Ten Stages of Genocide - Cambodian Genocide Timeline Activity

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Ten Stages of Genocide - Cambodian Genocide Timeline Activity

Photo from inside the Toul Sleng Geocide Muesum

Author: Michelle Xia
Grade(s): 10

Suggested Amount of Time: 90 minutes
Area of Study: Genocide in Cambodia

Compelling Question
  • What were the conditions, development, and lasting effects of the genocide in Cambodia?
Lesson Question
  • Who was the Khmer Rouge?
  • What was the timeline of the Cambodian Genocide? When? Who were the perpetrators?
  • How did the Cambodian Genocide develop and progress?
  • What made people hate?
  • How and why can the United Nation’s framing of genocide deepen our understanding of the Cambodian Genocide? 
  • What are the limitations of the UN’s framing in our study of the Cambodian Genocide?
Lesson Objective
  • Students will learn how the Cambodian Genocide developed over time and understand that it did not happen all at once. 
     
Lesson Background

It is beneficial if students have an understanding of what happened in Cambodia prior to the genocide. Before the killing fields, Cambodia was in chaos. In 1970, a coup ousted Prince Sihanouk in favor of General Lon Nol. Then, during the Vietnam War, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, gained strength. They took over Phnom Penh in 1975, setting up a harsh regime. Pol Pot aimed to turn Cambodia into a farming-based communist society. They forced people out of cities, abolished money and private property, and made everyone work hard. This time, called Year Zero, was brutal. Around 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians died from starvation, overwork, and executions before the regime fell in 1979.

This lesson focuses on the murder of 1.4 to 3 million people in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 under Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge wanted to create a classless agrarian society and outlawed religion and personal property. During this time period, citizens were relocated to rural areas and forced to work to produce quotas of food. Starvation and mass killing took place in the Killing Fields of Cambodia.

This lesson contains content that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether the resources are suitable for their class and provide a content warning to their students at the beginning of the lesson.

Image Citation: Haugen, C. (n.d.). Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/christianhaugen/3415381013

Historical Thinking Skills

Cause and Consequence. This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in cause and consequence one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). To help students to understand that there are short-term and long-term consequences of events. To help students understand and assess the varying importance of causes.

Change is driven by multiple causes, and results in multiple consequences. These create a complex web of interrelated short-term and long-term causes and consequences. Students will consider how the Cambodian Genocide evolved in relation to the 10 Stages of Genocide to see how each action led to short-term and long-term consequences.

Readings
  • What is Genocide?
  • Khmer Rouge History?
  • Pyramid of Hate
Handouts
  1. Opener & Introduction (10 minutes)
  • Have students join triads and review the major details of the Cambodian Genocide from a previous lesson.  The teacher should check for understanding before moving into this new lesson.
  • Show the following “Pyramid of Hate” image to students: https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/pyramid-of-hate-web-english_1.pdf
    • Prompt students to look at the image with a partner. Then, have students generate one statement that reflects what the pyramid suggests about how genocides occur. Encourage students to use this sentence stem: “According to the Pyramid of Hate, a genocide occurs when…”
    • Student responses should follow something along the lines of the following response: According to the Pyramid of Hate, genocide occurs when biased attitudes and stereotypes are allowed to escalate unchecked, leading to discrimination, violence, and ultimately, the destruction of a targeted group.
  • Introduce lesson objectives, lesson questions, and lesson background to students.
  • Have a quick review through a class discussion with the following prompt: “What occurred in Cambodia before the violent phase of the Cambodian genocide began?"
  • Facilitate students to report back from opener turn and talk.
  1. Shared Learning Activity: 10 Stages Sorting (35 minutes)
  • See Handout: 10 Stages of Genocide Cards https://ucdavis.box.com/s/9gs1ovth7g9vtop7hlll16rjf2bus58f
  • Print copies, cut out, and shuffle a set of the 10 stages of genocide for each table or group (groups of two to five recommended). Recommended to print each set on different colored paper or cardstock.
  • Distribute stage cards (one set per table/group). Direct students to work together in groups to sort stages into chronological order, without looking it up online. Encourage students to discuss the order together prior to making decisions and to try their best to come to an agreement.
  • Check on groups that believe they are done. Ask each group to justify why they sorted the way they did, then confirm which stages they sorted correctly and which stages they should discuss again and retry.
  • After all or most groups have sorted the stages correctly, project each stage on screen to define and clarify each definition. On screen, write/type a paraphrased definition for each stage that students agree on based on what each group reports back. Connect stages to prior class content on other genocides (e.g. Holocaust) if applicable.
  • Alternative/modification suggestions for this sorting activity:
    • Stage sorting activity may have definitions simplified/paraphrased for accessibility.
    • Modification for asynchronous/individual student execution: skip stage sorting activity, replace with stages and definitions in order and have students paraphrase each definition into their own words.
  1. Activity: Cambodian Genocide Stages (35 minutes)
  • Distribute copies of the Cambodian Genocide/Rise of Khmer Rouge timeline to tables:
  • Students will be tasked with pairing the 10 Stages of Genocide to the timeline dates and events of the actual Cambodian Genocide. Advise students to place the stage of genocide slip directly near the Cambodian Genocide event.
    • Student directions: In groups, label stages of the Cambodian Genocide timeline with stages of genocide. Students do NOT need to find one event per stage, and stages may have multiple events as long as students can justify their choices.
  • Circulate room as students sort and discuss. Ask groups to explain their labeling with the expectation that each member of the group can explain the group’s rationale for at least one stage.
    • Optional: Timeline may be modified for students to fill in blanks, or it may be distributed as-is.
  • Project timeline and facilitate whole-class share-out of what stages of genocide they matched to events. As groups share, write stages beside the projected timeline.
  1. Closing and Exit Ticket (10 minutes)
  • Discussion questions (may double as exit ticket):
    • To what extent do the events of the Cambodian Genocide sequentially follow the same order as the 10 stages?
    • What parts of the Cambodian Genocide can be labeled as more than one stage of genocide? How so?
    • What stages, if any, are missing? Why do you think that is?

Students will organize a timeline of key events leading up to and during the Cambodian Genocide and connect timeline events to stages of genocide.

Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:

  • Provide prompts that guide learners in when and how to ask peers and/or teachers for help
  •  Display the goal in multiple ways 

Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:

  • Provide multiple entry points to a lesson and optional pathways through content (e.g., exploring big ideas through dramatic works, arts and literature, film and media)

Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:

  • Provide scaffolds that can be gradually released with increasing independence and skills (e.g., embedded into digital reading and writing software)

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST (2018) http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:

  • Speaking: Assign roles in group work 
    • Ground rules or guidelines for conversations are used as the basis for constructive academic talk. Teacher provides judicious corrective feedback during student talk. 

Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:

  • Speaking: Repeat and expand student responses in a collaborative dialogue 
    • In partner and group discussions, students use conversation moves to extend academic talk. Conversation moves help students add to or challenge what a partner says, question, clarify, paraphrase, support thinking with examples, synthesize conversation points, etc

Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:

  • Speaking: Structure conversations requiring various points of view with graphic organizers 
    • In partner and group discussions, students use conversation moves to extend academic talk. Conversation moves help students add to or challenge what a partner says, question, clarify, paraphrase, support thinking with examples, synthesize conversation points, etc.

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

English Learner Toolkit of Strategies  https://ucdavis.box.com/s/ujkdc2xp1dqjzrlq55czph50c3sq1ngu 

Providing Appropriate Scaffolding https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding 

Strategies for ELD https://ucdavis.box.com/s/dcp15ymah51uwizpmmt2vys5zr2r5reu

ELA / ELD Framework https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

California ELD Standards  https://ucdavis.box.com/s/vqn43cd632z22p8mfzn2h7pntc71kb02

To expand on this lesson, consider comparing other genocidal events in history including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, or the Native American Genocide. Ask students to compare and discuss.

Students could view the film The Missing Picture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3WrkSZkzA.

Britt, K. 2020c, May 11. English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents. https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

BrokenScene. 2023, July 14. The Missing Picture (2013) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3WrkSZkzA

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. 2012. California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

CAST. 2018 The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

The Cambodian Genocide – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools. (n.d.). https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/what-was-the-holocaust/what-was-genocide/the-cambodian-genocide/

Khmer Rouge History | Cambodia Tribunal Monitor. (n.d.-b). https://cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/khmer-rouge-history/

PYRAMID OF HATE. (n.d.). https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/pyramid-of-hate-web-english_1.pdf

San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding. https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf 

What is Genocide? - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/learn-about-genocide-and-other-mass-atrocities/what-is-genocide

Yale University. (n.d.). Chronology of Cambodian Events Since 1950. Yale University

Genocide Studies Program. Retrieved August 27, 2022. https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/cambodian-genocide-program/publications/chronology-cambodian-events-1950 

Model Curriculum

Cambodian American Studies

Standard(s)

HSS 10.9.8 RI.9-10.5 W.9-10.5

Grade(s)

Grade 10