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Teacher Resource
North Korea
1. As a class, discuss the BTN North Korea Threats story. What were the main points of the discussion?
2. Who has North Korea threatened with nuclear war?
3. Who is the leader of North Korea?
4. About how long has North Korea been threatening other countries with nuclear war?
5. North Korea isn’t as powerful as it says it is. Give some examples of this.
6. Which powerful friends does Australia have to protect it?
7. Which countries closer to North Korea are really worried about the nuclear threats?
8. Australian Prime Minister says North Korea should still be taken very seriously. True or false?
9. How did this story make you feel?
10. How has your thinking changed since watching the BTN story?
Class Discussion
Before students watch the BtN North Korea Threats story, ask them to record what they know about the country. Watch the story and discuss the information raised as a class. What questions do students have? Ask students why North Korea is in the news at the moment.
Snapshot of North Korea
Watch the short BTN video about North Korea and answer the following questions:
1. Who is the supreme leader of North Korea?
2. Kim Il-sung is North Korea’s _______________ President.
3. In which year did he die?
4. What is a necrocracy?
5. What is life like for people living in North Korea?
6. How did North Korea get nuclear weapons?
7. Approximately how many nuclear weapons does North Korea have? How does that compare to other countries?
8. What do experts say about the possibility of North Korea using nuclear weapons on another country?
Episode 10 2nd May 2017
Students will investigate North Korea in more detail including what life is like in the country and the nuclear threat it poses.
Geography – Year 6 The geographical diversity of the Asia region and the location of its major countries in relation to Australia (ACHASSK138)
Differences in the economic, demographic and social
characteristics of countries across the world (ACHASSK139)
HASS – Years 5 & 6
Develop appropriate questions to guide an inquiry about people, events, developments, places, systems and
challenges (ACHASSI122) (ACHASSI094)
Civics and Citizenship – Year 6 The obligations citizens may consider they have beyond their own national borders as active and informed global citizens
(ACHCK039)
©ABC 2017
Students will investigate in more depth some questions they have about North Korea.
Define: What do I want to know?
Key questions to research
Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:
Why was Korea divided into North Korea and South Korea?
What is life like for people in North Korea?
What is the school system like in North Korea?
What happens if North Koreans are caught listening to foreign broadcasts? How does this impact on people’s freedom of speech?
How would your life be similar and/or different if you grew up in North Korea?
How does the rest of the world view North Korea?
Locate: Where do I find the information?
What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print). Discuss with students what a reliable source is.
Select: What information is important for the investigation?
Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.
Organise: How do I make sense of the information?
Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.
Present: How do we let others know about this information?
Students decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include:
A `Did You Know’ Fact sheet
Create an infographic using Canva
Prezi presentation
Oral presentation
Evaluate: What have we learnt?
Students reflect on what they have learnt about North Korea and respond to the following.
What I learned...
What I found surprising...
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Nuclear Weapons
Students watch the BTN Nuclear Threats story then answer the following questions:
1. What happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945?
2. Where does the power in a nuclear weapon come from?
3. What was the tension between the USA and the Soviet Union known as?
4. How did many people react to nuclear weapons?
5. When did the Cold War end?
6. What did many countries agree to do when it ended?
7. Which countries have nuclear weapons?
As a class, create a mind map with `Nuclear Weapons’ at the centre. Ask the students to brainstorm words that they associate with nuclear weapons.
Draw a line from the circle to connect each idea to the central theme:
nuclear weapons.
Some questions to generate students’ ideas include:
Which countries have nuclear weapons?
What do nuclear weapons do?
What makes nuclear weapons different than other weapons?
What is radiation?
Information Report
Using the information recorded on the mind map and additional research, students write an information report about the subject.
Information reports are factual texts written to inform and provide detailed facts about a topic. Discuss with students what they already know about the purpose, structure and features of an information report. Use the following as a guide to use with students.
Purpose – An information report provides information to the reader by stating facts.
Structure – see table below.
Language features – write in the present tense, use technical or scientific words and write in the third person.
Students can then use the following plan to help write their report.
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Information report – structure
Title States a topic
Introduction The opening statement explains the subject of the report, and includes a definition or short description.
Body Facts grouped into paragraphs. Starts with a topic sentence. Include subject specific language.
Text features such as sub-headings, labelled
diagrams, charts and captioned photographs may be included.
Conclusion A summary of what the topic is about and end with an interesting fact.
Reflection
What did you learn?
What do you understand more clearly?
BTN – North Korea Tests
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4538779.htm BTN – North Korea
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3687415.htm Youtube – What’s the deal with North Korea?
https://youtu.be/GBPdiydKDIQ
CBBC Newsround – What’s going on in North Korea?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/39762137 CBBC Newsround – Guide to North Korea http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/20692214 BBC – North Korea country profile
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15256929
