The Sparrow Girl

In 1958, China’s Chairman Mao declared war on sparrows.  This was part of his "Four Pests" campaign.  He blamed them for devouring the nation’s wheat crop, and he required all citizens, armed with pots and pans and firecrackers, to take to the streets and literally scare the birds to death.  The “war” was a success insofar as the sparrows were eradicated.  However, Mao did not think through the ecological ramifications of his actions.  Having disrupted the food chain, these actions brought on a plague of locusts and a three-year famine that resulted in the deaths of almost 40 million Chinese. 

In this story, Sara Pennypacker uses these events as the backdrop for her fictional story about Ming-Li.  This small, seemingly “insignificant” girl feel badly for the sparrows under attack.  She secretly decides to disobey her leader, and rescues seven birds as they fall from the sky.  She nurses them back to health for several months, hiding them in a barn.   Finally, she finds the bravery to show these illegal birds to the farmers, whose crops are now suffering.  The book shows how one person, no matter how small, can make a difference.

In class discussion, we talked about cause and effect.  This story is the perfect example of C/E.

Social Studies connections

 Watch:

Students gave examples of peer pressure in their lives.  We discussed:

• why many people conform to certain behaviors
• how conformity or peer pressure among adults differs from peer pressure among children
• whether it's human nature to conform
• how television and advertisements try to encourage certain behavior

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4srwSkD05ws&safe=active

 Discuss:  What were the Chinese government's strategies to promote conformity among young people?


Science connections

• Students researched and drew the food chain of a sparrow. Then they researched the food chain of another animal of their choosing
• After researching this second animal, students tried to imagine it taken out of the environment.  What could the impact be?
• Their findings culminate in the writing of a letter to the government.  They were to imagine our government declaring war on a perceived pest.  Students wrote to advise the government to be careful and consider the food chain – cause and effect
• Some examples included:
• Bees: they pollinate almost all vegetables and fruits.  Just because they sting does not mean they are undesirable.  Without them, we might not have food!
• Bats: they fly around and some people are scared of them, but they eat huge amounts of insects.  Without them, they would be lots of insects and probably disease as well!
• Flies: their larvae (maggots) eat dead things.  Without them, disease could spread because dead bodies would be left lying around, not decomposing.