Overview
Independence Period of Cambodia (1953-1970)
Author: Anthony Tourn Guerrero
Grades: 10-12
Suggested Amount of Time: 60-90 minutes
Area of Study: Introduction to Cambodian History
Compelling Question
- How does learning about Cambodian history promote a greater understanding of Cambodian American experiences?
Lesson Question
What was life like for the Khmer people during the Independence Period of Cambodia (1953–1970)?
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to reflect on what Cambodia was like before the dark years including cultural identity, important individuals and the system of government.
Lesson Background
Students should be familiar with background information about the Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970) that is between the Colonial Period (French Protectorate of Cambodia 1863–1953) and Pre-Civil War (Khmer Republic 1970–1975) and Khmer Rouge Communist Regime Years (Democratic Kampuchea 1975–1979). Through these lessons, the teacher will introduce students to the country that Cambodian people lived in prior to the genocide. Teachers will familiarize students to the world that once was prior to the wars and authoritarian governments.
Image Citation: S, S. (n.d.). A train at Battambang circa 2009. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/shankaronline/14277667728
Materials
Videos
- Rural Cambodia in 1965
- Footage of Jackie Kennedy’s Visit to Cambodia
Slides
Procedures
Accompanying slides for this lesson may be found here: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/1uwzeplkbphw8bleciz4m4atbvfj9jl4
- Engage: (5–10 minutes)
- Before the start of the lesson, students are given a prompt to write based upon an open-ended question: What does it mean to live in a country that just declared independence?
- The students are given five minutes to write or share their thoughts on what it means to them.
- After the five minutes are completed, they are given time to share with a partner.
- Once they finish sharing their writings, the teacher selects students to speak about what they wrote and what it means.
- Teacher will introduce students to the lesson objective and background. Then, teachers can provide the following introduction: After nearly 90 years of French Colonial administration, Prince Sihannouk declared Independence from France for the Kingdom of Cambodia. A video clip will be played of King Sihannouk declaring Independence from the French. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB4Ky02IyIE
- Explore: (10–15 minutes)
- Teachers are recommended to use the information and content in the handout “Independence Period of Cambodia” to provide a presentation.
- In the presentation, the content will include historical footage from the Independence Period of Cambodia including footage of Jackie Kennedy's Visit to Cambodia to meet with King Norodom Sihannouk. Before each footage is played, a description will be provided.
- It is suggested that students follow along and interact with the information from the slides by answering the following questions:
- What stood out the most from the images and videos shared?
- How would you describe the landscape of Cambodia at this time?
- What differences would exist between Khmer people living in the rural countryside and Khmer people living in the city? What similarities exist?
- Why do you believe this period is important for the people who lived during this time?
- If you were to have visited this country during this period of time, how would you feel about this experience?
- Before moving on to the next part of the lesson, review answers to the questions above as a class.
- Teachers are recommended to use the information and content in the handout “Independence Period of Cambodia” to provide a presentation.
- Evaluate: (25–35 minutes)
- Students will choose from one of the following options for the assessment:
- Option 1: Students will write a realistic, historical fictional narrative account in the perspective of a Khmer student going to school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia around the time when King Sihannouk introduced John F Kennedy’s widow, Jackie Kennedy, to Cambodia as part of her tour of Southeast Asia. They are to describe how they would have felt learning about witnessing this historical moment on television. This should be written in first person, and should include facts from the sources in the lesson presentation.
- Option 2: Students will create a storyboard including six different parts that illustrate what life was like for the Khmer people during the Independence Period of Cambodia (1953–1970). Each part should include an illustration/visual element, and a caption. This can be done digitally or by hand. Information from the lesson content and sources should be included in the storyboard.
- Allow opportunities for students to share their product. Suggested modes of presenting: Give One, Get One, small group presentations, Lines of Communication, Gallery Walk.
- Students will choose from one of the following options for the assessment:
Assessments
Students will choose from one of the following options:
- Option 1: Students will write a realistic fictional narrative account in the perspective of a Khmer student going to school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia around the time when King Sihannouk introduced John F. Kennedy’s widow, Jackie Kennedy, to Cambodia as part of her tour of Southeast Asia. They are to describe how they would have felt learning about witnessing this historical moment on television.
- Option 2: Students will create a storyboard complete with six different parts that illustrate what life was like for the Khmer people during the Independence Period of Cambodia (1953–1970).
Scaffolds
Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
- Invite personal response, evaluation and self-reflection to content and activities
- Display the goal in multiple ways
Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
- Progressively release information (e.g., sequential highlighting)
- Embed new ideas in familiar ideas and contexts (e.g., use of analogy, metaphor, drama, music, film, etc.)
Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
- Embed prompts to “show and explain your work” (e.g., portfolio review, art critiques)
For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST (2018) http://udlguidelines.cast.org.
Multilingual Learner Supports
Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:
- Writing: Teach note taking on a graphic organizer
- 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.
Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
- Writing: Require learning logs for summaries of learning
- In a shared or interactive writing format, chart out characters, setting, problem, and events (including orientation, complication, and resolution). Add theme, as appropriate.
Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
- Writing: Hold frequent writing conferences with teacher and peers
- Students discuss the organization of a story, referencing orientation, complication, and resolution, as key stages in the narrative. There is a focus on precise and descriptive language to keep a story rewriting interesting to a reader. Using class notes from a Story Map done in a previous lesson, along with precise, descriptive language, and transition words, students work with the teacher to jointly reconstruct each stage of the story. Teacher uses feedback and strategic questioning to deepen the quality of the rewrite before recording on paper. Class reads rewritten story chorally when complete.
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
Enrichment
- Teachers can listen to oral testimonies of Khmer who grew up during the Independence Period. A short clip of Rithy Panh’s “The Missing Picture” depicting his family watching the launch of Apollo 11 will be shared to the students. In addition, the students can examine supplemental photographs from the era. Teachers can help guide students to inquire on what they discover from the photos through their own interpretation. The teacher can pass out a printed photograph from this period and have the students examine them, reflect upon them, and discuss the meaning behind them. Another activity that can be offered to strengthen their appreciation of the period is having students listen to music from Khmer. They are also encouraged to ask what other potential sources they might look into to examine how survivors felt about pre-civil war and communist genocide regime Cambodia.
- Oral Testimonies
- Apollo 11 Launch
- Photos of Phnom Penh during Independence Period: Select photos from the collection you would like for students to analyze together:
- Photos from the MimiJac Palgen Cambodian Photographs Collection https://prism.lib.asu.edu/collections/41058
- Example 1: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/61487/view
- Example 2: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/61219/view
- Example 3: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/61111/view
- Example 4: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/61793/view
- Example 5: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/60536/view
- Example 6: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/60715/view
- Example 7: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/62539/view
- Example 8: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/61488/view
- Example 9: https://prism.lib.asu.edu/items/61264/view
- Photos from the MimiJac Palgen Cambodian Photographs Collection https://prism.lib.asu.edu/collections/41058
- Examples of Music from Independence Period or Golden Era
- Bong Mean Timey Huey (You got a Friend)-Poev Vannary . https://youtu.be/cYy9ddC-HHI
- Dance a Go Go-Sinn Sisamouth https://youtu.be/M3vNAbdNONs?feature=shared
- Come Again Tomorrow-Yul Aularong https://youtu.be/r8th0TLgXBU
- Neary Sok Kley-Duck Kim Hak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XkCq3vatuA&list=PLEaJVlKVIMMQbXPAbWBpZdVgqQOcVe5S9&index=2&ab_channel=Ryuichi
- Chnam Oun Dop-Pram Muy (I’m 16) -Ros Sreysothea https://youtu.be/y04fy9GywSo
Works Cited
Archives nationales d’outre mer. (n.d.). French colonial empires. ANOM. http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/anom/en/Presentation/Empires-coloniaux-francais-10.html
Arizona State University. (n.d.). The MIMIJAC Palgen Cambodian photographs. PRISM. https://prism.lib.asu.edu/collections/41058
Aularong, Y. 2014, February 18. Yol Aularong - កាហ្វេខ្មៅ / cafe KMAO / come again Tomorrow [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/r8th0TLgXBU
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 & 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
CBS News. 1967, November 3. Cambodia and Laos; Jackie Kennedy in Cambodia (Program Number 109) [TV series episode]. In Vietnam: A Television History. CBS News, GBH Archives. http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_90C0F408B0A741B2A88C87FC24D71F2F
Central Intelligence Agency. 2022, July 21. The World Factbook: Cambodia. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cambodia/
Davis, K. 2013, August 6. 1967 Jacqueline Kennedy visits Cambodia and Angkor Wat. Devata.org - Apsara & Devata of Angkor Wat. http://www.devata.org/1967-jacqueline-kennedy-visits-cambodia-and-angkor-wat/#.Yva2
GN Cambodia. 2020, October 14. 09 Nov 1953 Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk action required independence from France [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB4Ky02IyIE
Hong, C., & Soksreinith, T. (Eds.). (n.d.). Biography: Norodom Sihanouk. Cambodia Adrift. https://projects.voanews.com/cambodia-election-2018/english/biography/norodom-sihanouk.html
Khley, N.S. 2012, December 1. Duck Kim Hak - Neary Sok Khley - នារីសក់ខ្លី. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XkCq3vatuA
Lotus Lodge Siem Reap. 2013, June 29. Old Footage of Cambodia from a 1937 Expedition Journey[Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lPVqP6i9RM
Marissa. 2017, November 11. How Jackie Kennedy captured Cambodia's heart. Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/cambodia/articles/how-jackie-kennedy-captured-cambodias-heart/
Prince Norodom Sihanouk. (n.d.). La Femme Khmere a l’ere du Sangkum Reastr Niyum. Monash Collections Online. https://repository.monash.edu/items/show/35035
Prince Norodom Sihanouk. (n.d.). Cambodge 1965. Monash Collections Online. https://repository.monash.edu/items/show/35032.
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
Sereysothea, R. 2013, May 30. Chnam Oun Dop-Pram Muy "I'm 16". YouTube. https://youtu.be/y04fy9GywSo
Sisamouth, S. 2016, July 3. Sinn Sisamouth - dance a go go. YouTube. https://youtu.be/M3vNAbdNONs
Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf
The MIMIJAC Palgen Cambodian photographs. PRISM. (n.d.). https://prism.lib.asu.edu/collections/41058
Vannary, P. 2013, July 23. EPR-8b បងមានថ្មីហើយ / bong mean Tmey Huey - Poev Vannary. YouTube. https://youtu.be/cYy9ddC-HHI
Supplementary Sources:
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Douglas, T. 2005. Changing Religious Practices among Cambodian Immigrants in Long Beach and Seattle. In K. Leonard et al. (Eds.), Immigrant Faiths: Transforming Religious Life in America (2nd ed.). AltaMira Press.
Lewis, D.C. 2001. From Cambodia to the United States: The Disassembly, Reconstruction, and Redefinition of Khmer Identity [Master's Thesis, University of Kentucky]. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/185
Mark, J. J., & Cartwright, M. 2022. A short history of the Buddhist schools. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/492/a-short-history-of-the-buddhist-schools/
Mortland, C. 2017. Cambodian Buddhism in the United States. SUNY Press.
Smith-Hefner, N. 1999. “To be Khmer Is to Be Buddhist.” In Khmer American: Identity and Moral Education in a Diasporic Community. University of California Press.
Wachtel, J. (Director). 2022. Karmalink. Good Deed Entertainment. https://gooddeedentertainment.com/karmalink/