Student Activity 1: Making A Freehand Map

Introductory Activity

This activity is designed to provide geographical information for students on China as they read the novel, The Joy Luck Club.  It is a first step in a unit which, if completed, will provide valuable understanding about China's diverse terrain and the different locations mentioned in the novel.

Students will find a map of China on the Internet and draw a freehand map of China.  They will then locate the cities/towns/provinces/lakes/etc. (listed below) in China and insert these designated sites onto their freehand maps.  Locating some of these sites will be challenging since the list identifies the places as they were spelled during the 1940's and earlier; later spellings of the names are similar to the original, but "p's" and b"s" are sometimes reversed, as are "k's"and "g's," and "ch's" and "sh's" and "zh's," etc.  On the following list of places to locate and place on the freehand-drawn maps, the first two towns' newer names are in parentheses.

1.  Kweilin  (Guilin)                                   14.  Tientsin
2.  Chungking (Chongking)                        15.  Fukien
3.  Shanghai                                            16.  Shantung
4.  Canton                                               17.  Changsha
5.  Burma (neighboring country)                18.  Toishan
6.  Nanking                                              19.  Tsinan
7.  Hangzhou                                            20.  Shenzhen
8.  Ningbo                                                21.  Haiphong
9.  the Fen River                                      22.  Kwangsi Province
10. Wushi                                                23.  Wuchang 
11. Shansi Province                                  24.  Tai Lake
12. Peking (Beijing)                                  25.  Kunming
13. Hong Kong

Students should keep their maps and refer to them as they read The Joy Luck Club and encounter the names of the places where the characters lived and visited.

Use the following web sites to help you:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/china.html#country.html

http://www.reliefweb.int/mapc/asi_chn/cnt/china_mg.html (Map of China that shows cities and rivers)
 
 

 Student Activities 2 and 3: Writing News Articles

Enabling Activity 1

This activity is designed to provide cultural information for students on China as they read the novel, The Joy Luck Club.  It  will provide valuable understanding about China and its diverse backgrounds, some of its influences on the world, and challenges it faces.

Students will learn more about China's culture as they use search engines to explore the Internet and find the answers to the following questions.  Students should each then write a news article relating to one of the areas about which information was found.

1.   On which continent is China located?
2.   List the eleven countries which border China.
3.   What do the Chinese call their country (a word which means "middle  country")?
4.   What is the capital of China?
5.   How many square miles does China cover?
6.   List the four largest cities in China.
7.   How many people (approximately) live in China today?
8.   On what is China's economy primarily based?
9.   Though religion is discouraged by the government, it has played an important part in
         traditional chinese life.  List three major religions of the Chinese.
10.  The most respected and influential philosopher in Chinese history stressed the need to
         develop moral character.  Who was he?
11.  Name one "medical" procedure which originated in China but is being practiced in 
         America today.
12.  List two to three extremely popular and traditional exports from China.
13.  Describe the Cultural Revolution in China.  How might it have influenced the name
         changes of China's cities and towns, etc.?
 

Enabling Activity 2

This activity is designed to make students aware of the challenges early Chinese immigrants faced coming to California during the mid to late 1800's. Students will also learn how the Chinese influenced California history and terrain.  Some students living near Sacramento, California, may be surprised to find out how closely they have been living to early Chinese history of which they have been unaware.

Students are to use the Internet and find the answers to the following questions.  They should each then write a news article relating to one of the areas discussed.

1.  Find out why Chinese immigrants originally came to California in the mid 1800's.
2.  For what purpose did Congress pass the Foreign Miners License Law of 1850?
3.  In California, early Chinese immigrants provided labor for many projects.  Name at least
       three major projects or uses for their labor.
4.  The Chinese worked with the Irish in providing labor for which major railroad project?
5.  Once the railroad (answer to #4) was completed in 1869, the Chinese were then hired at
       $1.00 a day to build which major project along the Delta area of the Sacramento River?
6.  The West's only all-Chinese town is a small town fairly close to Sacramento, California.
       What is its name?  (Note: This is NOT Chinatown of San Francisco.)
7.  Only a mile down river from (answer to #6) is another town that once held a high popula-
       tion of Chinese.  What is its name?
8.  One famous Chinese entrepreneur of Sacramento came to California to look for his father.
       He lived in the catacombs beneath Sacramento while working as a dishwasher.  He is
       commonly referred to as the second governor of California.  A famous restaurant in Old
       Sacramento bears this man's name, and his family has opened other restaurants using
       the family's name.  Who was this? 

Use the following web sites to help you answer the above questions:

1.  http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views3.htm

2.  http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/locke/locke.htm

3.  http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/locke/losetting.htm

4.  http://www.locketown.com

5.  http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views3h.htm

6. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views3g.htm 

7.  http://www.fatsrestaurants.com/calfats/index.html
 
 
 

Student Activity 4: Writing An Expository Essay

Culminating Activity

The novel, The Joy Luck Club, takes place in two countries--China and the United States.  The action in San Francisco, California, primarily occurs in modern-day times.  The action in China, however, occurs over three periods of time: (1) when the mothers are children (somewhere around the years 1912-1920), (2) just prior to or during World War II, and (3) during modern-day times (within the past 20-30 years).  While most students are familiar with United States and California history, they are not nearly as familiar with some of the events that occurred in China during World War II.  By exploring information on the Internet, students will understand how the Chinese--including the mothers in the The Joy Luck Club before they immigrated to the United States--were affected by wartime occurrences. 

Students will use the web sites listed below to find the answers for the following:
           1.  Identify China's political position during World War II.
           2.  Identify several ways in which people in China were mistreated by the Japanese
                   during World War II.
           3.  Analyze why many people--including the mothers in the novel, The Joy Luck
            Club--left China following World War II.

Students will each then write an expository essay which explores the difficulties of the Chinese people during World War II and speculates on the varied reasons why the mothers from the The Joy Luck Club left China after the war, immigrating to the United States.

Use the following web sites to help you follow the above directions:

1.  http://www.ucalgary.ca/~jhkeong/alpha_ww2_wu.html

2.  http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~dyue/wiihist/njmassac/purge.htm

3.  http://www.centurychina.com/wiihist/reference/index.html
 
 

     Students in grades 9 and 10 will use Writing Strategies 1.5 and Writing Applications 2.3.
 
 

RosevilleHigh School
Bev Brenneise
601 Tahoe Ave., Roseville, CA 95678
bbrenneise@rjuhsd.k12.ca.us
Last Revised: 05/02/2001