AAPI | Lessons Landing Page
Lessons
Educators can view the lessons below in order to utilize or adapt to their local context.
Lessons
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Grade | 9-12th grade
The unjust and unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is a significant moment in American history with a profound effect on the lives of individuals, a community, and our nation.
Students will then employ the historical analysis skills of working with evidence and historical empathy to investigate how the incarcerees used poetry and other art forms to illuminate the incarceration’s profound impact on their individual and family lives. Students will also investigate contemporary poetry and spoken word pieces that retell the stories of what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II for a new generation and address the import of those stories for us today as we grapple with government policies and rhetoric that echo that dark time in American history.
Historical and Contemporary Experiences of Pacific Islanders in the United States
Grade | 9-12th grade
This lesson is designed to introduce the study of people of Pacific Islander descent in the United States, while drawing connections to the Pacific Islands and the Pacific Island diaspora more broadly. Pacific Islanders in the United States are often left out of conversations about communities of color in America. The purpose of this lesson is to understand the ways in which American expansion in the Pacific since the 1800s has grown and created a variety of issues among growing Pacific Islander communities in Oceania and in the US today. This lesson will use geography, data disaggregation, and narratives to explore the US experiences of Pacific Islanders from Guam, American Samoa, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. This lesson is designed to be an introduction to the study of Pacific Islander migrations to the continental United States, including the history, culture, and politics of Hawai‘i and US Pacific territories.
Vietnamese American Experiences—The Journey of Refugees
Grade | 9-12th grade
The lesson focuses on the history, politics, culture, contributions, challenges, and current status of Vietnamese Americans in the United States.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the Model Minority Myth
Grade | 9-10th grade
This three-day lesson introduces students to the complexity of the term “Asian American,” ultimately coming to understand the various ethnic groups and politics associated with the identity marker. Additionally, students will be exposed to the concept of the model minority myth. This course will provide for students the implications that result when lumping all Asian groups together and labeling them the model minority. For example, marginalized groups (e.g., Pacific Islanders, Southeast Asians) suffer from being cut out of programs and resources. It presents a false narrative that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have overcome racism and prejudice. It glosses over the violence, harm, and legalized racism that AAPIs have endured, for example, the 1871 Chinese massacre in Los Angeles, the annexation of Hawaii, shooting of Southeast Asian schoolchildren in Stockton. Furthermore, students will understand how this label for AAPIs becomes a hindrance to expanding democratic structures and support, and, worse, how it creates a division among the AAPI community and places a wedge between them and other oppressed groups, including, but not limited to, African American, Latinx, and American Indian communities.
Cambodian Americans—Deportation Breaking Families Apart
Grade | 9-10th grade
Cambodian Americans are an Asian American group that is experiencing numerous deportations as a result of a repatriation act passed in the 1990s. This act focuses on deporting Cambodian Americans with felony convictions for petty crimes, even after they have served their time. Over 1,000 Cambodian Americans have been deported to Cambodia to live in a society that is unwelcoming to them and where they often do not have any family or social connections. They are culturally American, yet they are barred from ever returning to the US. Many of them have spouses and children in the US. These family separations are causing generational trauma to spouses, children, and parents. Deported Cambodian Americans are forced to live in a “borderland” as they are also not treated as equals in Cambodia. The criminalization of Cambodian male youth mirrors the experiences of Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x youth. Fortunately, there are organizations that recognize this is a human rights issue and are making this issue known.
Little Manila, Filipino Laborers and the United Farm Workers (UFW)
Grade | 9-10th grade
Students will be introduced to the history of the United Farm Workers (UFW), Filipino migration to Stockton, the formation of “Little Manila,” and protest music. Students will also be introduced to the organizing and intercultural relations between Filipino and Mexican farmworkers. Students will complete a cultural analysis assignment on the topic.
Hmong Americans—Community, Struggle, Voice
Grade | 9-10th grade
Hmong Americans are seen as Asian Americans, yet they have a very unique experience and history in the US. The goal of this lesson is to delve deeply into their experience and understand their formation as a community and as a voice within American society. This lesson uses the voices of Hmong women, men, girls, and boys, as well as an article from the Amerasia Journal, to create an understanding of the issues and experiences of the Hmong American community.
Indian Americans: Creating Community and Establishing an Identity in California
Grade | 9-10th grade
Indian Americans are thought to be relatively new immigrants to the United States and California, but their story in California starts much further back in history. The contributions of Indian Americans in California to STEM fields and arts and culture are rich and diverse. Students will be introduced to the history of Indian American migration and to the diversity of the Indian American community with respect to religion and geography.
The Immigrant Experience of Lao Americans
Grade | 9-10th grade
Students will discuss the reasons for the changing immigration policies of the United States, with emphasis on how the Immigration Act of 1965 and successive acts transformed American society with focus on the unique challenges confronting Lao American immigrants and the different groups among them (for example, Lao, Hmong, Iu-Mien, Akha). Students will learn how the lesser-known immigrants from Laos have contributed to greater diversity in American society since the middle of the twentieth century.
Grade | 9-10th grade
The contributions of people of color to the economic development and infrastructure of the United States are too often minimized or overlooked. Chinese Americans are Americans and have played a key role in building this country. Had it not been for this workforce, one of the greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century (the first transcontinental railroad and others that followed), would not have been achieved within the allotted timeline. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have played an integral part as active labor organizers and strikers throughout history to fight racism and exploitation. A popular image of the transcontinental railroad meeting at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, with no Chinese workers exemplifies the conscious refusal to recognize the contributions of AAPI workers.
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