Stanford University
Annexation of Hawaii
Once an independent nation, Hawaii became part of the United States only after a business-sponsored coup of its queen. After examining newspapers from the 1890s, learners consider whether native Hawaiians wished to become Americans at...
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
Kon-Tiki, the record of Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 raft journey across the Pacific Ocean, is the focus of three classroom activities. In a lesson on connotation and bias language, class members record instances of Heyerdahl's word choice....
San Diego Museum of Art
Tapa-Inspired Pattern Painting
Middle schoolers are encourage to try their hand at traditional Oceania tapa art by crafting their own cloth using brown paper bags. Included in the resource is background information about the cultures of Oceania and their art.Â
Curated OER
A Single Lucid Moment
Students compare resolving contrasting values between cultures. They probe the deeper meanings of a story by a peace Corp worker and the questions it raises. They
study the Maimafu villagers who accompanied the Peace Corps Volunteers...
Curated OER
What's Mongolia Really Like?
Students look at rural Mongolian nomadic culture through the eyes of a Peace Corps Volunteer and examine the dynamics of a people in transition. They give one important reason for migration from a rural to an urban setting and explain...
Curated OER
Where in the World War? Mapping WWII in the Pacific
Learners explore the Pacific Theatre of War. In this World War II lesson, students use reference material to access information about significant locations in the Pacific Theatre of War. Learners identify the locations of the listed...
Curated OER
The Rigors of Learning a New Language
Students read an autobiography of a peace corps volunteer studying Chinese. In this cultural acceptance lesson, students compare the dialects of Chinese with English dialects. Students discuss the differences in learning and teaching a...
Moanalua Gardens Foundation
The Mystery of Rapa Nui
What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...
Rutgers University
How the Allies Won World War II: Island-hopping in the Central Pacific
Using primary source documents, young historians explore the strategies the US used to defeat Japan during WWII. They also learn about the American military experience, and innovations that changed the style of warfare. Students benefit...
Curated OER
Waking Up, Stepping Out
Young scholars focus on a rich and colorful description of a culture unfamiliar to most of them. They compare the similarities and differences they find between Nepali culture and their own and determine our similarities as people can...
Curated OER
The Rigors of Learning a New Language
Students consider the immensity of the the task the author undertook to learn Chinese. They examine the rigors involved in learning another language-particularly one as notoriously difficult as Chinese and compare aspects of Chinese...
Curated OER
Japan Quiz 1
In this Japan quiz 1 worksheet, students answer 10 trivia-style questions about Japan, not interactively, then scroll down to check their answers.
Curated OER
Where in the World War? Mapping WWII in the Pacific
Students study the geography of the Pacific theater of World War II. They study maps to examine the geography and features of the land.
National Park Service
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial
Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...
Curated OER
Up Close with Author Allen Say
Students explore the Asian-American culture. They read several books written by Japanese-American author Allen Say and create questions to ask the author. Students write letters to the author.
Curated OER
International Festival: Japan
Students create representative Sakura trees. In this multi-cultural appreciation lesson, students listen to their teacher talk about Japan before students create Sakura trees out of cotton balls and popsicle sticks.
Curated OER
An Immigration Graph
Students practice reading and understanding information in a table and converting the information to graph form. They create a graph showing the number of immigrants per country of origin between 1899 and 1924.
Curated OER
Land of the Rising Sun
Students survey aspects of traditional and modern Japanese customs and beliefs in the seven lessons of this unit. Both the culture and the geography of the country are studied in this unit.
Curated OER
Exploring the National Marine Sanctuaries: A Lesson in Habitats and Human Impacts
Students examine the marine sanctuaries in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. They discover the interdependence of all living things and work together in groups to create a poster about what they have discovered during the lesson. They...
Curated OER
Ethnic Groups of Utah
Students investigate how ethnic minorities have impacted the State of Utah.
Curated OER
'Magic' Pablo Lesson
Students examine what goes into hero worship and establishing unlikely friendships. They probe the deeper meanings in "'Magic' Pablo" through small group dialog and use a variety of ways to process the story's meaning. They see the...
Curated OER
Living By the Book
Students read a story individually or in groups to begin the activity. As a class, they discuss their viewpoints on reading and compare it with the viewpoint of those living in Fiji. In groups, they compare and contrast American and...
Curated OER
Konnichiwa! Welcome to Japan!
Students study feudal Japan, the islands of the country, and its religions. In this history of Japan lesson, students complete a 9 lesson unit about Japan, its history, its feudalism, its islands, and its religions.
Curated OER
I Had a Hero Lesson
Students read "I Had a Hero" a memoir written by a Peace Corps volunteer serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They discuss the story, respond to it in writing, complete comprehension activities and relate the account to their own...