Elementary Level Resources—Vietnam

GEOGRAPHY—Maps & Images

Lesson Idea Journey to Vietnam!
Have the students make passports that will be stamped as they enter Vietnam. On a large world map, students can plot their journey to Vietnam.

Maps & Images East Asia in Geographic Perspective [Asia for Educators]
Teachers seeking maps and other visual materials on landscape and culture are encouraged to consult this teaching module on East Asia’s geography. Standard 4: Physical and Human Characteristics of Places will be particularly useful.

Images Photographs of Vietnam for the Classroom [East Asia in Geographic Perspective, Asia for Educators]
Part of a larger unit on East Asia's Geography.

Lesson PlanLife on the Rivers of Asia [National Geographic]
For grades K-2. Looking at the lives of people living along the Chang Jiang (Yangzi or Yangtze River) in China, as well as the Ganges in India, and the Mekong in Southeast Asia, students will gain insights into the profound influence of rivers within the regions through which they flow.

Voyage to Vietnam [Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose]
A website with pictures and maps on a variety of subjects. No lesson plans, but visuals and background for introducing: architecture, family altars. Clothing, bamboo and its uses, geography, rice and other foods, the Tet festival, and more.

Maps & Images East Asia in Geographic Perspective [Asia for Educators]
Teachers seeking maps and other visual materials on landscape and culture are encouraged to consult this teaching module on East Asia’s geography.

Explore Vietnam [National Geographic]
This is especially good for research on nature and environment. You can also find science resources as well as pictures, quick facts, and more detailed information. Students can click through the slides, look at a map, and watch a video for each country.

GEOGRAPHY—Food & Culture

Lesson IdeaRice Cultivation
Have students research and discuss the stages of rice cultivation and compare wet-rice and dry-rice techniques. Discuss how climate determines which crops are grown around the world.

Lesson PlanThe Rhythm of Rice Production [National Geographic]
For grades K-2. Students will explore the importance of rice in Asian communities. They will then learn about the “rhythm” of rice production as they are introduced to its growing cycle. Finally, students will create seasonal images of rice cultivation in a calendar format.

Lesson IdeaChopsticks
Have students practice using chopsticks. Discuss what countries use chopsticks as eating utensils. [Answer: China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam — the countries that form the East Asian cultural sphere. They also share Confucian thought, Buddhism, and the use of Chinese characters at some point in their histories.] Note that in many other countries of South, Southeast, and West Asia the custom is to eat with one hand, often using breads to scoop food.

LANGUAGE—Speaking Vietnamese: Introduction

Audio Basic Vietnamese: Lessons [Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University]
Twenty short lessons with audio clips covering basic topics such as greetings, telling time, numbers, etc.

Reference Learning Vietnamese Online [Vietnamese Language Program, Arizona State University]
A good starter list of resources for learning Vietnamese.

CULTURE—Festivals

Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind, and Spirit [American Museum of Natural History]
Online guide to a 2003-2004 exhibition that invites visitors to “journey through a changing Vietnam and to experience the incredible diversity of its landscape and its people.” Includes videos, photos, and resources for educators.

Calendar of Vietnamese Festivals [Vietnamese Student Association, North Carolina State University]
A simple list with short description, with longer descriptions for major festivals such as the Vietnamese New Year and Trung Sisters Day.

Lesson Plan Tet: Let’s Get Ready to Celebrate [Asia Society]
In this lesson, students will “learn about Lunar New Year in Vietnam and why it is an especially good time to review good manners.”

Vietnamese Holidays and Celebrations [Adopt Vietnam]
Students will celebrate the major Vietnamese holidays, Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and the Autumn Festival, with these stories, articles and photographs.

Culture and Customs of Vietnam, by Mark W. McLeod and Nguyen Thi Dieu [SlideShare]
Students will learn about the geography, history and culture of Vietnam in a shared slide power point.

Culture of Vietnam [SlideShare]
Students will learn about the geography, traditional art, cuisine and religions of Vietnam.

Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind, and Spirit [American Museum of Natural History]
Online guide to a 2003-2004 exhibition that invites visitors to “journey through a changing Vietnam and to experience the incredible diversity of its landscape and its people.” Includes videos, photos, and resources for educators. Download of Educator's Guide available.

CULTURE—Games

Classroom Activity Truyen-Truyen: A Vietnamese Game [Asia Society]
“This game of jacks teaches counting and hand-eye coordination skills ... and it’s good for lots of laughs!”

HISTORY—General Overview

Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea [Asia Society]
Online guide to a 2010 exhibiion that brought together “more than one hundred objects from ten museums across the diverse geographic expanse that is Viet Nam to illuminate the country’s long history of cultural and economic exchange.” Provides a great general overview of the history of Vietnam.

Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind, and Spirit [American Museum of Natural History]
This abbreviated timeline of Vietnamese history can provide younger students with a very general idea of Vietnamese history.

HISTORY—The Trung Sisters

Female Heroes of Asia: The Trung Sisters [Women in World History]
A short reading on the story of the Trung sisters, who led an uprising against Chinese forces in 40 CE.

HISTORY—The Vietnam War

Images Vietnam: Behind the Lines — Images from the War, 1965–1975 [The British Museum]
Online guide to a 2002 exhibition that presented “an aspect of the conflict unfamiliar to a Western audience: works made by Vietnamese artists.” The images featured on this site are an excellent entry into discussing “point of view.”

SCIENCE—

There are no science-related resources at this time. Please check back.

MATH—

There are no math-related resources at this time. Please check back.

LITERATURE—Books

Please refer to the Literature Across the Curriculum list
for a variety of elementary-level titles appropriate for language arts.

Freeman Book Awards [NCTA]
An annual list of the winning titles (see the elementary category) for the Freeman Book Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature on East and Southeast Asia from the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA). Please refer also to Recommended Titles of children’s books, by grade level, also on the NCTA site.

ARTS & CRAFTS—General Overview

Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea [Asia Society]
Online guide to a 2010 exhibiion that brought together “more than one hundred objects from ten museums across the diverse geographic expanse that is Viet Nam to illuminate the country’s long history of cultural and economic exchange.” Provides a great general overview of the history of Vietnam.

ARTS & CRAFTS—Prints

Collection of Chinese Woodblock Prints: Vietnam [A. E. Maia do Amaral]
Scroll down toward the bottom of the page for a collection of New Year’s prints from Dong Ho and Hang Trong (Hanoi).

OMuERAA (Online Museum Resources) [Asia for Educators]
Additional lesson plans and resources on art can be found at the OMuERAA (Online Museum Educational Resources in Asian Art) which can be explored by a number of categories, including country or region.

DRAMA & MUSIC—Drama

Lesson IdeaWater Puppets
Have students research Vietnamese water-puppet theater online and ask them to consider why water-puppet theater might have been important in Vietnam, given the country’s geography and topography.

DRAMA & MUSIC—Music

Vietnamese Musical Instruments [Vietnamese Student Association, North Carolina State University]
Images and descriptions of traditional string, wind, and percussion
instruments.

Vietnam [Facts and Details]
Students can read about traditional art, theater, music among other subjects from Vietnam. This detailed information can be used by the instructor when paired with supporting images from other sites.