Asian American Resources
Books Lesson Plans Educator Resources
Books
Afterland: Poems
by Mai Der Vang
Ages: Middle & High School
Almost American Girl
by Robin Ha
Ages: Middle & High School
American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yang
Ages: Middle & High School
Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family
by Yoshiko Uchida
Ages: Middle & High School
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston
Ages: Middle School
I Hotel
by Karen Tei Yamashita
Ages: High School
I Was Their American Dream
by Malaka Gharib
Ages: High School
Journey Home
by Yoshiko Uchida (Author), Charles Robinson (Illustrator)
Ages: Middle School
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida (Author), Donald Carrick (Illustrator)
Ages: Middle School
The Best We Could Do
by Thi Bui
Ages: Middle & High School
They Called Us Enemy
by George Takei, Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott (Authors), Harmony Becker (Illustrator)
Ages: Middle & High School
Troublemaker
by John Cho
Ages: Middle & High School
We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration
by Frank Abe & Tamiko Nimura (Authors), Ross Ishikawa & Matt Sasaki (Illustrators)
Ages: Middle & High School
West: A Translation
by Paisley Rekdal, Utah's Poet Laureate 2017-2022
A poetry collection with videos that explores the transcontinental railroad workers’ stories and the cultural meaning of the railroad in America.
Ages: High School
When the Akimotos went to War
by Matthew Elms
Ages: Middle & High School
Lesson Plans
Asian Americans | PBS Learning Media
Asian Americans is a five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on history. Teachers may utilize over 30 lesson plans which are drawn from the series to explore the ways that Asian Americans have shaped our nation's history.
The curriculum guide contains resources related to the museum exhibits "Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion" or "Towards Equality: California’s Chinese American Women."
Minidoka Curriculum Materials
Friends of Minidoka and Northshore Productions have created four short documentaries (5-6 mins), each providing a deep dive into different aspects of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The four topics covered in the Minidoka curriculum are: Power of the Press, Power of Words, Patriotism and Protest and Standing up for Others. Each film and corresponding lesson plan focuses on the legacy of those incarcerated at Minidoka. Each lesson includes key terms, historical timelines, student worksheets and educational standards alignments.
Mineta Legacy Project
The Mineta Legacy Project captures the life, career and contributions of Secretary Norman Y. Mineta in an hour-long nationally televised documentary and online educational curriculum for high school and college students.
MOCA Heroes is a series of digital nonfiction magazines that explore the lives of Chinese American trailblazers.
The National Veterans Network - Middle School Activities
As a set, these activities will take students on a journey from the time EO9066 was
signed in 1942 to three pathways that faced many Japanese Americans during this time:
volunteering to join the military, volunteering to join a military service without seeing
combat, and resistance. This set invites middle school teachers and students to think
about what they would have done in 1942, while analyzing why American historical
figures made the choices that they did.
The Asian American Education Project
The history of Asian American is deeply intertwined together with America’s own history, yet often forgotten or ignored within today’s classrooms and public discourse. Online lesson plans here provide a tailored K–12 curriculum for educators to teach this rich history to students.
Wing Luke Museum - Curriculum
Wing Luke Museum created curriculum sets to blend Asian and Pacific Islander histories into social studies, language arts and history courses.
Educator Resources
A People's History of Asian America | PBS
A People’s History of Asian America is a series of visual essays and explainers, hosted by Emmy award-winning journalist, Dolly Li, and Asian studies scholar and professor, Adrian De Leon. Each episode offers informed and empowering perspectives through the tools of ethnic studies.
Asian American Studies - BYU Library
The materials found on this webpage can help you explore the varied and numerous contributions of Asian Americans to the historical mosaic of America, the challenges and successes of Asian Americans over the course of American history, and the influences and impact Asian Americans have had on American culture.
Chinese Historical Society of America - Teacher Resources
The curriculum guide contains resources related to the museum exhibits “Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion” or “Towards Equality: California’s Chinese American Women.”
The First Asian American Settlement Was Established by Filipino Fishermen
The fishing village in marshlands of present-day Louisiana was settled by the so-called Manilamen as early as 1763.
Densho
Densho uses digital technology to preserve and make accessible primary source materials on the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.
History: Asian American | University of Washington
This research guide covers primary and secondary sources for Asian American history.
Japanese Internment in Utah
Browse primary source sets for important pieces of history regarding Japanese internment.
Minidoka Education
Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome, ID shares the stories of the 13,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated in the region during World War II. The site also holds lessons on civil and constitutional rights, racism and the fragility of democracy in times of crisis.
National Japanese American Historical Society
The National Japanese American Historical Society, Inc. (NJAHS) is dedicated to the collection, preservation, authentic interpretation and sharing of historical information of the Japanese American experience for the broader national and global community. NJAHS provides educators with tools to help prepare students to be informed citizens in a constitutional democracy.
The Fight For School Desegregation by Asian Americans
Discover how a Chinese American family challenged the use of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to deny their daughter access to education. Their case against the San Francisco Board of Education, Tape v Hurley, became one of the earliest civil rights decisions against policies that segregated students on the basis of race.
The National Veterans Network
The National Veterans Network is a national organization whose mission is to educate current and future generations about the extraordinary legacy of American WWII soldiers of Japanese ancestry in order to promote equality and justice.
South Asian Americans Digital Archive - Educator Resources
Explore resources, lessons and activities that have been created to support high school and college-level educators in bringing South Asian American history and stories into the classroom.
Topaz Museum
The Topaz Museum in Delta, Utah aims to preserve the nearby Topaz incarceration site and its World War II history. It also seeks to interpret the impact of Topaz on the people who were detained there and the Millard County community.
Wing Luke Museum - Educator Resources
Wing Luke Museum created classroom resources, training for teachers, digital interactive multimedia resources and short documentary films for the classroom.
Welcome to America's Chinatowns
Explore the storytelling hub on Google Arts & Culture which highlights over 15 Chinatowns across the United States. Learn about their history, culture and communities.
Yale University Library Diasporic/Border Studies Research Guide
This research guide focuses on Diasporas and Borders and includes East Asia along with South and Southeast Asia.
Yuri
Yuri creates educational resources and experiences for cultural institutions, teachers and PK-12 students. With a specialty in creating curricula on Asian American histories and stories, they aim to teach the power of coalition building in order to create understanding across diverse communities