Lesson Plan

The lesson plan is intended to be used in a high school World Regional Geography course in a unit on Southeast Asia.  Since Southeast Asia is typically taught towards the end of the school year, it is assumed that the basic tenets of the major world religions have been previously covered.  In addition, students should have a basic understanding of the history of European colonization in Southeast Asia.  If not, a brief introduction to these topics before beginning this activity may be necessary.  This activity provides students with an opportunity to apply their understanding of these topics to an investigation of the cultural landscape of Southeast Asia.

The lesson plan takes advantage of a major cultural resource - UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre - and provides real-world application for student learning. Nearly a thousand places worldwide have been designated as being culturally or naturally significant enough to all of humanity to be protected at the international level.  Southeast Asia has fewer of these sites than many world regions, but the sites found here provide students with excellent resources for studying the complex cultural diversity found in this region. 

Students will research sites which have been recommended for inclusion as World Heritage Sites and will present a proposal to the class based upon the actual criteria and site submission used by UNESCO.  The class will then vote on inclusion based upon the same criteria used by UNESCO.

The lesson plan includes:

World Heritage Site Project Overview
UNESCO World Heritage Site Notes
UNESCO Tentative List Investigation
UNESCO Tentative List Student Submission Form
UNESCO World Heritage Site Voting Form

UNESCO World Heritage Lesson Plan step-by-step plan