Economics: Great Leap Forward vs. SEZs

Economics Lesson:
China’s Great Leap Forward vs. Special Economic Zones

Objectives: Students will study the differences between communism and capitalism through an examination of two famous and very different attempts at economic modernization in China. The focus of the lesson is a contrast between the Great Leap Forward and Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

CALIFORNIA ECONOMIC CONTENT STANDARDS:
12.1 Students understand common economic terms and concepts and economic reasoning.
12.2 Students analyze the elements of America’s market economy in a global setting.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY
RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
RH.11-12.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Continuum: This lesson will fall between a lesson contrasting Command and Market economies, and a lesson on mixed economies.

· This lesson will take 3-4 class periods depending on level of students.

Day 1: Great Leap Forward
· Students will watch video: Great Leap Forward Summary (6 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbB3cmgPmo
· Students will close read “China's Great Famine: the true story,” answering 3 sets of questions on each consecutive read.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/01/china-great-famine-book-tombstone

Close Read Questions #1
1. Who is Yang Jisheng?
2. What year did the Communists take power in China?
3. What was the officials’ response to the head of the production brigade?
4. How many people does Yang believe died in the famine?
5. What is the name of Yang’s book?
Close Read Questions #2
1. Why did Yang feel the deaths were personal tragedies and not the fault of the government when he was 18?
2. How did Yang get access to official records to write his book?
3. How does the Communist party view the famine?
4. What is the official death toll of the famine?
5. What role did Mao play in the famine according to Yang?
Close Read Questions #3
1. Describe the famine that resulted from the Great Leap Forward, use details from the article.
2. Why do you think the Communist Party still refuses to take responsibility in the famine?
3. What makes Yang’s book so important to China and the rest of the world?
4. How was the Great Leap Forward possible in a command economy?

Day 2-3: Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
· Students will watch video: Special Economic Zones in China (2 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND_Y4hfkesA
· Students will watch video: Econ 1.6- Economic Systems: Why is Communist China doing so well? (4 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPpmAUk1olA
· Students will read “The Development of China’s Special Economic Zones,” answering 3 sets of questions on each consecutive read.
http://internshipschina.com/development-chinas-special-economic-zones/

Close Read Questions #1
1. What is a SEZ?
2. What is a Free Trade Zone (FTZ)?
3. What are Economic and Technological Development Zones (ETDZs)?
4. How do SEZs attract foreign investment?
Close Read Questions #2
1. What city will be the trial for FTZs?
2. How have SEZs opened China to ideas inherent with capitalism and the relaxation of government economic controls?
3. What kind of incentives are SEZs given in China?
Close Read Questions #3
1. How have SEZs acted as windows to foreign investment in China?
2. Describe how SEZs have acted as “radiators” to accelerated inland economic development?
3. Does the development of SEZs and FTZs mean China is no longer Communist? Explain?
Jigsaw activity: Students will get into groups and research one of the following SEZs: Shantou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen, Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Nantong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, and Beihai.
Groups will become “experts on their SEZ and present their findings to the rest of the class. Information must include:
· Location on map of China
· Type of industries promoted
· Incentives given to foreign investors
· Effect of SEZ on local economy
Day 4: Assessment
Students will write a short essay with the following prompt: How did the Great Leap Forward affect economic policy in China?