http://www.teachingaboutnorthkorea.org
Teaching About North Korea is a project co-sponsored and created by the Korean War Legacy Foundation, 38 North, and the Korea Foundation to support teachers as they educate students about modern North Korea. It is one of the most user-friendly educator resources I've encountered: clear, concise, easy to use and navigate, and, perhaps most importantly, it recognizes the limited time teachers have to both search for and utilize such sources in their classrooms. The lessons provided here are not weeks-long unit plans, but far more realistic, divided up into "if you have one class" "if you have a second day" etc. A one-class 'video tour' even comes with a viewing guide, and an assignment that teaches students how to write a policy brief even has a suggested rubric. How refreshing!
Including sections such as "where to begin and what you need to know" the website makes suggestions as to where in a teacher's instruction these plans can be used, with everything from the Second World War, to US Foreign Policy, to dystopian literature. For teachers who want to teach about North Korea but who may feel their own content knowledge is lacking, the website helpfully provides background knowledge, not in the form of long readings that might prove intimidating, but rather in easily digestible, both short and long form videos as well as additional print resources, teaching resources, and recent articles, all vetted for use with students.
In my class, my students have to write a policy brief as part of a year-long current event project. In addition to using the resources provided when I teach about the Cold War and modern Korea, I would also use the policy brief assignment and sample to teach my students the skill of how to write one. This resouce could also be useful for Model United Nations club sponsors to use with their students.
Overall, I greatly appreciate the flexibility, ease of navigation, resources provided, and perhaps most of all, the fact that this website realistically recognizes not only what teachers need, but thoughtfully provides them.
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