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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 1 - 10 of 33 lesson plans:

A Child’s Perspective of the Korean War

woman with child on her back in front of tank

The main focus of this lesson plan is to make students aware of the impact the Korean War had on children. They will examine pictures and text to help them make a connection to children during war. The reflection piece of the lesson lets them compare how children (maybe their age) were affected by the war and its implications.

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PDFWord

Author: Michelle Sowinski

Grades: Middle (6-8)

Time: 50 minutes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Comparison

Topics: Korean War

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

Choosing Sides in the Korean War

convoy of military trucks

This lesson is primarily designed for use in a modern world history survey course, specifically within a unit that examines how forces unleashed by the Cold War and decolonization affected many developing nations in the post-WWII era. The lesson is purposely brief so that it can be realistically incorporated into a survey course, although lesson activities could be expanded. In this lesson, students will explore how the forces of decolonization and the Cold War impacted the people of Korea between 1945-1950, as well as determined policy choices made by the United States and the Soviet Union. Students will examine the various perspectives that existed within post-colonial Korea, as well as those from the Americans and Soviets. Students will use these perspectives to identify likely allies and will create a criteria for alliances.

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PDFWord

Author: Kristin Kramer

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 1-2 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Cause and Effect, Comparison

Topics: Cold War, Korean War

Constitutional Rights in the U.S. and Republic of Korea

people in city square with statue

With the assistance of the United States and numerous other foreign nations and the dedication and sacrifices of the Korean people, the Republic of Korea emerged out of the oppressions of Japanese occupation and the chaos of the Korean War. Through a tumultuous political history over the next several decades, Korea has emerged as a vibrant democracy that consistently ranks among the most democratic societies on the globe and particularly in Asia. This lesson explores the different approaches to rights reflected in the constitutions of the United States and South Korea. Students will examine Chapter II of The Constitution of the Republic of Korea in relationship to their study and understanding of the United States Constitution. The students will then be able to compare and contrast specific provisions of the two documents and formulate hypotheses about why the two documents approach rights differently.

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PDFWord

Author: Dan Kelly

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: One 90 minute block period or two 45 minute regular periods

Participation Year: Fellowship 2019

Skills: Analysis, Comparison

Topics: Communism, Politics

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

DMZ: Symbol of Peace or Division?

Excerpt from armistice

In this lesson, students will explore the impact of the DMZ on North and South Korea and analyze its complex perceptions within South Korea. By engaging with a variety of primary and secondary sources, students will gain insights into the historical and contemporary significance of the DMZ. They will develop their own opinions on the inquiry question, “Does the existence of the DMZ serve as a symbol of division or a potential for future reunification?” Students will be tasked with using evidence from the sources to support and defend their responses, fostering critical thinking and deeper understanding of this pivotal topic.

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PDFWord

Author: Sarah Troxell

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 90 minutes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2024

Skills: Analysis, Comparison

Topics: World History

Do Borders Matter?

landscape

Students will research and compare the current economic development of Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

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PDFWord

Author: Linda Burrows

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: Two 55-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation

Topics: Economics, Politics

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

Geomancy: The Power of Place

old map

The main focus of this lesson centers on how humans shape and are shaped by the places chosen to develop communities. In Korean culture geomancy plays a major role in shaping communities. Based on a system of beliefs similar to Chinese feng shui, Korea’s pungsu-jiri focuses on creating harmony with nature and is the basis of the formation of what we know today as Seoul. Similarly, throughout the United States and other areas of the world, humans interact with place in a way that illustrates each societies ideals and priorities. In these lessons, the students will examine the similarities and differences between Seoul and Washington, D.C. as they come to understand how physical and human characteristics of places are connected to human identities and cultures.

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PDFWord

Author: Anthony Roy

Grades: Middle (6-8)

Time: Three 50-minute classes

Participation Year: Fellowship 2018

Skills: Comparison

Topics: Geomancy

Japanese Occupation of Korean Peninsula

Graphic of national/state standards

In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to evaluate primary and secondary sources related to the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula. Students will read a document giving background and context to the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula. This will allow students to draw connections between this sphere of influence and others throughout the world that Europeans had created. Students can compare and contrast Japanese occupation to that of European in Africa, for example. The activity breaks the occupation into 6 categories of Korean society and how each was influenced or impacted by the Japanese during occupation. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate patterns that might have emerged within these 6 categories, and can determine if certain areas of Korean society were impacted more than others. Students will get first hand accounts of the occupation and what life was like for Koreans during the time period.

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PDFWord

Author: Nolan Stearns

Grades: Secondary (9-12)

Time: 1-2 Class Periods

Participation Year: Fellowship 2024

Skills: Comparison

Topics: AP World History, World History

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