The website, Asia for Educators (afe.easia.columbia.edu), is an awesome website for teachers and students. It is a great resource for teachers that want to bring Eastern Asian studies into their classroom. There is a section for professional development for teachers, as well as video lectures and presentations done by faculty. It also offers an abundance of information for students who are interested in reasearching Eastern Asian countries.
The website is simple to navigate and presents information on China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. It is divided into four main topics: Geography, Art, Language Arts and Religion. When you visit these particular sections there are many subtopics that highlight important information about each topic. There are also links for teachers that are intersted in specific teaching modules. The web site also offers helpful links to partner organizations.
As a 4th grade teacher, the part that I found most valuable was the link under Timelines and Resources that specifically highlights elementary level resources. Often much of the information available on Eastern Asian studies is at a middle school or high school level, but this link focuses on introducing Eastern Asian information to the lower grades. Again the information is presented by links to each country: China, Japan, Korea and Japan. Then there are separate links to geography, language, culture, history, science, math, literature, arts and crafts, drama and music. Each country offers a variety of different information with maps, lesson plans for teachers, videos, games and puzzles. I would most definitely recommend this site to any educator who is interested in offering Eastern Asian learning experiences to their students!
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