Resources

In this section we offer you units, external links and a bibliography that as a teacher you could use in your classroom to support studies of Asia.

UNITS

NEW: Diwali Resources

This social sciences unit explores the traditions surrounding Diwali which is an important and ancient Indian festival celebrated throughout India and in Indian communities around the world. Separate units for levels 1&2 and levels 3&4.

Chinese Lantern Festival - schools programme and lantern-making

Each year we run a programme for schools to coincide with our Chinese New Year Lantern Festivals in Auckland and Christchurch. New resources and units will be uploaded here later this month. Click here to access Asia:NZ resources on the Lantern Festival, currently available on the Ministry of Education's Asia Knowledge website

Asia Knowledge website (developed in conjunction with Asia:NZ)

The main Ministry of Education resource on Asia in intended to help schools with curriculum design. The Asia Knowledge website offers unit plans, additional resource links and information on how to be an Asia Aware school.

• Asia Celebrations Units for Levels 2, 4 and 5 exploring different approaches to celebrations to develop a number of social sciences conceptual understandings such as culture, identity, diversity etc.
• Dunedin Chinese Garden Units for Levels 1-4 linked to the new New Zealand Curriculum.

LINKS

Language learning links

At Asia:NZ we encourage schools to explore the rich diversity of Asian languages and we've compiled this page of useful links and suggestions.

Earth Calendar

Earth Calendar: holidays and festivals around the world

Ni Hao Kai-lan

A fantastic fun way to learn Mandarin and get acquainted with Chinese culture, values, multiculturalism and intergenerational families. The programme airs on Nick Jr. (SKY Channel 41) every Monday at 11.00am. Read more and see Nick Jr's webpage

Asia Ednet (Australia)

Subscribe to Asia Ed Net: a free, online community for teachers to share ideas, resources, opportunities and more, to support studies of Asia in the classroom. Visit the new revamped main website , subscription page and resource units

Combating racism in schools (Australia)

Racism No Way provides teaching resources, reference material and student activities to combat racism. An audit strategy was developed by the Department of Education and Early Childhood in Victoria, Australia.

Ask Asia (United States)

An Asia Society resource, this US-based site offers fun activities for children including games, stories, maps, crafts, glossaries and more. Visit website

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Click here for a selection of titles by Asian authors or on Asian topics including a new title, B is for Bangladesh.

NEW: Announcing a 10 percent discount on the Asia Bookroom website

The Asia Bookroom website is a dedicated online bookshop for schools, teachers, librarians and children. Mention ‘Asia:NZ’ in your order and a 10 percent discount will be applied. Click here for the Asia Bookroom website

Exploring Japan

This new multi-purpose resource is designed as an introduction to Japan, its people and their culture. To view or to obtain a copy, visit educational publishers User Friendly Resources.

Resources based on School Journal articles

In this handy PDF we have compiled a list of Asia-related resources based on articles published in the School Journal.