College Prep (CP) Asian Studies (Period 1)

Asian Studies is a one semester, multi-disciplinary, survey-style elective designed for students wanting to learn about Asia, Asians, and Asian Americans.

Course Content:
The course is divided into six units:
1. Asian Geography
2. Asian History
3. Asian Religions
4. Asian Literature
5. Asian Culture
6. Asian Americans

What’s to be Graded:
• Six Unit Exams - 300 points approximately
• Pop Quizzs - 100 points approximately)
• Homework Assignments - 100 points approximately
• Projects & Presentations - 100 points approximately
• Class Participation - 100 points approximately
• Semester Final Exam - 200 points

1000 Points Approximately

Grading Policy
90% - 100% = A
80% - 89% = B
70% - 79% = C
59% - 70% = D

ESLR’s Addressed by Curriculum:
• Civic Responsibility
• Technological Proficiency
• Post Secondary Preparation
• Critical Thinking

Prerequisites:
Students are required to have completed the World History course with a grade of C or better.

Textbook:
No specific textbook is available for this class. Students will however read a variety of articles selected from various sources.

Assignment Sampler:
The following consists of a sampling of the assignments students will be expected to complete in this class.

• Critical Issue Assignment #1 - Feeding a Hungry World: Via an in-class simulation students will learn about the diversity of rice culture and rice-based farming systems in Asia and the Pacific. Students will focus on six rice-producing countries: Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, and Thailand.

• Critical Issues Assignment #2 – Central Asia: Promise or Peril: Via a second in-class simulation, students will learn about the perils and promise of Central Asia - a major exporter of oil and natural gas and which, while it has great potential for wealth, still contains the poorest people in the world.

• Critical Issues Assignment #3 – The Asian Aquaculture Industry: Via a third in-class simulation, students will learn about the concept of fish production, explore the effects of fish production on the natural environment, specifically on coastal and ocean ecosystems, and then decide on ways to sustain and expand the aquaculture industry without causing undo damage to the environment.

• Technological Proficiency Assignment #1 – Asian Studies Studies in the News: Students will use their word processing skills to create a newsletter designed to inform the public about various Asian Studies class highlights, field trips, and other matters of interest.

• Technological Proficiency Assignment #2 – California’s Gold: As a class, students will produce a “knock-off” off Huell Howser’s California’s Gold, the purpose of the “knock-off being to better educate this country’s public television viewership to the Asian influence here in the state of California.

• Cooperative Learning Assignment #1 – Slide Show Presentation: In small groups, students will create a slide show presentation on a topic related to the Asian American experience and for use in the SMHS US History classes. (For Fall ’08, the slideshow topic will be “The US Supreme Court case of People v. Korematsu.”)

• Problem Solving Assignment #1 – Educating the Educators: As a class, students will produce a multi-paged “informational” designed to educate this high school’s administrators, faculty, parents, and staff to all things Asian.

• Oral Communication Assignment #1 – What is Asial: Students will give a no more than three minute “lecture” on the topic of what is Asia.

Films/Videos Sampler:
The following consists of a sampling of the films/videos students will be given an opportunity to watch in this class

• The Great Panda: Get up close and personal with Xiao Lei Lei and her friends, the world's most adorable panda cubs. Ultimate Pandas features over 90 minutes of panda watching. The video wasn't shot in a zoo, but in China's premier panda preserve where the stars of the show are four rambunctious panda cubs who love to roam around and get into mischief together. Shot by Gerry Ellis, an eminent wildlife photographer, his up-close-and-personal shooting style makes you feel like you're right there watching the cubs for yourself.

• Street Children in Mongolia: Richard Gere reviews the plight of street children in Ulanbaatar and other cities in this remote country between China and Russia.

• Girls Education in India: Travel to India with Brazilian-born actress Sonia Braga, who explores how girls are typically educated in this largely Hindu country.

• Landmines in Cambodia: Suk Ratha remembers only the deafening explosion that changed her life forever. Mon Man lost his leg while picking vegetables. Actor Laurence Fishburne tells their stories and others.

• 1421: The Year China Discovered America: Did Chinese sailors under legendary admiral Zheng He reach America before Columbus, and circumnavigate the globe ahead of Magellan? Based on the book by retired British naval officer Gavin Menzies, this special examines his hotly debated work to evaluate his theory. Viewers can judge for themselves whether or not the story of world exploration demands a rewrite in light of Menzies’ theory and the evidence he adduces. Closed captioned. Color. 113 minutes. PBS. ©2004.

• The First Emperor of China: Made by the National Film Board of Canada for IMAX theaters, this lavishly mounted 1989 dramatization with documentary footage chronicles the glory and terror of the Qin Dynasty and the accomplishments of Emperor Qin Shihuang who unified China more than 2200 years ago. Under Qin's rule, construction began on the Great Wall, and his elaborate tomb with its guard of terra-cotta warriors was completed. Features include subtitles, chapter selection, and narration in English, French, Spanish, or Indonesian. Grades 6 and up. Closed-captioned. Color. 40 minutes.

• China Rises: How does a country with thousands of years of tradition transform itself in a matter of a few decades into a 21st-century superpower? Four programs explore China's growing pains. Getting Rich exposes how scrapping collectivism and embracing private enterprise is creating wealth-and poverty. City of Dreams focuses on Shanghai's redevelopment as a case study in the creation of wealth and poverty. Food Is Heaven assesses the nation's ability to feed itself. Party Games uses Beijing's preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as a yardstick for China's progress. Grades 9–12. Color. Total time: approximately 210 minutes. Discovery Channel School. ©2006.

• Islam: Empire of Faith: From Muhammad to Suleyman, this epic history covers a thousand years of Islam. Produced and directed by Robert Gardner and narrated by Ben Kingsley, the film was made on Mideastern locations with an extensive cast and crew. The production reenacts historical events, presents comments by noted scholars, and provides a dazzling display of Islamic architecture and art. An ideal backup for textbooks and other resources, this content-rich program offers abundant ideas for doing reports or research. DVD special features: a making-of documentary and a tour of ancient Islamic architecture. In addition, the companion Web site has five fully developed lesson plans with time-codes for program segments, an interactive timeline, a bibliography, a glossary section, and production notes. Grades 7 and up. Closed captioned. Color. 163 minutes. PBS. ©2000.

• First Farmers: The People of West Asia and the Origins of Civilization: Follow the shift from tenuous nomadic survival to more settled farming cultures. Reenactments show how the Natufians survived harsh climatic conditions to establish large communities and develop agricultural techniques that eventually spread across the Middle East.

• Manzanar: California’s Gold with Huell Howser: Former residents of Manzanar who built the camp show Huell their names etched into the camp’s concrete foundations. Also, Huell examines the homemade box camera secretly used by Toyo Miyatake to take 15,000 photographs documenting camp life. Includes some of Miyatake’s most famous images. Color. 30 minutes. Huell Howser Productions/KCET.

• Angel Island: California’s Gold with Huell Howser: Important to the Miwok, to Spanish explorers, and—from 1910 to 1941—important as "the Plymouth Rock for Asians," this island in San Francisco Bay reveals its story to Huell as he tours barracks and interviews children of immigrants. He also investigates the island's intriguing military history, symbolized by wooden buildings from the Civil War and Nike missile launch pads from the Cold War.

• Beyond Our Borders (Japan, Philipines, Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia): Deftly mixing history, geography, and cultural information, these programs provide essential facts about the countries of the world listed in the title. Overviews feature clear, unaccented narration, onscreen graphics for place names and important terms, maps to convey geographic knowledge, abundant location filming, appropriate background music, and literary quotes. A one-page teacher's guide included with each program provides a synopsis, learning objectives, vocabulary, discussion questions, and extension activities. Grades 6 and up. Color. Approximately 30 minutes each. New Dimension Media. ©2005–06.QS2

Extra Credit Sampler
The following consists of a sampling of the extra credit opportunities students in this class will have. To earn the extra credit points students will need to:

• Take a field trip to San Francisco to learn more about the Chinese American Experience (trip to include visit to Angel Island, the Yerba Buena Gardens, the Asian Art Museum, and the Chinese Historical Society, etc)

• Assume that they have been hired by the Asian Cooking Channel and then educate and/or instruct other students in the class on how to prepare, and if need be cook, one or more Asian food items.

8/28/09