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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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  • Video

    Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner’s UN Address

    In this excerpt from poet Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner’s performance at the United Nations, she passionately assures her newborn child, Matafele, that she will resist rising ocean waters and greedy entities polluting the environment, and that their family will not become climate change refugees.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 4
    View multimedia
  • Poster of an atomic bomb mushroom cloud ballooning from ocean's surface. Text above reads, "Nuclear Free Pacific." The border features tapa motifs.

    Text

    Nuclear Free Pacific Poster

    In the aftermath of World War II, the US detonated nuclear devices on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands from 1946-1958, displacing people from their homes. Bikini Atoll remains uninhabitable due to radiation from US nuclear testing.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Map marks the enduring and rotational U.S. military installations and defense sites in the Indo-Pacific Region.

    Image

    Map of U.S. Military Installations in Pacific

    This map from a 2023 US Congress Report identifies select US military installations and defense sites in the Pacific region.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Three rows of Fita Fita guards stand at attention. They hold rifles on a dirt path facing one guard. Buildings and a steep mountain stand behind them.

    Image

    Fitafita Guard

    Originally called the Samoan Naval Militia in 1900, the Fitafita Guard served the US Navy on American Sāmoa until 1951.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
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  • CHamoru students sit in one room schoolhouse. Their teacher, standing near three chalk boards, points to text written in Japanese.

    Image

    CHamoru Children Attend Japanese School

    During World War II, Guåhan (Guam) was occupied by Japanese forces whose war efforts included teaching Japanese culture and language to children. In this image, Japanese characters can be seen written on the chalk boards.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Cartoon with Uncle Sam, a white man dressed in stars and stripes of U.S. flag, who looms over brown children wearing names of different countries.

    Image

    Uncle Sam’s Classroom

    In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, US media representations of the Caribbean and the Pacific crudely depicted them as uncivilized children in Uncle Sam’s classroom.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Globe shaped map marks the major battles of World War II using yellow explosion icons. A faint red line shows the extent of Japan's control.

    Image

    Major Battles of World War II

    This map marks the major battles of World War II in the Pacific region with yellow stars. The arrows represent the path of the Allied offensives. The red line identifies the greatest extent of Japan’s control.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
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  • Newspaper article titled, "Guam Heroine Honored at Fete." Below is a photo of CHamoru Agueda I. Johnston, smiling with two women standing beside her.

    Text

    Agueda I. Johnston

    Agueda I. Johnston (center), a beacon of hope during World War II, led a secret resistance movement after the Japanese invaded Guåhan (Guam). After Guåhan’s liberation, Johnston continued her service to the community as a lifelong educator and advocate for Guåhan.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • A marble statue of Santa Marian Kamalen, who stands with crown atop her head, in park near ocean. Beside the statue are flags raised on flagpoles.

    Image

    Santa Marian Kamalen

    A marble statue of Santa Marian Kamalen, the patron saint of Guåhan (Guam), stands in a park in Malesso’, the southernmost village in Guåhan. The patron saint is most iconically represented by a revered three-hundred-year-old wooden statue housed in the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Ad in English and CHamoru of a family holding hands on beach. Text reads, "We are what we have. We will fight to protect what we have. We Are Guåhan."

    Image

    We Are Guåhan

    Since 2010, We Are Guåhan has advocated for the protection and preservation of Pågat in Guåhan by actively working to prevent military use of the site and to raise awareness about its cultural and environmental significance.

    Featured in:

    Pacific Islanders, Module 2
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  • Bayon Temple bathed in the light of the setting sun and covered in moss. Two women sit in a doorway and two men sit at the base of the stairs.

    Module

    Module 1: Temples and Trauma

    Lina Chhun

    Chapter:

    Cambodian Americans
    View module
    Lesson Plan
  • Aerial view of a myriad of bomb craters pockmarking lush farmland in Cambodia. Most craters are filled with water. A few are covered in vegetation.

    Module

    Module 2: Decolonization and the Cold War

    Lina Chhun

    Chapter:

    Decolonization and the Cold War
    View module
  • The displayed Khmer Rouge uniforms consist of black long-sleeved shirts and pants with a red checkered woven cloth tied at the neck.

    Module

    Module 3: Genocide and State Violence

    Lina Chhun

    Chapter:

    Cambodian Americans
    View module
  • A man takes a selfie in front of the parade in Cambodia Town. Confetti fills the air above the paraders dressed in brightly colored attire.

    Module

    Module 4: Refugee Resettlement and Diaspora

    Lina Chhun

    Chapter:

    Cambodian Americans
    View module
  • Art piece of a statue with a skull head wearing a soldier's helmet and a dress made out of a military parachute displayed in a gallery.

    Module

    Module 5: Transnational Connections and Intergenerational Legacies

    Lina Chhun

    Chapter:

    Cambodian Americans
    View module
  • The all-Asian female cast of The Joy Luck Club pose in mother-daughter pairs around dining room table.

    Module

    Module 3: The Empowerment of Asian American and Pacific Islander Independent Media

    Lori Lopez

    Chapter:

    Asian American and Pacific Islanders and the Media

    View module
  • At the illustration's center, a person stands with their back turned and their hands raised over head. Their black jacket reads "Protect Mauna Kea."

    Module

    Module 4: Media and Asian American and Pacific Islander Activism

    Lori Lopez

    Chapter:

    Asian American and Pacific Islanders and the Media
    View module
  • In a still from Fire Island, a group of five friends attend outdoor party. The group, all looking at something off-camera, wear warm weather clothing.

    Module

    Module 5: Asian American and Pacific Islander Intersections, Media, and its Futures

    Lori Lopez

    Chapter:

    Asian American and Pacific Islanders and the Media
    View module
  • Protestors behind barricade carry signs protesting Miss Saigon as they line sidewalk. Opposite them a woman reads the signs.

    Chapter

    Asian American and Pacific Islander Women Representations and Voices

    Christine Chai, Candice Custodio-Tan, and Cecilia Tran

    View chapter
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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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