Multicultural Education Asian American

Gemma Palacios 5th period

Meet Ang

This is Ang. He is eleven years of age and is in the fifth grade. Ang is Korean.

This lesson plan is

for a fifth grade class.

Interesting Facts of the Asian American culture Males have a higher value than females;females play the less important role of the household

loyal to authority figures

maintain respect for ancestors/ the elderly

parents play an active part in decisions over dating and marriage

majority of asian americans are foreign born; english is their 2nd language

asian americans consist of at least 40 distinct subgroups ex. language, religion

parents are more likely to decide the academic future for their children

mahjong is a traditional game; basically candy crush

Muhammad’s birthday is a holiday they celebrate every year

Colonel Young Oak Kim

How can you connect with Ang and his classmates?

A way to help the students connect with each other and the instructor is to get in groups and answer questions about themselves (their culture, hobbies, or favorite foods) while transitioning groups every few minutes. After the students have got to know more about each other, they will share something with the entire class about someone who stood out to them.

Day 1: Korean Heroes Admiral Yi Sunshin is a legendary hero in the military history of Korea. His contributions to a battle resulted in victory in the Battle of Myeongnyang, the most defining battle in Korean history.

Other Heroes: Hwang Woo- Suk, Kim Gu

Lesson Plan: The students will get in groups and create a script for a short play about a korean hero (ex. Admiral Yi Sunshin) based on the hero’s characteristics and history/ accomplishments in Korea. They will be given a sheet with an assigned hero and his/ her contributions and accomplishments to the Korean military. Then they will create a short script (3 mins max.) that demonstrates what the hero’s traits and contributions were. The audience (remaining students) will guess which hero they were presenting.

Day 2: Holidays Hangul Day is the celebration of the invention of the Korean alphabet and Korean language. Koreans celebrate this on two days; October 19th in South Korea and January 15th in North Korea. This is an important day for them because the korean language has been used since the 15th century Korean Monarch. There are 24 letters in the korean alphabet.

Other Holidays: Children’s Day, White Day, Black Day, and Valentine’s Day

Lesson Plan: After explaining the some cultural holidays in Korea, students will choose a holiday (Hangul Day) and make a representation of that holiday to get a broader understanding of it. For example, if they choose Hangul Day, they will be given a sheet with the translation of the korean alphabet and will write a phrase or something significant to them in the Korean alphabet (ex. lyric/ quote/ their name) and present it to the class.

Day 3: Traditions/ Customs Bowing, Gifts, specific serving of food and drinks, are customs/ traditions in the Korean Culture. Bowing is a sign of gratitude and respect(also taking off shoes in a household or dining room, and only the Father of the household makes important decisions), drinks are only served by men, and gifts are always a sign of integrity (usually simple gifts such as 7 small items or candies because 7 is a lucky number for them; Four is unlucky so they avoid that; gifts are usually given in colors of pink, yellow, and red because they represent happiness and prosperity; the colors white, black, or green are offensive and are avoided.)

Lesson Plan: In groups, students will play a game of Jeopardy. The Jeopardy will give scenarios where the students will decide what would be best for the scenario. For example, a question would be “You’re entering a friend’s house hold. What is the first thing you do?” and the student must answer it by either performing the act or answering it verbally.

Bowing

Gift

Day 4: Religion The most common religion in Korea is Buddhism and their god is the Buddha. This religion reflects Korean lifestyle, culture, and arts. Pottery, ceramics and meditation are a major significance and cultural emblem for buddhists that has been around for thousands of years.

Lesson Plan: Students will be placed in centers and rotate after creating a pattern similar to the ancient/traditional korean pottery patterns in center 1 or learning (and practicing) the Buddhists meditation in center 2. This will broaden their understanding of the buddhists practice.

Pottery and Ceramics: They will be given a tile, markers, and prints of popular/ ancient/ traditional patterns used in korean pottery.

Meditation: Students will be taught the basics of mediation used to “heal the soul and calm the spirits” in the buddhist religion. They will practice it with each other.

Buddhists meditating

Quiz: Korean Culture

1. What is the main religion practiced by Koreans?

2. If someone were to give a gift to their friend, why would they avoid the colors white, black, or green?

3. Which number is believed to be the lucky/ unlucky number in korean culture?

4. What is the purpose of Hangul Day?

5. How many letters are there in the Korean alphabet?

6. Did Yi Sunshin’s contributions to the most defining battle of korea lead to victory or misfortune?

7. What is the purpose of White day and Black day?

8. What other calendar do they use?

9. Why are many holidays celebrated on two separate days?

10. Are drinks served by only men, only women, or both?

Contributions Approach

The contributions approach consists of different one day studies on the culture’s customs, holidays, heroes, and religion.

How I used the Contributions Approach in my lesson plan:

Day 1: Heroes ( Yi Sunshin)

Day 2: Holidays (Hangul Day)

Day 3: Customs ( Bowing, and specific gifts)

Day 4: Religion ( Buddhism)

each area was given one day to be explained/ taught/ and practiced