Korea: Lessons for Elementary School

Curriculum Review of Korea: Lessons for Elementary School
Dr. Patricia A. Sheahan, Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at Duquesne University.
The curriculum, Korea: Lessons for Elementary School is a well-organized series of nine teaching units that feature activities on the geography of Korea, a trip to Korea, cultural customs, loss of important things in life, historical symbols, trade, the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, visual arts, and storytelling. I would use this curriculum to demonstrate to my pre-service teachers in their language arts methods courses on how to take an out of date curriculum that has excellent teaching strategies and activities and update with current technologies used in schools today to enhance their learning about Korea.
This curriculum could be adapted to Kindergarten through fifth or sixth grade. As educators, we realize how important it is to expose children to people from areas different than their and introduce them to diverse cultures. Korea is a culture that will fascinate young people as they learn about the colorful and accessible traditions of this country.
Following the Table of Contents allows for a very organized way of planning lessons, making use of the Internet and Elmo for studying and reviewing the map of Korea and discovering its geography and history. With the use of a large Word Wall in the classroom a running list of vocabulary words could be added daily and using the readymade handouts (with some adaptations) students will be actively and meaningfully engaged.
The Bibliography is very helpful in setting up a reading/literature center in the classroom. Although this curriculum is written for K-3 students, with some additional materials and books covering a broader reading level, this list is an excellent start. Make use of Amazon.net for additional titles, videos, etc. and a teacher could have something for every student in a classroom to read and enjoy.
All of the lessons are worth investigating before making changes, but adding the Smart Board, Internet, pod casts, webinars, SKYPE and other communication technologies this unit could be greatly enhanced for maximum learning for both teachers and students.