Lesson Plan Library

Free Lesson Plans for Teachers

WHDE offers a set of free resources for teachers to help students better understand Korea. The lesson plans cover a variety of topics including geography, religion, economic development, culture, history, and the Korean War. Search our archive of lessons plans by topic, skill or grade level. You can find more teaching resources on the Korean War on the Korean War Legacy Foundation website. Visit teachingaboutnorthkorea.org to find lesson plans and activities for teaching about North Korea.

 
Skills
 
Topics

5 Themes of Geography – South Korea

photo of street with buildings in background

This lesson exposes students to various aspects of South Korea while allowing them to compare some of those elements to other places such as the United States and North Korea.

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PDFWord

Author: Rebecca Turnbull

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 3 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Analysis

Topics: Geography

A Gallery Walk of Ancient Korea

temple with mountains in background

This lesson can serve as an introductory lesson to a unit on Korea. In this lesson, students will be interacting in a photo gallery walk activity. In various places around the classroom, there will be exhibit stations that pertain to different factors regarding Ancient Korea’s geography, history, and culture. Students will work in pairs or small groups. They will have 3 minutes at each station to read the descriptions, analyze images, and answer questions about Korea. Afterwards, students will come together as a class to discuss the new information they learned.

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PDFWord

Author: Mariah Pol

Grades: Middle (6-8)

Time: 1 75-minute class

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Comparison

Topics: Geography, Geomancy, Jikji, Joseon, Religion

Cultural / Historical Legacy of the Korean Peninsula through Unesco World Heritage Sites

In this lesson, students will identify the cultural / historical legacy of Unesco World Heritage Sites of the United States and the Korean peninsula. Students will create a web page explaining the cultural / historical legacy of one Unesco World Heritage Site located on the Korean peninsula.

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PDFWord

Author: Karen Kelly

Grades: Middle (6-8), Secondary (9-12)

Time: Three-five 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis, Comparison

Topics: Geography

Dokdo as an Important Part of Korean National Identity

map

This lesson focuses on “Dokdo”, a set of islets in the East Sea, as an important component to Korean national identity, and the source of a tense territorial dispute between Korea and Japan. Students will first analyze maps of this territory and define vocabulary terms. Next students will analyze primary and secondary sources (documents) by answering questions and making inferences about Korean claims to this region, sentiment, and the importance to national identity.

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PDFWord

Author: Elyse Williams

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: Two 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis, Inference

Topics: Geography

Economic Development: Is Korea the Key?

city seen from above with river

During the Development Unit of AP Human Geography, students will look at data from other countries who were similar to South Korea in the 1960s, then the same data for today. Based on GDP, IHDI, and GNI they will use the obvious differences in development to draw conclusions as to how South Korea was able to develop so quickly, and what those countries can do to in an attempt to reach the same development level as South Korea.

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PDFWord

Author: Karen Coss

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: Two 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis, Comparison

Topics: Economics, Geography

Population Pyramids: A Case Study

then and now scene, side by side photos

South Korea experienced a dramatic and sudden shift in economic and demographic standards during and after the Korean War. Students examining population pyramids for this same time period recognize and correlate the data in order to explain how the population of the country changed and how this impacted South Korea’s standing in the DTM.

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PDFWord

Author: Lisa Waligora

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: Two 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis, Comparison

Topics: Geography

Schools Around the World Focused Inquiry K-2

three smiling children

This inquiry leads students through an investigation of schools around the world, using a case study of elementary schools in South Korea. Students investigate the compelling question “How is school different around the world?” by evaluating images, videos and infographics about schools in a different part of the world. The formative performance tasks build on knowledge and skills through the course of the inquiry and help students see similarities and differences between their own lives and those of children living around the world. Students create an evidence-based argument about the ways in which schools are similar and different between cultures and geography.

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PDFWord

Author: Elaine Alvey

Grades: K-3

Time: 40 minutes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Comparison, Inquiry

Topics: Geography, Schools

The Five Themes of South Korea

street with wall and buildings in background

This lesson is an introduction to the Five Themes of Geography. All students will use images to identify how the five themes are found in South Korea. Students will individually research other countries and apply the five themes as they did with the analysis of South Korea.

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PDFWord

Author: Rhonda Watton

Grades: Middle (6-8)

Time: 2-3 50 minute sessions

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Analysis

Topics: Geography

Where is South Korea?

Students will use a classroom globe, map, and compass rose to identify where South Korea is in relation to the United States. Students will study characteristics of S. Korea on a map.

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PDFWord

Author: Jeanna Karb

Grades: 4-5

Time: Two 30-minute sessions

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Map Skills

Topics: Geography