• How do the leadership and legacy of Emperor Qin and
Chairman Mao intersect with each other?
Lesson Procedure:
1. Begin class by asking students to name American
presidents or historical leaders that they hear about
most often. This could be done in small groups, with
each group creating its own list. Have groups share
their ideas and look for crossover. How many leaders
did every group list? (This could be adapted to fit your
current topic of study.)
Introduction:
2. Discuss the following:
a. What leadership qualities did these people display?
b. What legacy have they left?
c. Why do we remember Presidents Abraham Lincoln,
John F. Kennedy, George Washington, or FDR more
than Presidents Chester Arthur or Millard Fillmore?
d. What guiding principles shaped these people and
how did it affect their leadership and/or legacy?
e. How has our place in this world and our past
affected the way we view each of these people?
3. Watch the first 3:17 of Simon Sinek’s TED talk “How
Great Leaders Inspire Action.” (Depending on the level
of your students, you may have them watch the entire
talk before the start of class.)
4. Ask students:
Mao Zedong sitting. (Photo courtesy of “Quotations from Chairman Mao
Tse-Tung”)
Looking at Their Leadership: Comparing
Qin and Mao:
a. Do you agree or disagree that the “why” is more
important than the “how” or the “what”? Why?
How to Use These Activities
c. How is the “why” important for even “bad” leaders?
1 has students explore two schools of thought in China,
b. Think about the people you listed above. What is
the “why” for some of these people? How did this
help them to inspire action?
5. Show students the photo of the entrance to the
Forbidden City. Ask them for their observations about
the photo. Use this to help gauge how much they know
about China. For instance, do they know who is in the
portrait? Do they connect the ancient and modern in
this photo? Do they know what the Forbidden City is?
6. Based on student observations, ask some of the
following questions.
a. What might the placement of this photo say about
the leader in the photo?
b. Likewise, what might it say of his legacy?
c. What is the value of looking at both the ancient and
the modern in a country’s culture?
d. What questions do you have after seeing this photo?
46
NATIONAL HISTORY DAY 2015
While comparing the leadership qualities of Qin and Mao
could be difficult for students, the following activities allow
for a variety of learning opportunities and scaffolding that will
help students focus on specific aspects of each leader. Activity
Confucianism and Legalism, whereas Activities 2 and 3 require
students to apply these schools of thought to Qin and Mao.
While many historians feel that both Qin and Mao represent
some degree of Legalism, providing an opportunity for
students to explore Confucianism provides additional context
for their work. This is particularly important considering the
role that Confucianism has played in Chinese history.
Depending on the time available, it may be necessary to have
students work in groups and then come together as a whole
class to compare and contrast the two leaders in Activity 4. In
this case, Activity 1 could constitute small groups that focus
on either Confucianism or Legalism. From here, small groups
may be used to move through Activities 2 and 3, with groups