among other groups.

Resource:

http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/minority/minority.html#ethnic

Establishing the Procedure

Five Day Lesson Plan- for block classes of 110 minutes

Day One: (110 minute class time) Background Lecture on China's History and how minority groups
evolved.

Days Two and Three: In Computer Lab (each 110 minutes) Creating a Publisher brochure on the Miao
Minority.

Day Four: (110 minutes) In Classroom: Group of Four students will share information of their observations
from brochures, look for patterns in materials, project outcomes, record information on graphic organizer,
make prediction.

Day Five: (110 minutes) Based on information gathered on graphic organizer, each student writes a
reflective paper of what they Predict the Future of the Miao Minority Will Be.

Procedure

For Teacher:

Preparing for the Lesson
Students should already have background knowledge of China's history, especially the influential years of Joseph Stalin, the initial rule of Sun Yet Sun, Chiang Kai Shek, and finally Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution. This lesson is intended to build on previous knowledge. For resources, the two web sites indicated in Background Information can be used to reacquaint teacher with historical information.
Resources: http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/minority/minority.html

Computer Lab
Each student should have access to an individual computer in a lab environment with Publisher. It would be beneficial is a projection devise is available in lab so that teacher can model capturing picture from web and resizing into a Publisher brochure.
Attached templates should be saved on the school's server so that all students can access them.

Web sites for Miao
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/minority/miao.html
http://www.minzuexplorations.com/world.html
contacted: petnels@aol.com for photo permission

Steps for Brochure and Graphic Organizer

(You may use templates attached to lesson or format your own)

1. Open Publisher, select Wizard for Informational Brochure, and complete Wizard questions.
2. Once brochure is formatted, you can highlight area and delete. These formatted areas are now ready for your information.
3. Areas for focus in brochure: Geography (Villages), Customs (Music, Festivals, Markets, Food, Handiwork, Textiles, Weaving)
4. At the bottom of each fold, students will create a text box to create a thumbnail sketch that characterizes what you observe in pictures.
5. After brochures are made, students are put into groups of four
6. Using their observations from pictures, students will collect information for essay.
7. Students will look for patterns in pictures
8. Students will project and record patterns and observation on graphic organizer.
9. Students will make a prediction, based on observable facts, on the future of the Miao Minority.
10. Students will write a reflective essay based on their prediction.

Materials to be Xeroxed
Each student should have a hard copy of graphic organizer.

Assessments
Rubric for Publisher Document - attached
Rubric for Expository Writing - attached

Step Up to Writing 2nd Edition