Term 4

During this unit of study, students will explore the wide and varied continent of Asia, exploring questions of geography, culture, and philosophy.

In-class Activities

In an introductory lesson students will be asked:

• Where is Asia?
• Which countries make up Asia?
• What defines Asia?

They will demonstrate their geography skills by mapping the Asian continent, reinforcing the geography work from the previous term unit.

Philosophy

Taking a philosophical approach to learning and using some of the strategies from Philosophy for Kids, students will consider the important questions:

• What is the difference between ‘East’ and ‘West’?
• How ‘westernised’ is Asia?
• What do we mean by ‘westernised’?

Sample Country Study

Once these important concepts underpinning an understanding of Asia have been explored in class, students will have a sample study of a particular Asian country modelled by their teacher. This might, for example, be a brief introduction to Indonesia. The class will look at why Indonesia is important to Australia and consider some of important the facts about the country. During this exploration they would discover that Indonesia is one of our nearest neighbours, it has the largest Muslim population outside of the Middle East, there is a vast store of resources (oil) in the Timor Sea currently being drilled by BHP, and the current Australian government is considering Indonesia as a potential site for a regional processing centre for asylum seekers.

Asia’s Role in the Global Economy

As students become familiar with their sample country, they will then consider an important 21^st Century question: What role does Asia play in the global economy?

With so much of our Australian economy dependent on our trade relationships with Asia, students will consider:

• Why Asia is an attractive place for businesses to move to.
• How Asian workers are impacted, positively and negatively, by the global corporations who move there.
• What our role (as consumers) might be in the exploitation of Asian workers.

Students will produce a written piece, a discussion article that looks at a small aspect of the economics of consumer culture and examines some of the history of workforce practices in emerging Asian economies. The piece will refer to student’s existing knowledge and the information contained in the readings provided in class.

Discussion points for the written work:

• What do the articles suggest is happening to workers in factories in Asia? Refer to quotes from the reading(s) to support your ideas.
• What do you think is a fair way to treat workers? How would you like to be treated by your boss?
• Do you think workers in Asia exploited (treated unfairly) by multinational corporations?
• What evidence have you found to suggest this is the case? Refer to quotes from the reading(s) to support your ideas and to any additional research you have done.
• Would you buy an iPad, a pair of Nike’s or accept a McDonald’s toy if they were made by exploited workers? Why or why not?

What else can we learn about Asia through its wide and varied culture?

Students will participate in a series of short introductory lessons and shared instruction on a wide range of topics. Students will be offered a choice of assessment options and learning methods and may chose to study any of the following topics:

Religion and Philosophy

•Asian religions: Shinto, Buddhism,

•Asian philosophies: Confucianism

•Asian folktales: see Romances of Old Japan book for samples

Art and Culture

•Japanese Anime

•Wayang Kulit (Indonesian puppet theatre)

•Chinese Opera

•Chinese Youth Art

•Body art

Games and Family

•Go

•Chinese Checkers

•Mahjong

Additional topics -

•Vending Machines in Japan

•Outsourcing of jobs: India/China

•Wars: Japan – Hiroshima & Nagasaki; Cambodia; Korea; Vietnam

Online Learning Options

How can we learn about Asia from a sporting event?

Students may participate in the Asian Games web quest: an intense navigation of one website http://www.gz2010.cn/en/

Students answer the questions posted on the web quest page (also available on the class wiki) and try to earn as many points as possible -  a total of 180 points is available  –  but will take a while!

Edo Japan – site navigation

Students may investigate additional historical information about old Japan (Edo was the old name for Tokyo) by following the map on the Edo website

The site has folktales, historical information and traditional Japanese images.