[Aileen Level]

I googled it and regret it. It's images of people eating babies. It's obviously fake, but it's still disturbing.

[Aileen Level]

I agree with your comment, Carissa. He reminded me more of Charlie Brown, though I'm not sure if the students know that reference as well today.

[Aileen Level]

While the 6th & 7th grade China standards don't reach as far as the Cultural Revolution, we always discuss it in my classes. (How did it affect the preservation of artifacts and what was its impact on modern Chinese religious practice? What was the role of children the ages of my students?) I plan to use some of these pictures to show my students the contrast between the official, idealized propaganda posters and the somber imagery that came later. 

It was also interesting to hear about the influence of China on current Hollywood productions. Since many of my students' families work in Hollywood, this connection may help them get past the "why are we learning about all this old stuff?" issue we inevitably face with kids. A friend and I recently saw "Rampage" with a preview for "The Meg" and wondered about many of the issues the professor raised, so it was helpful to hear his explanations of the connections between the two countries in the film industry.

[Aileen Level]

I looked on YouTube and found a version of "Twinkle" with both the Korean lyrics (in both alphabets so you can follow along) and also translated into English. It looks like a fan sub, so I can't comment on the quality of the translation, but it might be helpful for our classes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_1EoYuWWg

 

[Aileen Level]

Hi, Donna. What grade level do you use the SHEG materials with? I love their lessons but find that the readings are almost always way above the reading level of my 6th and 7th grade students. If you're using them with younger students, do you adapt them? 

[Aileen Level]

I know fairly little about North Korea, so I found the talk about its film industry to be the most interesting portion of today's sessions. Watching the clips helped to bring the lesson to life. Prior to this morning, images I've seen from North Korea have only included military parades, scenes of large group dances, and occasionally clips of North Korean news broadcasts. Today's material helps to give more depth to this view of the nation. It was also helpful to hear the professor's comments about what various North Koreans thought of the films at the time.

In terms of my classes, I suspect I would be most likely to use the "Lazy Pig" cartoon since its moral would be easy enough for 6th and 7th graders to identify. While North Korea is technically outside of my curriculum, it comes up several times each school year in terms of current events. These clips can help the students to understand more of what is happening there, beyond "crazy guy with nukes." 

I tried to find the video on the Library of Congress site but couldn't locate it. Did anyone else have better luck searching their collection for the clips we saw? (I know that many of their materials can only be accessed in Washington, DC -- are these videos in that category?)

[Aileen Level]

Hello! My name is Aileen Level. I teach 6th and 7th grade World History at the Alice and Nahum Lainer School in Los Angeles. This will be my 4th year at my current school. I have participated in several programs through the US-China Institute in the past and am thrilled to have another opportunity to improve my East Asian materials. Working with middle schoolers, it's particularly important to use visuals as much as possible!
I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone this week.

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