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 Chapter 9: A Surprising Day and A Little Bit
About China
In which Jimmy’s plan is thwarted and his enemy becomes his
friend…
Talking Points
1. Saving Face is not just an Eastern philosophy but it is very
much associated with it. It is a term for preserving honor,
preventing embarrassment. It can lead to behavior that might be
convoluted or indirect, as in the case of Jimmy’s wish to fight
Porter so that he doesn’t have to deal with the teasing that would
result from his conflict between violin and racing. Have your
students ever found themselves in a situation is which they felt
they had to save face?
2. Discuss the ancient-ness of Chinese civilization and compare it
to U.S. civilization which is barely 300 years old. Discuss other
cultures that have survived for hundreds of years: Aztec, Mayan,
Ancient Egypt.
3. Introduce the idea of overpopulation. Discuss the population of
China and the world. Are there too many people? What are the dangers
of such an enormous population? Is there a good way to regulate
population growth?
Activities
1. Write an essay, short story or play that illustrates the idea of
saving face. Perform the play for the class
2. Have your students research more inventions from China. Have each
group make a poster advertising one of them.
3. The Chinese are known for great feats of engineering. Have your
class name some others in addition to the Great Wall (The Grand
Canal, The Three Gorges Dam, The Railway at the Top of the World,
and the Road Up Mt. Everest). Then have your class build the Great
Wall. Click here for a lesson plan that will show you how to do this
project.
4. Play the Chair Game to give your students a concrete feeling for
overcrowding.
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/lessons/plan.php?no=67&era=&grade=&geo=
Websites to Extend Your Knowledge about…
… world population.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/.
…overpopulation:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/programs/3108_worldbal.html
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