This document contains five middle school lesson plans that teach about East Asia, focusing on Japan, China, and Korea. Lessons deal with geography, history, cultural comparisons, and trade relations. Lesson plans include background information, materials needed, extension and enrichment ideas, a lesson script, a rubric, a list of resources, and…

Reflections of an Associated Press special correspondent on a return visit to Vietnam 15 years after the war. Discusses the social and economic impact of the war on Vietnam. Examines the plight of the Vietnamese who served in the U.S. military, discussing the problems of Amerasians. Recounts the efforts of U.S. veterans to rebuild Vietnam. (RW)

Describes the life and contributions of Scottish engineer Henry Dyer to educational developments in Japan and Scotland around the turn of the century. Relates his success in founding the Imperial College of Technology, Tokyo (Japan), and the lessons he brought back to Scotland after that experience. (DSK)

"Teachers' Schools and the Making of the Modern Chinese Nation-State" is an innovative account of educational and social transformations in politically tumultuous early twentieth-century China. It focuses on the unique nature of Chinese teachers' schools, which bridged Chinese and Western ideals, and the critical role that these schools…

Korea's recorded history extends back before the birth of Christ. Through their long history, the Koreans have endured a variety of social, political, and economical crises. Confucianism has long been one of the most popular religions by which the Korean people have lived. However, Koreans also have embraced Buddhism and Christianity while…

This unit begins by examining the problem of rural poverty in China in the 1940s. A variety of solutions attempted by the Chinese government between the mid 1940s and the present all aimed at the improvement of peasant living standards in the countryside. Because 80 percent of China's people are peasants, the Chinese Communist party saw the…

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN), this paper examines the contributions of the UN to the area of South Asia. The paper focuses on regional conditions in South Asia that affect the achievement or denial of basic needs essential for peacebuilding. These needs include equal opportunity, education,…

Cartoons, text, questions, and activities encourage students to link the present with the past, to look at colonialism from the perspective of the colonized, and to see how the global economy perpetuates the trade structures begun during the colonial era. After exploring colonialism in the past, early contacts by Europeans with other cultures, the…

Visiting the Temple of Kali in Calcutta, India, one understands the importance of an Afro-centric methodology in describing the complex nature of the Mother Goddess in ancient India. Discoveries of ancient female figurines indicate an early Indian concept of the female role in the creation of civilization and culture and of the notion of the…

Divided into four major parts, this document explains the significance of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan. Part 1 indicates that the LDP has governed Japan since 1955 and controls 445 seats in the 764 seat parliament. The selection of the prime minister, chosen from within the ruling party, is seen as vital to U.S. interests. For…

This unit of study focuses on the historic period from 1920 to 1966 when China's Mao Zedong and India's Mohandas Gandhi constructed and applied their social and moral visions to their respective nationalist movements. These leaders developed contrasting methods to achieve social change and to establish the goals set for achieving the ideal…

This unit, designed for grades 9-12, includes a teacher's guide and 30 accompanying slides. Teachers don't need special knowledge of Japanese history; sufficient background information is provided. The activities can be adapted for other grade levels. The unit is intended for five class periods of 50-minutes each with supplementary activities to…

This document outlines a slide presentation on Southeast Asia with primary emphasis on Indonesia. How international trade has influenced the design and development of Indonesian arts, crafts, and architecture are main points of interest. A geographical overview of Indonesia is described along with its natural resources, population, and religious…

These lesson plans were developed by a participant in the Fulbright Summer Seminar on Indonesia. The materials provide information for teaching about economic and social factors affecting development of the region. There are four lessons in the packet. The lessons are: (1) "Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces" (geographical, historical,…

In recent years, haiku has become a widely adopted part of the language arts curriculum, particularly at the elementary level. Educators appreciate the simplicity and brevity of haiku as a poetic form that young students can grasp fairly easily and therefore express themselves readily. However, this focus on form has often been to the exclusion of…