UNIT FOUR
How the Other Half Lives

Unit 4 begins with readings and images that show how perceptions of Chinatown have changed over the years. Students also compare contemporary photographs of Chinatown and Washington Heights, and then investigate another neighborhood in the city.

ACTIVITY 1	How the Other Half Lives
ACTIVITY 2	The Gong Si Fong
ACTIVITY 3	"A Day Off"
ACTIVITY 4	Comparing Images
ACTIVITY 5	Comparing Neighborhoods

 

 

 

TIME FRAME:

Two weeks.

PRODUCTS AND ASSESSMENT:

Students' writing projects: Descriptions of a New York neighborhood. 

The project can include photography, videotapes, tape-recorded interviews, things purchased in the neighborhoods, etc. 

The reports should be presented to the class.  Students can work in pairs to do these projects and present them as a team.

READING

CHINATOWN
from How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis, 1890

READING

DESCRIPTION OF A GONG SI FONG
from The Chinese Americans by Milton Meltzer, 1980

READING

DESCRIPTION OF A GONG SI FONG
from Chinatown by Gwen Kinkead, 1992

READING

"A DAY OFF"
from Chinatown by Gwen Kinkead, 1992

DRAWING

CHINESE WORKINGMEN'S QUARTERS
from the Library of Congress

PHOTOS 6 and 7

STREETS, CHINATOWN AND WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, TODAY

PHOTOS 8 and 9

STOREFRONTS, CHINATOWN AND WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, TODAY

PHOTOS 10 and 11

VEGETABLE MARKETS, CHINATOWN AND WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, TODAY

PHOTOS 12 and 13

CAKES, CHINATOWN AND WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, TODAY

PHOTOS 14 and 15

STREETS, CHINATOWN AND WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, TODAY

WORKSHEET 4

FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS

WORKSHEET 5

OBSERVING A NEIGHBORHOOD