What Is AAPI Month? Find Out in Social Studies Class

What is AAPI Month? This may be a question your students ask this May, and what better way to answer it than with targeted lessons that help them build background knowledge of the significance of the month and the people it represents? With Newsela Social Studies, you can have your students look into a different AAPI culture each day of the month.

• Celebrate AAPI cultures and communities
• Remember AAPI histories and experiences
• Shine a light on AAPI activism
• Recognize AAPI leaders and trailblazers
• Meet young AAPI achievers

[Celebrate AAPI cultures and communities](id-culture)

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are part of a diverse multicultural group that has influenced and impacted the overall culture of the United States in many ways. Teach students how you can celebrate diversity this month by exploring areas where AAPI cultures and communities enrich our lives:

• Learn about United States twists on AAPI dishes and treats, like Hawaiian poke, India-inspired ice cream flavors, and Chinese fortune cookies.
• Discover how and when yoga first came to the U.S. from India and if it was always meant to promote fitness.
• See how K-pop music is influencing more college students to study the Korean language, history, and culture.

[Remember AAPI histories and experiences](id-history)

AAPI communities have made tremendous contributions to today’s U.S. culture and it’s important to remember and reflect on their heritage and past experiences. Look back at the history and experiences of AAPI communities with activities like:

• Discovering which areas of the United States were historically home to AAPI immigrants, like Seattle for Japanese-Americans.
• Learning more about legislation that concerned AAPI immigration, like the Chinese Immigration and Exclusion Acts and the Immigration Act of 1924.
• Revisiting what life was like for AAPI communities during World War II, specifically Japanese Americans and their experiences in internment or incarceration camps.

[Shine a light on AAPI activism](id-activism)

Throughout American history, AAPI communities have faced many challenges and experienced many triumphs. Teach your students about how people from these communities have advocated for themselves and how your students can continue to be allies today:

• See how the graphic novel “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Acts of Resistance During World War II” shows the types of AAPI activism that existed during that era.
• Explore the experiences of Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic and discuss why there was a rise of anti-Asian bias during that time.
• Learn about how members of the AAPI community have stood up for other marginalized ethnic groups, such as when K-pop fans combatted opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement.

[Recognize AAPI leaders and trailblazers](id-leaders)

Teach students about AAPI leaders of the past and present who have broken and are still breaking barriers in politics, sports, the arts, and everywhere in between:

• Read about the historic election of Vice President Kamala Harris, which marked the first time a Black and South Asian woman held the position.
• Discover the next generation of Asian superheroes and how Marvel’s “Agents of Atlas” is different from the company’s other franchises.
• Learn about snowboarder Chloe Kim and how she solidified her place in Olympic history by being the first woman to win two gold medals in halfpipe.

[Meet young AAPI achievers](id-youth)

Adults aren’t the only ones who can make a difference. Explore how AAPI youth are changing the world one initiative at a time:

AAPI changemakers

Teach about high school students in a Pacific Islander Club who used their passion for poetry to fight climate change. Pair students together to discuss how the club is making a difference by having them answer questions like:

• What methods did the students use to push for change?
• What challenges did they face as they tried to make their voices heard?
• How does their work reflect the importance of activism and leadership in the AAPI community?

AAPI scientists

Young scientists and inventors have the power to change the world. Have students learn about some AAPI leaders like Ruhani Ahluwalia or Gitanjali Rao who are trying to solve problems like beating cancer and fighting America’s water crisis with their research. Then introduce activities like:

• A Think-Pair-Share that gets students thinking about why this research is inspiring and if changemakers like Ahluwalia and Rao have changed students’ opinions about science and science class.
• Brainstorming sessions that encourage students to think about a scientific topic they’d like to research.
• Science projects that encourage students to take their brainstorming ideas and put them into practice by creating S.M.A.R.T. goals and starting low-stakes research and experiments in their interest areas.

AAPI education

Does your curriculum have AAPI studies requirements? Some young AAPI leaders are working to get more AAPI history, language, and other courses available at all levels of education. Have students learn about their peers fighting for more AAPI inclusion in the classroom:

• Learn how the rise in anti-Asian bias following the COVID-19 pandemic created an increasing demand for Asian American studies courses on college campuses across the U.S.
• Discover how 14-year-old Mina Fedor created AAPI Youth Rising, an organization that teaches community lessons about AAPI history and anti-Asian violence.
• Have students create a proposal for their teachers, principals, or district leaders about ways they can diversify the school’s curriculum and update or improve the current course offerings.

Determined AAPI leaders

Sometimes, being a leader or a trailblazer means making the best of your current situation. It can also mean being resourceful and using the tools available to improve your circumstances. Teach students about the AAPI youth leaders doing just that with content and activities like:

• Discovering how learning a new language—whether it’s computer code or English—can help refugee students communicate better with their teachers and classmates.
• Reading about a third-grader who was born without hands and was still able to win a national handwriting competition for her cursive penmanship.
• Sharing an interviewing project where students pick a family member or friend who has shown determination or resourcefulness and create a written article or video about what they learned from that person.

Newsela goes beyond AAPI Heritage Month

We hope these resources make it easier to help you develop relevant, engaging lessons about AAPI heritage, cultures, and identities in your social studies classes this May. But Newsela has even more great content, interactive activities, and assessment tools that you can use in the classroom all year. 

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