Korean American Ethnic Studies: Lessons

On this webpage, you will find Korean American Ethnic Studies (KAES) teaching resource materials. KAES lessons have been categorized in chronological order from the Korean Diaspora &  Early Korean Immigrants to Korean Americans in the 21st Century. We have aligned our KAES lessons with various California state-adopted content standards since ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary curriculum.  We have included a teacher guide, up to three lesson activities, assessment tools, extension/follow-up activities, and additional resources for in-depth exploration of each lesson and for easier implementation of these lessons.

 

 

 

Please note that these teaching materials are just the beginning of our work and are not representative of all Korean American experiences.  More Korean American Ethnic Studies lessons should be developed, and teacher training should be carried out as well.  For this to happen, many educators, as well as people who are interested in Korean American studies, must work together for years to come.  If you know any other Korean American heroes and pioneers whose accomplishments will inspire our K-12 students with unique learning outcomes, please feel free to share their stories with us. Our profound presence and contributions deserve to be passed on to all Americans and our future generations (Source: G. Cho & V. Costa (2022). Korean American Ethnic Studies curriculum: Teaching Resource Materials for K-12 Classrooms. Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles.)

Lesson 1: The Korean Diaspora and Korean Americans

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 2: Where Was the First Koreatown and Who Was Dosan Ahn Chang Ho?
  4. Assessments
  5. Extension: Civic Engagement Support

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 3.1: Who is Sammy Lee? What was the Immigrant Experience of his Family?
  4. Activity 3.2: How did U.S. Immigration Laws shape Sammy Lee’s Life?
  5. Assessments
  6. Extension: Literature and Writing Extension: Book Reviews and Storytelling

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 4.1: How was the Korean Independence Movement Impacted by Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
  4. Activity 4.2: How did the Korean Independence Movement shape and become shaped by Formation of the Korean American Identity in the United States?
  5. Assessments
  6. Extension: Writing Extensions

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 5.1: Who was the First Asian American to Command a U.S. Battalion?
  4. ​Activity 5.2: How is Colonel Young Oak Kim an Unsung Hero?
  5. Assessment & Extensions:: Argumentative Essay

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 6.1: Aftermath of the Korean War
  4. Activity 6.2: ​Korean War Orphans
  5. Activity 6.3: ​Experiences of Korean Transnational Adoptees
  6. Assessment
  7. Extensions

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 7.1: A Cry for Justice
  4. Activity 7.2: Experiences of Korean Americans during the 1992 LA Civil Unrest
  5. Activity 7.3: The Legacy of Saigu
  6. Assessment
  7. Extention: Research Project
  8. Extention: Research Project Supplemental

  1. Teacher Guide
  2. Alignment with California Content Standards
  3. Activity 8.1: Hallyu and K-Pop: A Global Phenomenon
  4. Activity 8.2: Oscar Winners: A Closer Look at Minari
  5. Activity 8.3: Korean Americans Past, Present, and Future
  6. Music Video Resources
  7. Assessment & Extension