This document describes a lesson plan for teaching high school students about China's Zhou Dynasty. Students will study historical texts and Sun Tzu's The Art of War. They will then complete a project analyzing a current political figure using principles from The Art of War. The teacher provides two example projects: a video critically analyzing Trump's views on ISIS, and a fictional interview between Sun Tzu and Trump on defeating ISIS. Students will be evaluated on collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and media literacy. The teacher reflects on learning to develop digital lesson examples.

1. Running head: THE ART OF WAR 1
The Art of War: A Lesson in Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Collaboration
Andrew J. Wassel
American College of Education

2. THE ART OF WAR 2
The Art of War: A Lesson in Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Collaboration
In this paper, I present two, multi-modal lesson examples for a World History unit on
China’s Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.) to illustrate how students could incorporate various
modes (e.g., images, music, writing, speech) into their projects. In part one, I describe the
content area, corresponding state standards, and anchor text for the unit. In part two, I discuss the
21st century skills (e.g., collaboration, communication, information literacy) students will
exercise as they develop their projects. In part three, I explain how I will integrate critical
thinking and the Taoist school of thought to enhance student learning. I provide two lesson
examples in part five; in the first example, I create a video, critically evaluating Mr. Donald
Trump’s position on the Islamic State. In the second example, I create a fictional interview
between Master Sun Tzu and Mr. Trump consisting of a transcript with voice recording. Finally,
I reflect on my experience creating these lesson examples in part six.
Part 1: Content Area
Students will study the fall of China’s Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.), China’s Warring
States Period (475-221 B.C.), and the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty (221-206
B.C.). These content areas correspond with the Indiana Department of Education World History
standards: 1.4, 2.12, and 2.13 (2014). After my students establish this knowledge base, I will
provide them with a supplemental text, The Art of War, written by the Chinese strategist and
tactician, Sun Tzu (544-496 B.C.). Students will skim the Translator’s Introduction (p. 5-39) and
study the chapters on Strategic Assessments, Doing Battle, and Planning a Siege (p. 40-86). They
will create multimodal projects examining the influence of Sun Tzu’s teachings.

3. THE ART OF WAR 3
Part 2: Content Layers
Students will exercise several 21st Century Skills during this multimodal project. They
will collaborate with peers during all steps of this assignment. Students will practice
communication skills as they interpret and apply Sun Tzu’s teachings. They will develop
information literacy as they assess and evaluate the credibility of online current events articles.
Students will employ critical thinking skills as they use Sun Tzu’s tenets to evaluate the actions
of a political figure. Finally, students will develop media literacy as they compose multimodal
products to demonstrate their application of The Art of War (P21 Partnership for 21st Century
Learning, 2015).
Part 3: Areas to Enhance and Support Learning
I will use critical thinking and the Taoist school of thought to enhance and support my
students’ study of The Art of War. Students will develop critical thinking skills as they perform
the following actions: analyze selected readings from The Art of War, choose current events
articles depicting the actions of a major political figure, and evaluate the actions of that person
using Sun Tzu’s teachings. The Art of War “bears the characteristic stamp of Taoism,” an ancient
school of thought that influenced the healing and martial arts in China. Students will learn the
Taoist perspective as they examine one of Sun Tzu’s most powerful themes: the greatest leaders
win without fighting and accomplish the most by doing the least (Sun Tzu, 2004 version, p. 6).
Part 4: Lesson Examples
Students will have the freedom to choose their multimodal composition tools; I will
provide two examples. In the first example, I critically evaluate Mr. Donald Trump’s position on
the Islamic State, using Sun Tzu’s teachings. The transcript is in Microsoft Word (Appendix A).
I created a video using Video Recorder; access the content at the following link:

4. THE ART OF WAR 4
https://goo.gl/YCsRGF. The second example is a fictional interview between me, Sun Tzu, and
Mr. Donald Trump on what the United States should do to defeat the Islamic State. The
interview transcript is in Microsoft Word (Appendix B), with a voice recording from
VoiceThread at https://goo.gl/XnEikM (part one) and https://goo.gl/SpDiV0 (part two). This
lesson example demonstrates the influence of Taoist principles on Sun Tzu’s teachings.
Part 5: Lesson Description
Assignment Option 1: Evaluate the Actions of a Political Figure
Students will complete one of two assignments. In the first assignment, students will
evaluate the actions of a key political figure, using the teachings of Sun Tzu in The Art of War.
Students will skim the Translator’s Introduction (p. 5-39) and study the chapters on Strategic
Assessments, Doing Battle, and Planning a Siege (p. 40-86). Students will summarize Sun Tzu’s
teachings by describing three major tenets. They will use these tenets to evaluate the actions of a
key political figure. Students must use at least three current events articles from different sources
and may conduct any other necessary research. They will use their tenets and research to create a
multimodal product arguing in favor of or against the actions of this political figure.
Assignment Option 2: Apply the Taoist School of Thought
In the second assignment, students will demonstrate their application of Taoist principles
in The Art of War. The reading selection is the same; however, students choosing this assignment
should focus more closely on the Translator’s Introduction. Students will summarize the Taoist
school of thought by describing three major tenets. They will use these tenets to create a
multimodal product illustrating their application of Taoist teachings. Students must use three
additional sources in this project.

5. THE ART OF WAR 5
Learning Objective 1, LH.2.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole
(IDOE, 2014, p. 11).
Learning Objective 2, LH.2.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an
accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas (IDOE,
2014, p. 11).
Learning Objective 3, LH.6.2
Use technology to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in
response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information (IDOE, 2014, p. 14).
Evaluation.
I will evaluate students’ projects by using the rubric in Appendix C. A rubric is a set of
evaluation criteria; students can use rubrics to ensure they address every element of an
assignment; teachers can use rubrics to assess what students have (and have not) learned (Stefl-
Mabry, 2004). The evaluation criteria for these assignments are as follows: collaboration, critical
thinking, communication, and media literacy (16 points for each category).
Part 6: Reflection
I approached this assignment by brainstorming content areas and learning objectives. I
decided I wanted to use The Art of War as a supplemental work to a World History unit on
Classical China. I wanted to make the lesson relevant to students so I incorporated current events
articles. The biggest challenge was creating lesson examples in digital format. The process was
straight-forward; I planned to use voice and video recording tools. However, I quickly realized I

6. THE ART OF WAR 6
needed transcripts to facilitate smooth recording. As I began writing the transcripts, I realized I
needed to conduct research and think critically to create quality, authentic products. While
working through these challenges, a thought dawned on me: this is how my students will feel
when I assign them this project. I have created lesson plans in my previous A.C.E courses, but
this is the first course requiring me to develop a plan in digital format. I found this task
especially challenging. I had to approach this project, deliberately, to ensure I integrated my
layers of learning (critical thinking and the Taoist school of thought) into my lesson examples.

7. THE ART OF WAR 7
References
Heavey, S. (2015, August 10). Donald Trump on ISIS: ‘I would knock the hell out of them,’ and
then ‘I’d take the oil for our country.’ Business Insider. Retrieved from
http://goo.gl/gGE80s
Indiana Department of Education (2014). World history & civilization [PDF]. Retrieved from
http://goo.gl/KiYbX0
P21 Partnership for 21st Century Learning (2015). P21 framework definitions [PDF file].
Retrieved from http://goo.gl/7ndI2
Sherfinski, D. (2015, November 15). Donald Trump on ISIS: ‘These people are insane.’ The
Washington Times. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/kKlGLf
Stefl-Mabry, J. (2004). Building rubrics into powerful learning assessment tools. Knowledge
Quest, 32(5), 21-25.
Sun Tzu (2003). The art of war. (T. Cleary, Trans.). Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications.

8. THE ART OF WAR 8
Appendix A
Video Lecture: War is a Costly Endeavor
Access video at: https://goo.gl/YCsRGF
Mr. Trump advocates an immediate, massive military response to the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria. He says he would bomb Islamic State oil refineries (Sherfinski, 2015) and deploy
combat troops to seize these sites for the United States (Heavey, 2015). Master Sun, on the other
hand, says leaders should critically and deliberately consider the use of violence before
committing military assets. After all, military action is a matter of “death and life, the path of
survival and destruction” (Sun Tzu, 2000 version, p. 40). A call-to-arms should be a carefully
calculated decision, not an appeal to public sentiment; war is a costly endeavor.
Mr. Trump says he would defeat the Islamic State through a relentless bombing
campaign. He specifically says he would “bomb the hell out of ‘em” (Sherfinski, 2015). These
words imply the destruction of every site controlled by the Islamic State, regardless of collateral
damage. Master Sun says it is far “better to keep a nation intact than to destroy it” (p. 68). The
Islamic State is not a nation; it is a non-state actor. However, its territory spans nations such as
Iraq and Syria. A large-scale bombing campaign could destroy these countries’ cities and key
infrastructure. This campaign could weaken the Islamic State. However, when the war eventually
ends, Iraqis and Syrians will have no cities or infrastructure to rebuild their societies. These war-
torn areas might then become havens for extremism and spawn terrorist groups as powerful and
insidious as the Islamic State. Master Sun is a pragmatist, not a humanist. He advocates keeping
nations in-tact to facilitate lasting peace; after all, war is a costly endeavor

9. THE ART OF WAR 9
Appendix B
Interview with Sun Tzu and Mr. Trump, Part 1
Access voice at: https://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/7447312/40088869/41152407
Interviewer: Thank you for joining me today gentlemen. The topic for our discussion is the
following: What, if anything, should the United States do to defeat the Islamic State? Mr. Trump,
we’ll begin with you. What would you say to the leader of the Islamic State, given the
opportunity (Sherfinski, 2015)?
Mr. Trump: These people are insane. Normally, I’m a big believer in talking—you can reason
with most people. These are nuts, and it’s got to be said, and it’s got to be stated. And Obama—I
don’t know what’s with him. He doesn’t talk about Islamic terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism.
He won’t even use the term. It’s almost like he’s defending them (Sherfinski, 2015).
Interviewer: What would do about the Islamic State if you were the President right now
(Sherfinski, 2015)?
Mr. Trump: Oh, I would be saying, “Let’s go, folks.” And I would be getting other countries. I
would say we’re going to bomb the hell out of ‘em. We’re going to get ‘em right now
(Sherfinski, 2015).
Interviewer: Master Sun, how do you respond? What would you say to the leader of the Islamic
State?
MasterSun: I would view my interaction with the leader as a military operation. All military
operations involve deception. Even though I am competent, I would appear incompetent. Even
though I am effective, I would appear ineffective. I would use humility to make the enemy
haughty, and thus more likely to make mistakes (Sun Tzu, 2000, p. 48, 53).

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Interview with Sun Tzu and Mr. Trump, Part 2
Access voice at: https://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/7447312/40088871/41152447
Interviewer: Mr. Trump mentioned the use of military actionm against the Islamic State. Master
Sun, what would you recommend the United States do to defeat the Islaic State?
MasterSun: Military action is important to the nation—it is the ground of death and life, the
path of survival and destruction, so it is imperative to examine it (Sun Tzu, 2000, p. 40). The
Islamic State is a threat to the United States. The U.S. should therefore take action to defeat it.
However, the U.S. should critically and deliberately analyze this situation before committing to
any form of military action, whether that’s strategic bombing, Special Forces operations, or the
large-scale deployment of regular troops.
Interviewer: Thank you, gentlemen. Let’s move on to the next question. Master Sun, you
mentioned the large-scale deployment of regular troops. Do you think such an invasion will be
necessary to defeat the Islamic State?
MasterSun: The general rule for the use of the military is that it is better to keep a nation intact
than to destroy it. It is better to keep an army intact than to destroy it, better to keep a division
intact than to destroy it, better to keep a battalion intact than to destroy it, better to keep a unit
intact than to destroy it (Sun Tzu, 2000, p. 68). For these reasons, I recommend the United States
exhaust all other military, diplomatic, and economic options before resorting to an invasion.
Interviewer: Mr. Trump, how do you respond?
Mr. Trump: ISIS has a great deal of money because they have oil. Every place where they have
oil I would knock the hell out of them. I would knock out the source of their wealth, the primary
sources of their wealth, which is oil. And in order to do that, you would have to put boots on the

11. THE ART OF WAR 11
ground. I would knock the hell out of them, but I’d put a ring around it and I’d take the oil for
our country (Heavey, 2015).
Interviewer: Gentlemen, that’s all we have time for today. Thank you for your insights.

12. THE ART OF WAR 12
Appendix C
Grading Rubric
Process
Criteria/Total
Possible Points for
Each Criterion
Description of Performance on Each Criterion
Level:
Excellent
Level:
Good
Level:
Average
Level:
Poor
Students collaborate
with peers to produce
a product
(16 points)
All members
(16 points)
Two-thirds of
members
(12 points)
One-third of
members
(8 points)
No
collaboration
(4 points)
Students
communicate
effectively by
presenting well-
articulated, logical
arguments
(16 points)
Excellent
communication
(16 points)
Good
communication
(12 points)
Average
communication
(8 points)
Poor
communication
(4 points)
Students demonstrate
critical thinking by
analyzing source
material, synthesizing
ideas, and evaluating
arguments
(16 points)
High level of
critical
thinking
(16 points)
Middle level of
critical
thinking
(12 points)
Low level of
critical thinking
(8 points)
No evidence of
critical thinking
(4 points)
Students create
quality media
products and
critically analyze
media content (16
points)
Excellent
media literacy
(16 points)
Good media
literacy
(12 points)
Average media
literacy
(8 points)
Poor media
literacy
(4 points)