Asia For Educators, at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asia Institute, has compiled a collection of resources for K-5 teachers. This collection is centered around Japan and offers resources for a wide variety of subjects: geography, language, culture, history, science, math, literature, arts & crafts, and drama & dance.
This curriculum is one of several Teaching about East Asia (TEA) Online Curriculum Projects from the University of Colorado Boulder that offers secondary teachers interesting resources. This curriculum offers seven lessons that examine a critical period in Japanese and world history: the period of Japan’s modernization and international expansion from the 1880s through the 1920s, a time span overlapping the late Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa periods. The lessons draw upon a range of historical source materials—including art, literature, memoir, interviews, board games, and government documents—to teach Japanese history using pedagogical approaches that address national content standards and Common Core skills.
PBS LearningMedia’s Around the Globe: Japan is a large collection of resources including webpages, documents, audio files, images, videos, media galleries, and lesson plans centered around Japan, its society and its culture. Resources are available for grades 3-12.
The inclusion of queer history in curriculums is integral to teaching about world civilizations. With this featured article, high school students can be introduced to prevalent representations of bisexuality in Han Dynasty China. In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE) it was common for emperors to have both wives and male companions. Both men and women at the time used intimate relationships to gain favor with the upper court, and this openness to nonheterosexual intimacy led to legendary love stories that are still prevalent as symbols of queer love.
Asia for Educators, at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asia Institute, has compiled a collection of resources for K-5 teachers. This collection is centered around China and offers resources for a wide variety of subjects: geography, language, culture, history, science, math, literature, arts & crafts, and drama & music.
Here you can access three free and informative videos from expert Sara Schneewind. These videos, titled “Ming Voyages in China’s History: The Truth about the Maritime Expeditions Led by Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty,” “Easternization (not “Westernization”): Modernity is a Global Formation,” and “Footbinding: Confronting the Very Strange” are each designed to increase your understanding of Chinese history. Each video presentation also comes with 2 Professional Development Hours. To participate, sign in or register an account on the program site.
