Korean Job Discussion Forums

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

I'm suppose to put together a 40 min lesson on the US for a bunch of elementary school kids. Anyone got any ideas? I had in mind going into the history but I think that would be too boring.

I can use powerpoint so I was thinking about using a lot of pictures in the presentation.

cranura · Joined: 07 Mar 2006

I'd suggest doing it on the 50 states. Kids here often confuse cities with countries with continents. Would be a nice lesson to deal with some of the city names they may recognize (New York, LA), along with the states. Also nice for them to see that there are three countries in North America (not counting those in "Central America"). Make cards with each state name, a salient fact and major city...hand out the cards -- or powerpoint. Hmmm? Too much for 40 minutes, maybe not!

tob55 · Joined: 29 Apr 2007

Since it is the week of the 4th, why not use the 4th of July (Independence day) as your theme? Lots of information you can glean and it is time appropriate...just a suggestion...

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

The topic is wide open, thats why I'm having difficulty. What would be good for the kids? Its just a 1 shot lesson at a summer camp so I don't have the opportunity to go specific into any details.

I figure right off the bat I'll start with a little geography. After that, I'm not sure what direction to take. Should I talk about history, or about the culture, or about what life is like for Elementary kids their same age?

tob55 · Joined: 29 Apr 2007

It might take a little doing, but what about a floor game that teaches US geography by using a large map in a puzzle form? Just one idea that comes to mind, and you could use several speaking type strategies to get students talking about different places in the USA while they are putting the puzzle together...Sorry if it seems like a lame idea...it was the only thing I could think of on the fly...When they are finished with the puzzle you have the enitre USA complete in puzzle form Very Happy

TheBrain · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Acme Lab

There's lots to say about America. Start with a subject known to all- food. Touch on other subjects known to them like music, TV, and Hollywood movies. Try to stay positive. Wink

icicle · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Gyeonggi do Korea

I think that the key thing to remember is the time that you have... That is the normal lesson time I work with most of the time ... and there is a limit to how much time you have ... (But you already know that).

If it was me I would probably in geographical terms put America on the world map ... and mention the how big it is ... (I am from Australia) and a simple statement about how long it takes to travel from one side to the other ... relative to Korea quickly put that into context for the students ...

I would then pick one of the other cultural areas ... whether it is food, music, movies, significant places, significant events ... or whatever you think would be most interesting, engaging for the students ... and cover a couple of different points / areas within that topic ... in different ways ... involving them as much as possible ... I think you are probably better of covering one area in some breadth rather than trying to cover everything ...

You might choose an area that you think they may know something about ... and then go beyond what they know ...

I think that the idea of using powerpoint is a good one ...

Icicle

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

School life. Walk them through the daily life of an American school student compared to a Korean student. Simple things like the fact that students go from grade 1 to 12 (not 1, 2, 3rd grade middle school students, etc.) talk about the grading scale and if students do not produce certain grades they can be held back. School year schedule and vacation time.

Talk about school sports, mascots and fight songs. Show school breakfast and lunch menus with pictures - spend a fair amount of time on this, the students are very interested. Explain why a corn dog is called a corn dog, explain why a "hot pocket" is called a hot pocket (yes, this is a menu item for some school lunch programs). Talk about the trend for more breakfast programs in America.

Focus mostly on students who are the same age as the ones you are giving the presentation to, but walk them through the whole cycle of an American student including some of the top American universities pointing out some that are the most popular among Asian students.

PowerPoint the whole way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_usa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_South_Korea