Understanding Shared Histories: A teaching package for South-East Asia

18 Mar 2020

From 2015 to 2019, UNESCO Bangkok has worked with educators and historians in South-East Asia to develop a set of teaching materials to foster a better understanding and ownership of the shared histories. This effort was made under the framework of the project “Promoting Intercultural Dialogue and a Culture of Peace in Southeast Asia through Shared Histories”, financed by the Government of Republic of Korea,

The four themes presented under the teaching units People and Places, Early Centres of Power, Rice and Spice and Envisioning South-East Asia have been selected after a careful selection process informed by a mapping of the history curricula in the countries of the region and consultations with historians and educators. The four units, linked by a sense of shared pasts in the history of South-East Asia, provides a ready-to-use package for teachers with 26 lesson plans. These lessons are not intended to be a textbook, but are independent from one another to allow flexibility to replace or complement lessons in the national curricula.

Each unit begins with an introduction that details the objectives and relevance to the region. It also highlights the core historical content that teachers need to contextualize the lessons and facilitate in-class activities. Each of the lesson plans consists of learning objectives, essential content for teachers, suggested learning activities, sources and handouts for students, as well as a glossary and references. In addition to the historical content, the materials also provide resources that facilitate active learning methodologies.

The Shared Histories lesson plans can be used in flexible and creative ways. While they are initially targeting history and social studies classes, they can also be used in other subjects such as geography, language, art, music, sports and for extra-curricular activities. Teachers are also welcome to customize the materials according to their own situation. The Teacher’s Guide provides them with advice and tips on how to utilize or adapt the materials. It also introduces important pedagogical tools.

The materials are available in Khmer, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese to allow for more inclusive access for teachers in these countries. The set of materials and additional resources can also be found on the website https://sharedhistories.asia/, which will be updated on a regular basis.

	Understanding Shared Histories: A teaching package for South-East Asia. Teacher’s guide [English] [Thai] [Bahasa Indonesia] [Vietnamese] [Khmer] Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2019, 79 p. ISBN 978-92-9223-641-0 (Print Version) ISBN 978-92-9223-642-7 (Electronic version)
	Understanding Shared Histories: A teaching package for South-East Asia. Unit 1: People and Places [English] [Thai] [Bahasa Indonesia] [Vietnamese] [Khmer] Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2019, 96 p. ISBN 978-92-9223-631-1 (Print Version) ISBN 978-92-9223-632-8 (Electronic version)
	Understanding Shared Histories: A teaching package for South-East Asia. Unit 2: Early Centres of Power [English] [Thai] [Bahasa Indonesia] [Vietnamese] [Khmer] Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2019, 76 p. ISBN 978-92-9223-633-5 (Print Version) ISBN 978-92-9223-634-2 (Electronic version)
	Understanding Shared histories: A teaching package for South-East Asia. Unit 3: Rice and Spice [English] [Thai] [Bahasa Indonesia] [Vietnamese] [Khmer] Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2019, 199 p. ISBN 978-92-9223-635-9 (Print Version) ISBN 978-92-9223-636-6 (Electronic version)
	Understanding Shared Histories: A teaching package for South-East Asia. Unit 4: Envisioning Southeast Asia [English] [Thai] [Bahasa Indonesia] [Vietnamese] [Khmer] Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2019, 194 p. ISBN 978-92-9223-637-3 (Print Version) ISBN 978-92-9223-638-0 (Electronic version)