Chinese Women in America

1
Chinese Women in America

• By Andrea Zhuang, Matthew Isaacs, Michelle Pose,
  Pheng Vang, Youa Lor

2
Overview

• Grade Level High school Junior or Senior AP
  English class
• Purpose This lesson focuses on the history of
  Chinese Women in America between the 19th and
  20th centuries

3
Course Format

• 10 days, two weeks lesson
• 6 days of lecture/discussion, a movie day, a
  presentation day, a review day, and an exam day
• Unbound Voices-A Documentary History of Chinese
  Women in San Francisco, by Judy Young

4
Monday Lesson 1 Chinese Womens Immigration
History

• Objectives
• Understanding of the Chinese Exclusion Act of
  1882, Angel Island, coaching book, and
  Immigration Act of 1924
• In Class
• Lecture Format
• Discussion held at end talking about key
  concepts, in particular the interrogation process
  which many Asians immigrants had to endure to
  gain access to the US
• Homework Assignment
• Images of Women in Proverbs (Pages 103-112)
• Pick a few proverbs and prepared to discuss them
  in class.

5
Tuesday Lesson 2 Bound Feet Chinese Women in
the 19th Century

• Objectives
• See how Chinese women were represented in
  proverbs and discuss stereotypes of Chinese women
  in the past and present.
• In Class
• Break into small groups of about 4-5 students and
  discuss the proverbs each has chosen.
• Different and Inferior
• Subordinate Role in the Family
• Ideal Woman
• Women as Dangerous
• Homework Assignment
• Read Stain on the Flag (pages 124-143)
• Write a page response to the story.
• Assignment due tomorrow.

6
Wednesday Lesson 3 Movie Day

• Objectives
• Look at what were expected of Chinese women and
  how women fought the stereotype. Look at
  traditional Chinese women vs. more modern Chinese
  women and the decisions they have/had to make.
• In Class
• View Not Black or White (19 minutes)
  Director Anna Kang Producers Leilani Abad, Dean
  Yamada
• View Lotus (27 minutes) Director Arthur Dong
  Producers Arthur Dong Rebecca Soladay
• Assign Readings
• No More Footbinding (page 196-199)
• Story of Wong Ah So Experiences as a prostitute
  (page 203-210)
• Law Shee Lo, Model Wife Mother (page 213-223)

7
Thursday Lesson 4 Unbound Feet Chinese
Immigrant Women, 1902-1929

• Objectives
• To see how crucial some of the conditions were
  for Chinese women during this time period
• In class
• Quick Reflection
• History about Foot-binding
• Open discussion
• Compare contrast Wong Ah So Law Shee Low
  Stories
• Homework Assignment
• Manifestations of Modern Influences on Second
  Generation Chinese

8
Friday Lesson 5 - First Steps The Second
Generation, 1920s

• Objective
• Understand how second generation Chinese women
  are different from the first generation and how
  they were not able to fit into the community
• Employment Social Life
• Political Life Cultural Life
• In class
• Overview of Second generation
• Assign topics and help students prepare for their
  presentation - next class period
• Homework Assignment
• Be prepare to present their chosen topic
• Ethwl Lum, Social Worker Careful Planning
  Needed, (333-346)
• Sue Ko Lee 1938 National Dollar Store Strike It
  changed our lives, (387-407) Readings are due
  Tuesday!!!

9
Monday Lesson 6 - First Steps The Second
Generation, 1920s continues

• Objective
• Getting student to discuss a variety of topics
  about second generation Chinese Women
• In class
• Student presentation
• Discuss how to close the gap between first
  generation, second generation Chinese Women and
  the community
• Summarize the topic
• Homework Assignment
• Finishing reading assignments assigned on Friday

10
Tuesday Lesson 7 Long Strides The Great
Depression, 1930s

• Objective
• Teach students that the product of the Great
  depression and World War II had a lot of positive
  effects on Chinese American women
• Make students aware of the way in which Chinese
  American women became more active in getting
  their voice out and getting what they want.
• In class
• Show how the New Deal program President Roosevelt
  enforced had a lot to do with Chinese American
  activism.
• Homework Assignment
• Womens Role in the War of Resistance Everyone,
  Man and Woman, Has a Responsibility in the Rise
  and Fall of a Nation (pg 413-422)
• Lady Ping Yu on War Women Show Your Stuff (pg
  423-431)

11
Wednesday Lesson 8 In step The War Years,
1931-1945

• Objective
• Understand the effect that Chinese women sought
  through the boycott of Japanese silk stockings
• Understand womens role during WWII, in
  particular, they should understand Chinese
  American womens role and Second Sino-Japanese
  War
• In class
• Discussion will be held intermittently as
  questions arise and based on the key concepts to
  make certain that students grasp all key concepts

12
Thursday Lesson 9 Review

• Objective
• Make sure students understood and accomplished
  all the goals
• In class
• Guided discussions
• What forms of activism was mentioned in the
  readings, and what were the cause for such
  aggressive behavior by a traditionally passive
  group of people?
• Answer any questions students may still have
• Good Luck with your exam!!

13
Friday Test (D-day)

• Format ESSAY EXAM
• Answer 3 out of the 10 essay questions
• Time Approximately 50 minutes
• Enjoy your weekend!!! ?