TeachersFirst Collection: Asian American Contributions to American Culture
Asian Americans have played a vital and often underrecognized role in shaping the cultural landscape of the United States. This diverse collection of resources shares the many contributions of Asian Americans across various fields, from arts and literature to science and technology, spanning more than 150 years of American history. Read about the impact of many Asian Americans with your students. From the Chinese immigrants who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad to modern-day innovators in Silicon Valley, from the Japanese American soldiers who fought valiantly in World War II to pioneering Asian American scientists and educators, these curated materials showcase the profound impact of Asian Americans on the nation's social, economic, and cultural fabric.
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How This Film Erased Asian-Americans From Their Own Story - PBS Origins
Grades
9 to 12
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In the Classroom
Students can watch the movie that is referenced in the YouTube video. Students can research other videos that feature the white savior complex. Finally, students use Google Drawings reviewed here to compare and contrast the true story of Chol Soo Lee's arrest to the one portrayed in the movie.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Kokoro: The Story of Sacramento's Lost Japantown - Google Arts and Culture
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): japan (61), japanese (54), photography (136)
In the Classroom
Students can use Timeline Infographic Templates reviewed here to highlight important events in Japantown. Students can use Kiddle reviewed here to learn more about the Japanese notables that are featured on the site. Finally, students can use Google Drawings reviewed here to create a cause-and-effect diagram to highlight why Japantown became forgotten.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Indomitable: The Tommy Kono Story - Google Arts and Culture
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): cultures (302), japanese (54), religions (120), sports (106)
In the Classroom
Students can use MyLens reviewed here to highlight important events in Tommy Kono's life. Students can compare Tommy Kono to another famous weightlifter using ClassTools Interactive Venn Diagrams reviewed here. Students can use Kiddle reviewed here to research more about Buddhism.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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We are not a Stereotype - Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Students can review the videos and post questions and comments on Padlet reviewed here. Students can use Google Keep reviewed here for notetaking. Students can find other videos on the same topics and compare and contrast them using Google Drawings reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Celebrating Asian American Experiences in the Classroom - NYC Public Schools
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Students can review the resources and post questions and comments on Padlet reviewed here. Students can research using Kiddle reviewed here to highlight important/notable Asian Americans featured in the resources. Finally, students can conduct a virtual interview with an Asian American. Record the interviews using Adobe Podcast reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Different Asian American Timeline - A Different Asian American Timeline
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): timelines (61)
In the Classroom
Students can use MyLens reviewed here to highlight important events during an assigned period. Students can use Figma reviewed here to compare and contrast time periods. Students can use Padlet reviewed here to post facts that they learned during each period.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Women Advancing Equality - Patsy Mink - The Asian America Education Project
Grades
1 to 8tag(s): bias (35), charactered (87), racism (84), women (194)
In the Classroom
Use this lesson in your American history units or studies about famous women. Create a reading guide for your younger students and struggling readers using Immersive Reader, reviewed here then introduce this lesson on your interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Extend student learning by having them participate in a ScreenPal, reviewed here video discussion to record their discussion with peers. Ask them to explain what they learned about Patsy Mink and women in general, then have them listen to and comment on their classmates' impressions. Use this Screenpal tool throughout the year to add students' thoughts about other famous people you study during the school year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: American Born Chinese - TeachersFirst
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): cross cultural understanding (167), identity (48), racism (84), Reading Treks (56), virtual field trips (154)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Consider using the historical information and primary sources from the book to have students research places and events discussed in the book to create interactive timelines. Find a variety of free online timeline creation tools at located here. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for some of the locations shared. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create and share custom maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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21 Must-Read Books - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Amer. Indian Lib. Assn & the Asian/Pacific American Lib. Assn.
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): asia (138), book lists (167), chinese (40), cross cultural understanding (167), hawaii (9), independent reading (85), japanese (54), korea (21), vietnam (41)
In the Classroom
Refer your class to this list for multicultural reading and reports. If you have any ESL/ELL students from these areas, they may enjoy reading literature from (or about) their homeland. Challenge students to read one book on this list and research its setting. Have cooperative learning groups create a mash-up map using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge Tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Google My Maps, Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, StoryMap JS, Renderforest, and Genially.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Perceptions: Asian Americans - Ask Asia
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): asia (138), chinese (40), japan (61), japanese (54), racism (84)
In the Classroom
Use this article as a means to teach about stereotypes, racism, and the negative impacts they can have both personally and culturally. Introduce the article on the interactive whiteboard, leading into a class discussion based on student responses to the article. Because there is a lot of text, it might proceed quicker if you pick out a few choice highlights of the article rather than showing the whole text.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Asian Customs & Values and Their Preservation Within Communities - Ask Asia
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this article as a way to both teach the content as well as a way to teach students about important writing skills such as summarization, questioning, and identification of perspective, point of view, the works! Have students read the article in cooperative learning groups to help your struggling readers. Groups can dissect and re-summarize the articles, preceding a class discussion on their findings and the content of the article.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Anna May Wong - Unladylike 2020
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): fashion (14), movies (51), women (194), womenchangemaker (85)
In the Classroom
Students can watch one of the films that featured Anna May Wong. Students can use Book Creator, reviewed here to create summaries of all the films featuring Anna May Wong. Students can learn about Anna May Wong's fashion using Kidrex, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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