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Asian American and Pacific Islander studies resources for the classroom

All chapters of Foundations and Futures include lesson plans and curricular tools that are designed for high school students and grounded in ethnic studies pedagogy. Feel free to search our repository of primary sources and material that helps bring Asian American and Pacific Islander histories and experiences into the classroom.  

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  • A drawing that shows a white man carrying an icebox away from a Japanese mother and daughter. The wall in the center reads "No Japs Wanted".

    Image

    “Junkshop Man Took Our Icebox Away”

    Japanese Americans on the West Coast had to sell most of their possessions at rock-bottom prices to unscrupulous buyers. This painting, “Junkshop Man Took Our Icebox Away,” by Henry Sugimoto, captures the emotions of a mother and daughter who must get rid of the family’s belongings.

    Featured in:

    Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Choi Soo Lee in a white shirt exits a vehicle driven by a woman and smiles over the car. Two men beside him also look in the same direction.

    Image

    Chol Soo Lee Released

    Chol Soo Lee beams at his supporters in Stockton, California, upon being released from prison on March 28, 1983.

    Featured in:

    Free Chol Soo Lee: How a Lone Immigrant on Death Row Sparked a Movement, Module 4
    View multimedia
  • Punjabi Mexican couple Rosa and Jiwan Singh host dinner with family and friends. Indian wrestler Tiger Joginder Singh sits in the center.

    Image

    Punjabi Mexican Dinner

    Dinner at the Phoenix, Arizona home of Rosa and Jiwan Singh in 1951.

    Featured in:

    Indian Americans, Module 1
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  • Headshot of Chris Balos, wearing a dark jacket and hoodie, who smiles while seated in office.

    Audio

    Excerpt from Oral History of Chris Balos

    Chris Balos, who works for two local community organizations, reflects on Arkansas as a second home for the Marshallese. He migrated to Hawai’i at the age of two, grew up on the U.S. west coast, and eventually came to Arkansas at the age of 21.

    Featured in:

    Asian Americans in the United States South, Module 2
    View multimedia

  • Video

    Noy Thrupkaew’s TED Talk on Trafficking

    Excerpt of a TED Talk by journalist Noy Thrupkaew, dispelling the common misconceptions about human trafficking.

    Featured in:

    Asian American and Pacific Islander Workers’ Organizing, Module 5
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  • The front page of Người Việt Daily News with a large headline that reads "BỐC 100.000 TỊ NẠN Ở ĐNA". Below are several smaller articles and images.

    Text

    First Issue of Người Việt Daily News (Page 2)

    The first issue of Người Việt Daily News (c. 1978). The Vietnamese-language newspaper started out of Yến Ngọc Đỗ’s home in Garden Grove, California, near the center of Orange County’s Little Saigon.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 4
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  • Women and children sit at long tables making lucky coins. On the left wall reads "Chinese Women War Zone Refugee Relief Committee"

    Image

    Lucky Coins

    Women and children making lucky coins for the war effort in China.

    Featured in:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights, Module 5
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  • A protest against sending scrap iron to Japan is led by Lai Yee Guey How and Tom Quock both wearing sashes with words. A large crowd walks behind.

    Image

    Nellie Tom Quock and Lai Yee Guey How at the Picket Line

    Nellie Tom Quock, Lai Yee Guey How, and his son, Art, lead the picket line against sending scrap iron to Japan.

    Featured in:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights, Module 5
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  • Rice Bowl Party members celebrate on the while a large flag is being carried through the streets.

    Image

    Rice Bowl Party

    “Rice bowl party” supporting China’s resistance to Japanese aggression, San Francisco, circa 1940.

    Featured in:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights, Module 5
    View multimedia
  • Close side view of Chol Soo Lee with short, dark hair dressed in a black jacket. In the background is blurry Korean and English lettering.

    Image

    Chol Soo Lee Symposium at the UCLA School of Law

    Chol Soo Lee, at a 2007 symposium at the UCLA School of Law. He told the audience, which included activists and the legal defense team who helped free him, “I’m not a hero. I’m just a human being.”

    Featured in:

    Free Chol Soo Lee: How a Lone Death Row Inmate Sparked a Movement, Module 5
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  • Man in suit jacket stands with raised fist before group of Asian Americans. They stand behind "It's Not Fair" banner and carry signs and U.S. flags.

    Module

    Module 3: To Do Something or Nothing: The Decision to Take Action

    Helen Zia

    Chapter:

    Fighting Anti-Asian Violence: Justice for Vincent Chin
    View module
  • Lily Chin at podium in front of "Justice for Vincent Chin" banner and addresses audience. Seated behind her is Jesse Jackson, a Black man in suit.

    Module

    Module 4: Building a Pan-Asian American Civil Rights Movement

    Helen Zia

    Chapter:

    Fighting Anti-Asian Violence: Justice for Vincent Chin
    View module
  • Outdoor plaque with inscription "In Memory of Vincent Chin" at top. Text below describes significance of plaque's location and commemoration details.

    Module

    Module 5: The Continued Impact and Legacy of Vincent Chin’s Story

    Helen Zia

    Chapter:

    Fighting Anti-Asian Violence: Justice for Vincent Chin
    View module
  • Six Japanese American women pose in indoor bowling alley. Three kneel in front and three stand behind, all wearing matching white, collared shirts.

    Chapter

    Japanese Americans

    Brian Niiya and Kristen Hayashi

    View chapter
  • A portrait of the Japanese American Uno family. Four children and eight adults dressed in dark colors pose outside for picture.

    Module

    Module 1: Still Here After Five Generations and Counting

    Brian Niiya and Kristen Hayashi

    Chapter:

    Japanese Americans
    View module
  • Four Japanese American people stand in the middle of a large flower field.

    Module

    Module 2: Building Homes and Community in the Shadow of Two Empires (1885-1941)

    Brian Niiya and Kristen Hayashi

    Chapter:

    Japanese Americans
    View module
  • Groups of Japanese American families dressed in Sunday suits and coats wait outside to board trains with their luggage piled beside them.

    Module

    Module 3: Looking Like the Enemy (1942-1945)

    Brian Niiya and Kristen Hayashi

    Chapter:

    Japanese Americans
    View module
  • Pamphlet features photos of politicians Patsy Mink, Spark Matsunaga, Daniel Inouye, and Hubert Humphrey with their names written below.

    Module

    Module 4: From Pariahs to “Model Minorities”

    Brian Niiya and Kristen Hayashi

    Chapter:

    Japanese Americans
    View module
  • Japanese American activist Warren Furutani holds microphone as he addresses crowd alongside three other men during outdoor rally.

    Module

    Module 5: Balancing Past and Present (1970s to the present)

    Brian Niiya and Kristen Hayashi

    Chapter:

    Japanese Americans
    View module
Foundations and Futures Logo

The Asian American Studies Center acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands) and pay our respects to the honuukvetam (ancestors), ‘ahiihirom (elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

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