May Is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Explore the diverse cultures that originate from and thrive in the Pacific Rim and East Asia. The activities, resources, books, and lesson plans below support the study of vibrant ancient cultures, flourishing modern Asian Pacific societies, and how Asian Pacific influence travels oceans to infuse and define American culture today.
Book Lists
Asian Pacific American Heritage Book ListCommemorate Asian Pacific Heritage Month with these titles that honor the history and culture of Asian Pacific Americans.
Articles
Personal Perspective: Reflections on a Walk Through Chinatown
by Lisa A. Lee
Early Childhood Today |
November ,1999
Lisa A. Lee discusses how race, language and culture connect to early childhood identity development based on her own Asian-American experience.
by Gerald McFarland
Grolier Online | The 1882, 1892, and 1902 Chinese Exclusion Acts deterred Chinese people from immigrating to America.
by Chad Hansen
Grolier Online | Learn about Confucianism, the philosophical system founded on the teaching of Confucius, which dominated the sociopolitical life of China for most of that country's history and largely influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Indochina.
Grolier Online | Learn about Daoism (sometimes called Taoism), a movement that developed alongside Confucianism into both a philosophy and a religion, becoming one of the major belief systems in traditional China.
by Anthony Sas
Grolier Online | Indonesia is a nation made up of thousands of islands that stretch in a long arc and is the largest country of Southeast Asia in both area and population.
South Korea
by Donald Clark
Grolier Online |
The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is situated on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Learn more.
Activities
Interviews, activities, and maps explore the history, contributions, and culture of Asian Pacific Americans.
This page presents ten notable Asian Americans who have contributed to American history and heritage. Short biographies and links to further information are provided.
Resources
Commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with three unique curricula featuring resources from The Smithsonian Institution: Japanese American Baseball in the Camps; Letters from the Japanese American Internment; and Word Play.
This section follows the story of Li Keng Wong, a Chinese American who came through Angel Island in 1933. Includes a live interview of Li Keng in 2003
Ken Mochizuki Interview Transcript
by Ken Mochizuki
Drawing on his research and his own personal experiences as a Japanese American,author Ken Mochizuki answered various questions about his books (Passage to Freedom and Baseball Saved Us) and World War II.
Lesson Plans
Heroes All Around Us
Learn about successful Asian Americans whose accomplishments all students can appreciate. Students will write a short biography of a hero they admire, which will encourage better research and writing skills.
Making Connections Using Maps
In this lesson, students map and learn about Asian countries and create a country quiz. Family history research helps students connect families and classmates to Asia and other parts of the world.
Students will study facts and a map to learn more about China, one of the world's oldest civilizations.
by Elizabeth Mazzurco
Students learn about China from literature. Then they compare and contrast their lifestyle to the life of a Chinese child.
by Elizabeth Mazzurco
Allows students to compare the popular fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood to a similar Chinese tale, Lon Po Po. Explores the similarities and differences between the two cultures.
by Ruth Manna
Shares a lesson about Chinese inventions and inventors involving students building and using their own compasses.
Asian-American History
Students learn that Asian immigrants were not quickly or easily accepted into the American way of life. This lesson teaches how Asian Americans overcame obstacles and contributed to our nation's history.
by Elizabeth Mazzurco
This unit introduces students to the culture of China. Students compare the U.S. to China and learn through literature and Internet resources.
