Asian American Heritage Month Lesson Plan Round-up

It would be nice if Asian Pacific Heritage Month were no longer needed. It would be nice if our history lessons made it clear that the United States has had Asian American presence and contributions for just about as long as we’ve been the United States. It would be nice if our lessons on heroes just naturally included Asian Americans, as well as all the other wonderful diversity of the United States, without our having to make any special effort.

Unfortunately, we haven’t yet reached that point.

Until we do, May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month.

Consider trying out traditional Asian crafts like Pan Dau or origami in the classroom. Play traditional games from India: chess, parcheesi, or navkankari. Make a plastic bag kite.

Here are some online resources for lessons on the subject:

• The Allen Memorial Art Museum has a collection of lesson plans inspired by Asian art.
• The Library of Congress has a collection for teachers.
• Scholastic has a good collection, too.
• Edsitement has a very cool assortment of lesson plans and links.
• Wikipedia’s list of influential Asian Americans would be a great starting point for research and writing practice.

Enjoy these lesson plans on folktales from Asia:

• “The Blind Men and the Elephant”
• “The Five (or Seven) Chinese Brothers”
• “The Lambikin”
• “Xiangmiang: Trickster Tales of Laos”
• “The Beckoning Cat”
• “The Monkeys and the Dragonflies”
• The Last King of Angkor Wat

Think about Asian inventions:

• Fireworks
• Kites
• Clocks
• Seismograph (among other ancient Chinese inventions)

Enjoy Asian and Pacific art:

• Hawaiian music
• Japanese fish art
• Chinese brush painting
• Marshall Islands lesson plans include art projects related to stick charts and the bikini.