Mao: Domestic Policies

Last week students learned about two of Mao's major domestic policies: The Antis Campaign and the 100 Flowers campaign. Students read a series of excerpts from Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang. See me if you need a reading.

Students also took a vocabulary quiz over terms for the unit on Mao. Students were given an assignment to creatively research one of Mao's domestic policies in greater detail.

Agenda 10/31:

1. Student discussion of reading about the Antis campaigns and the excesses of Mao.
2. Students read a series of sources about the Cultural Revolution [see below]. They started with an excerpt from Red Azalea by Anchee Min. In pairs they wrote a short dialogue focusing on one part of the excerpt.

DUE: Domestic Policies Creative Research 11/2

The 100 Flowers and Antis Campaigns:

The Cultural Revolution:

Mao: The Commune and Great Leap Forward

Agenda 10/18-20:

1. Students participated in a simulation of the collectivization of agriculture led by Mao.
2. Students listened to a podcast and took drawing notes about life in China during this period - inside and out of the commune.

The Great Leap Forward:

Mao: The Commune and Great Leap Forward

Agenda 10/18:

1. Students participated in a simulation of the collectivization of agriculture led by Mao.
2. Students listened to a podcast and took drawing notes about life in China during this period - inside and out of the commune.

The Great Leap Forward:

Pre-Revolution Conditions in China

Agenda 10/12:

1. Students reviewed the reading questions from 5.1 in the Pearson text [below]. These answers can be turned in for credit.

• What was Mao’s background and why is it significant?
• What was happening in China between the fall of the Qing dynasty and 1928?
• The CPC and the GMD fought both as allies, in a “marriage of convenience” and as enemies. Identify reasons for and explain the shifting relationship from the 1920s until the Communist victory in 1949.
• Make a t-chart. Title it “GMD weaknesses | CPC Strengths”. Complete the chart considering events from the Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.

1. Students looked at the sample IB essay with examiner notes on page 155 of Pearson.
2. I reviewed major strengths and weaknesses of the Communists (CPC) and Nationalists (GMD).

DUE:

Great Terror / Show Trial Creative Interpretations

Stalin Quiz and Intro to Mao

Agenda 10/10:

1. Students took the quiz over Stalin.
2. Students read Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of Stalin's purges and cult of personality.
3. I gave a brief lecture on China before the era of the Communist Revolution (Pearson 5.1).

Stalin: WWII

Agenda 9/22-25:

1. I reviewed the Great Terror and explanations for the Purges including: 
• Necessary to deal with anti-Bolshevik threat
• Done to divert attention from failings of economic plans (later 5 years plans)
• Done to root out opposition to his power
• Pacify the population
2. Students listened to a podcast about Stalin and took notes using this worksheet.
3. Students watched parts of Declassified: Stalin [below].
4. I gave a brief lecture about the involvement of the USSR in WWII (this can be found in Pearson 4.4).
5. Students read a speech given by Nikita Khrushchev condemning Stalin. Students then analyzed the document using an OPCVL protocol.

DUE:

Great Terror: Show Your Knowledge - Now
Quiz - Monday 10/2

Declassified: Stalin

Podcast:

Stalin: Domestic Policies and the Great Terror

Agenda 9/30:

1. Students finished presenting about different domestic policies under Stalin. They used Pearson chpater 4.2 for this.
2. Students completed a reading and discussion about the Great Terror and discussed the question, "Stalin orchestrated the purges to make the USSR stronger."

DUE: Stalin QUIZ - Thursday 10/6

The Great Terror: