Using Oral Histories to Understand the Cambodian Genocide

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Using Oral Histories to Understand the Cambodian Genocide

Sophy Khut in Portland, OR in 1982. Sophy loves sports and was third baseman on a Little League softball team for eight or nine years.

Author: Sandra Kipfstuhl and Matt O'Donnell
Grades: 9-10

Suggested Amount of Time: 50 minutes
Area of Study: Genocide in Cambodia

Compelling Question
  • What were the conditions, development, and lasting effects of the genocide in Cambodia?
Lesson Question

  • How can using oral histories help build an understanding of the Cambodian Genocide?

Lesson Objective

By working with firsthand accounts, students will develop empathy and will develop critical thinking skills to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of the Cambodian Genocide.

Lesson Background

The Cambodian Genocide took place between 1975 and 1979. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge gained control of Cambodia after the civil war and tried to create an agrarian utopia. Citizens were forced to move to the countryside where they endured forced labor, starvation and mass killings. Nearly 2 million Cambodians lost their lives during this period.

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: Historical Society of Long Beach. (n.d.-e). sophy khut - Historical Society of Long Beach. https://hslb.org/?s=sophy+khut

Historical Thinking Skills

This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in the ethical dimension, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). To consolidate thinking about how we should remember and respond to the past. / To recognize the ethical stance in a museum exhibit.

A fair assessment of the ethical implications of history can inform us of our responsibilities to remember and respond to contributions, sacrifices, and injustices of the past. Students will consider the ethical implications of the Cambodian Genocide.

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2022) https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

Videos
  • Ugly History - Cambodian Genocide 
  • Oral History 1 Dan Durke from minutes 00:54 - 17:00 
  • Oral History 2 Bonavy Som from minutes 12:30 - 40:00 
  • Oral History 3 Clark Tang from minutes 34:00 - 49:00 
  • Oral History 4 Sophy Khut from minutes 5:00 - 32:00 
  1. The teacher begins class with a check-in:
  • Teacher asks students to reflect on a time when their life changed quickly due to an unforeseen circumstance.
  • Students will journal for at least three minutes about the event and how it changed their lives.
  • Teacher asks for three volunteers to briefly share highlights from their journal entry. (Please do not require all students to share as the event they chose might be difficult for them).
  1. Teacher asks the class to watch Ugly History: Cambodian Genocide https://www.ted.com/talks/timothy_williams_ugly_history_cambodian_genocide 
  • While watching the video students will take notes where they should identify the causes and major events of the Cambodian Genocide and respond to the the question: how can using oral histories help build an understanding of the Cambodian Genocide?
  • After the video, the teacher will have students share their findings aloud.
  1. The teacher will tell the students that they will be watching an oral history.
  1. Using their notes, the students will discuss the oral history they viewed and select one member from their group to share what they learned from watching the oral history.
  2. Each group will share the highlights from the oral history they watched with the rest of the class.
  3. Students will reflect on what they learned about the different refugees. For their assessment, students will write or record a journal entry explaining how one person experienced the Cambodian Genocide, how their life was impacted by the killing time and how it made them feel.
  4. Once the assessment is completed, have students link their document to an online platform where other students can click into their document and read their entries. 

Students will reflect on what they learned about the different refugees and adopt an alignment. For their assessment, students will write a journal entry as if they were taking on the persona of a refugee. 

  • The journal entry should be a page and it should also include any similarities and differences from the oral history synopsis shared by other students in the class. 
  • The journal entry should be in the first-person point of view. 
  • An alternative assessment is for students to pair up with a student and create a dialogue story in the perspective of two refugees.

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

  • Prompt learners to identify the type of feedback or advice that they are seeking

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

  • Provide descriptions (text or spoken) for all images, graphics, video, or animations
  • Provide templates, graphic organizers, concept maps to support note-taking

Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support

  • Provide differentiated feedback (e.g., feedback that is accessible because it can be customized to individual learners)

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:

  • Listening: Introduce cognates to aid comprehension 
    • Students study the forms of words/word structure; draw words and phrases from the text that students will encounter and show them how shifts in word structure (i.e. suffix­ converge to convergent; diverge to divergent) affect meaning.

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

  • Listening: Check comprehension of all students frequently 
    • Teacher paraphrases student responses as they explain their thinking in effort to validate content learning and encourage the use of precise language.

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

  • Listening: Extend content vocabulary with multiple examples and non-examples 
    • Students use a Frayer graphic organizer to support understanding of a key word or concept. Place the target word in the center amid four surrounding quadrants to support different facets of word meaning.

 

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

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

California Department of Education. 2022. Ethnic studies model curriculum. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp 

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 

Historical Society of Long Beach. 2023a, June 16. Bonavy Som - Oral history [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQwRJPMmYHM 

Historical Society of Long Beach. 2023, June 16. Dan Durke - Oral History [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwH0r12yKgU

Historical Society of Long Beach. 2023b, June 16. Clark Tang - Oral History [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pbSibb72uA

Historical Society of Long Beach. 2023d, June 17. Sophy Khut - Oral History [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PoNCb9mTrs

LibGuides: Tuol Sleng and the Cambodian Genocide: Survivors’ stories. (n.d.). https://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=968985&p=7001546

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 

Williams, T. 2021. Ugly history: Cambodian genocide. TED Talk. Retrieved July 28, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/timothy_williams_ugly_history_cambodian_genocide

Model Curriculum

Cambodian American Studies

Standard(s)

HSS 10.9.3 RI.9-10.7 W.9-10.2

Grade(s)

Grade 9 Grade 10