Asian-American and Pacific Heritage Month Activities and Teaching Resources
May is Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Help your students to celebrate and learn about the influence and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders to American history, society and culture with cross curricular activities, lesson plans, printables and teaching resources.
Why Do We Celebrate Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month?
Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month pays tribute to the accomplishments of Asian American and Pacific Islanders as well as their valuable contributions to the United States, and the rest of the world. The term Asian/Pacific broadly refers to all of the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. Asian-American Pacific Islanders have made significant contributions to American culture and society, including sports, science and medicine, literature and art, government, politics and law.
The celebration began in the late 1970s as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week and in the early 1990s Congress passed new laws to expand the celebration to the entire month of May. May was chosen for Asian/Pacific Heritage Month to mark two significant dates: the first Japanese immigrant on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.
Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrates the experiences, traditions and cultures of Asian-American Pacific Islander immigrants and citizens in the United States and the unique journeys they have made. It provides an opportunity to learn about and celebrate Asian-American Pacific Islander individuals, communities and cultures.
How to Celebrate Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the Classroom
Use these Asian Pacific American Heritage Month activities, lessons, and printables to explore the art, food, music, and writing of Asian and Pacific Island cultures. Choose from printables for making Asian musical instruments, reading and language arts activities for learning about cultural diversity and experiences of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders or history resources for exploring Asian-Pacific-American connections. These resources are also great to incorporate across your curriculum for Diversity Awareness Month in October.
Printables
Teach your students about Asian-Pacific-American cultures and traditions with these printables. Includes making musical instruments, Chinese New Year puppets, and mooncakes.
- Making an Erhu
- Has the Past Been Just?
- Chinese New Year Dragon Puppet
- Making a Koto
- Making a Fan
- Mooncakes
- Music for Fuhng Yang Wha Gu (Flower Drum Song)
- More Popular Asian-American History Printables
Lesson Plans
Our Lesson Plans will help students understand more about Asian-Pacific-American heritage with activities such as paper making, learning about Chinese money using simple algebraic equations, and more.
- Paper Making
- Chinese Percussion Music
- Chinese Opera
- More Asian-American and Pacific Heritage Month Resources
Quizzes
Test your students' knowledge about Asian-Pacific-American heritage with this printable multiple-choice quiz.
References
Refer to our resources on Asian-Pacific-American heritage to enhance your lessons and extend students' learning. Some activities included in the reference information.
- Chinese Music
- History of Chopsticks
- Asian-American History
- The Chinese Calendar
- All About the Chinese New Year
- History of Tea
- Chinatowns and Other Asian-American Enclaves
- More Asian-American History
Chinese New Year Resources
Students will enjoy learning about the Chinese New Year with these resources. Includes hands-on activities such as making musical instruments, creating a story cloth, and more.
- Making an Erhu
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
- Paper Making
- Making a Koto
- Music for Fuhng Yang Wha Gu (Flower Drum Song)
- Making a Story Cloth
- Han Chinese Music Scales
- More Chinese New Year Teacher Resources
Asian-American Food Resources
Use these resources to expand your teaching strategies and lessons about Asian-American foods. Let Asian-American students bring foods they eat at home to share with the class.
Asian-American Art Activities
Incorporate fun art activities with your lessons on Asian-Pacific-American heritage and increase learning with student created paper and musical instruments.
Asian-American Music Activities
Music is an international language. Use our resources to enhance your lessons and teach students about Asian-Pacific-American cultures by making musical instruments such as an erhu and koto, as well as learning about Asian-Pacific music.
- Making an Erhu
- Making a Koto
- Music for Fuhng Yang Wha Gu (Flower Drum Song)
- Han Chinese Music Scales
- Chinese Percussion Ensembles
- More Asian Music Resources
Literature Resources for Asian-American History
Choose from these activities to help students expand their knowledge. Includes a reading passage with discussion questions and extension activities, learning about cultural diversity, and different genres of literature.
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
- A Step from Heaven
- The Dragon's Child Reading Guide
- Asian-American Heritage Through Literature
- Sharing the Asian American Heritage Experience
- Study Guides to Books by Laurence Yep
- Discussion Guide for the Novels of Carolyn Marsden
- More Literature Resources for Asian-American History
Language Arts & Asian-American History Connected
Interconnect these Language Arts activities with your lessons on Asian-Pacific-American heritage to enhance studentsâ learning. Includes paper making, reading passages on Chinese immigration and their experiences in new places, and more.
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
- Paper Making
- The Dragon's Child Reading Guide
- Chinese New Year -- Fill in the Blank (Answer Key)
- Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain Discussion Guide
- More Asian-American History Resources for Language Arts
Asian-American Resources for History Class
Explore Asian-Pacific-American connections and expand your students' learning using these history resources. Includes making a koto, reading passages about the Asian experiences in new places, and more.
Recommended Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month Resources
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REFERENCE
Chinese Music
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ACTIVITIES
Paper Making
The ancient art of paper making is explained in this lesson plan, which provides many suggestions for interesting variat... -
BOOK GUIDES
A Step from Heaven
This is the story of a Korean family that immigrates to California in search of a better life, only to find that the Ame... -
BOOK GUIDES
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
This literature guide includes enrichment activities and internet resources for In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robin... -
WORKSHEETS
Making a Fan
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WORKSHEETS
Chinese New Year Dragon Puppet
In this arts and crafts activity, students make their own dragon puppet for the Chinese New Year. This is a fun way to d... -
LESSON PLANS
Indian Ragas
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BOOK GUIDES
Somewhere Among Reading Group Guide
Introduce students to the literary format of "novel in verse" with this Reading Group Guide to Somewhere Among. A large ... -
BOOK GUIDES
Discussion Guide for the Novels of Carolyn Marsden
Discuss the books of Carolyn Marsden with your pupils. This guide includes a book synopsis and discussion questions for ... -
BOOK GUIDES
The Dragon's Child Reading Guide
Promote classroom discussion about Laurence Yep and Dr. Kathleen S. Yep's The Dragon's Child, a story that follows a fat... -
BOOK GUIDES
Study Guides to Books by Laurence Yep
This literature guide to Laurence Yep's The Serpent's Children, Mountain Light, Dragonwings, and Dragon's Gate – bo... -
ACTIVITIES
Favorite Chinese New Year Printables Slideshow, Grades K-8
Learn all about the Chinese New Year, with these printable resources and activities. Your students will enjoy discoveri... -
WORKSHEETS
Has the Past Been Just?
The second lesson in Beyond Blame: Reacting to the Terrorist Attack deals with the reactions Americans had toward Japane... -
WORKSHEETS
Chinese Symbols
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with this printable! Students can cut and color the images individually, or color the ent... -
REFERENCE
The Chinese Calendar
Here you'll find a chart of the Chinese calendar. Students can reference this calendar to figure out their Chinese sign ... -
WORKSHEETS
Making a Story Cloth
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WORKSHEETS
Making a Koto
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LESSON PLANS
Chinese Percussion Music
Teach students about Chinese percussion instruments and ensemble performances. Use this music lesson to celebrate Asian ... -
WORKSHEETS
Mooncakes
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BOOK GUIDES
Bronze and Sunflower Teaching Guide
This teaching guide for Bronze and Sunflower , a newly-revised children's classic by Chinese author Cao Wenxuan, includ... -
WORKSHEETS
Sharing the Asian American Heritage Experience
Enhance understanding with a teaching guide that offers reading ideas about Asian-American history for all reading level... -
WORKSHEETS
Chinese Percussion Ensembles
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WORKSHEETS
Tet, the Vietnamese New Year
Teach children about the Vietnamese New Year celebration with these activities. This printable is a great way to teach s... -
REFERENCE
History of Chopsticks
In much of Asia, especially the so-called "rice bowl" cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, food is usually eate...