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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.

 
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Showing 11 - 20 of 20 lesson plans:

Korean War Perspectives

officials signing documents at table

Using the information from “Beyond the Bridge of No Return”, Perspectives from the Korean War Legacy Foundation, and the image collection, consider the perspectives of the various people involved in the Korean War. Students will write a detailed statement and draw faces/ heads with emotions that match an aspect of their experience.

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PDFWord

Author: Raechel Bunnel

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 2 45-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Analysis, Perspectives

Topics: Communism, Korean War

Let’s Build A Home

wall decorated with banners

Students simulate the differences between Capitalism and Communism. They are tasked with working as a group to develop homes out of notecards. Only the Capitalist will have an incentive. This will build upon the previous day’s lesson revolving around students learning about the basics of the Korean War and the outcomes.

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PDFWord

Author: Matthew Cottone

Grades: Middle (6-8)

Time: One 55-minute class

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Comparison

Topics: Economics, Korean War, Politics

North Korean Defectors: An Analysis of the Human Side of the Story

barracks with guards

This lesson analyzes sources related to historical and current events on the Korean peninsula, focusing on the stories and experiences of North Korean refugees and defectors. Using differentiated primary and secondary sources, students will review the history of Korea in the 20th century, the division of the Korean Peninsula, the and major events up to the present day in order to better understand the background behind the division of Korea as it stands today. Students will then use this background knowledge to understand the setting and circumstances behind the stories of real North Korean defectors.

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PDFWord

Author: Randy Martin

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

Time: 3 60-Minute Classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Analysis

Topics: Communism, Korean War, North Korea

South Korea: Then and Now

teachers in front of class of small children

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the country of South Korea and how it has changed over time. Students will be exposed to a variety of primary source photographs around 6 different themes (City of Seoul, Children & Schools, Businesses, Transportation, The Han River and Homes) that depict South Korea before the Korean War, during the war and modern day. Students will work in groups to compare and contrast what is happening in each of the sources.

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PDFWord

Author: Rachel Turner

Grades: 4-5

Time: One 50-minute class

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Comparison

Topics: Economics, Korean War

The Cold War in Asia: Korea and Vietnam

black and white photo of group of soliders

The purpose of this lesson is to compare the Korean and the Vietnam wars. Student should have background knowledge of the beginning of the Cold War. Using different sources, students will analyze documents and videos to answer questions regarding the Cold War in Asia.

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PDFWord

Author: Melani Lippard

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: One- Two 85-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Comparison

Topics: Korean War

The Continuation of the Korean War Along the DMZ

four US soldiers with large gun

Since the surrender of Japanese forces in 1945 the Korean peninsula has been divided along the 38th parallel. North of the 38th parallel the communist nation of North Korea was founded and to the south the capitalist system of South Korea. As a result of the Korean War the 38th parallel became a demilitarized zone dividing the two countries until a formal peace agreement could be signed. Though this armistice has been effect since July 23, 1953 some events along the DMZ and other parts of the Korean Peninsula have increased the reopening of open conflict between the two nations.In the next lesson students will build on their knowledge of the Korean War and its legacy through reading primary and secondary sources about the events that have brought the two nations to the brink of open warfare. Students will complete the activity through a guided method to increase understanding.

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PDFWord

Author: Craig Wood

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 2 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Cause and Effect, Comparison

Topics: Communism, DMZ, Korean War

The Impact of the Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952: (Korean GI Bill)

soldier hugging older man

This lesson explores the question, “How did the Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 (Korean GI Bill) impact the Korean War veterans and American society as a whole?”

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PDFWord

Author: Kate Ehrlich

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 90 minutes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2020

Skills: Analysis

Topics: Korean War

War in Korea: How Would You Respond?

black and white photo of soldiers with ladders

This lesson will help students understand the major events of the Korean War and how the War impacted the lives of regular people. By introducing students to the story of the ROK Student Soldiers, they will think about the War’s impact on people their same age and how they might have coped with such an extreme situation. This will help students to better understand what it is like to live through a war and may help them to better understand the Korean people.

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PDFWord

Author: Erica Curtis

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: One 90-minute class

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis

Topics: Korean War, Legacy

What was the Role of Other United Nation Member Nations during the Korean War?

black and white photo of UN committee

This lesson will focus on the role other United Nation member nations played during the Korean War to help South Korea maintain its’ independence. From there the lesson will examine the changing role of South Korean foreign policy and its close ties with the United States and whether or not South Korea should seek a unique diplomatic path in the future.

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PDFWord

Author: Henry Rehn

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: Four-Five 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis, Comparison

Topics: Korean War, United Nations

Whose War is the Korean War?

soldiers in cemetery

The main focus of this lesson is to illustrate why each party (South Korea, North Korea, US and China) are engaged in what has become a perpetual war of the Koreas. The lesson attempts to show that each nation has really no reason to end a “war” that for the most part is “bluster.”

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PDFWord

Author: Matthew Britton

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 135 – 180 min

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Cause and Effect, Comparison

Topics: China, Korean War, North Korea

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