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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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  • This drawing shows a refugee family in a bunk bed. A mother holds her child while a woman takes her shirt off behind and a boy sits on the top.

    Image

    Life in the Camp by Nguyen Dai Giang

    Life in the Camp (1990) by Nguyen Dai Giang. The artwork depicts the living quarters of a refugee family.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • This excerpt from a Viet refugee's diary details the beginnings of their escape a on boat.

    Text

    Pocket Diary of a Vietnamese Refugee (Pages 7-8)

    These dairy pages are excerpts from Pocket Diary of a Vietnamese Boat Person Refugee, housed at the University of California, Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive. The diary details an anonymous refugee’s boat journey beginning at 8:00 p.m. on June 17, 1979, from Cà Mau. This rare primary source object captures the experiences and feelings of an individual, but also sheds light on some of the first asylum countries’ roles in the refugee exodus.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • This excerpt from a Viet refugee's diary details the beginnings of their escape a on boat.

    Text

    Pocket diary of a Vietnamese Refugee (Pages 5-6)

    These dairy pages are excerpts from Pocket Diary of a Vietnamese Boat Person Refugee, housed at the University of California, Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive. The diary details an anonymous refugee’s boat journey beginning at 8:00 p.m. on June 17, 1979, from Cà Mau. This rare primary source object captures the experiences and feelings of an individual, but also sheds light on some of the first asylum countries’ roles in the refugee exodus.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • This excerpt from a Viet refugee's diary details the beginnings of their escape a on boat.

    Text

    Pocket diary of a Vietnamese Refugee (Pages 3-4)

    These dairy pages are excerpts from Pocket Diary of a Vietnamese Boat Person Refugee, housed at the University of California, Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive. The diary details an anonymous refugee’s boat journey beginning at 8:00 p.m. on June 17, 1979, from Cà Mau. This rare primary source object captures the experiences and feelings of an individual, but also sheds light on some of the first asylum countries’ roles in the refugee exodus.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • This excerpt from a Viet refugee's diary details the beginnings of their escape a on boat.

    Text

    Pocket diary of a Vietnamese Refugee (Pages 1-2)

    These dairy pages are excerpts from Pocket Diary of a Vietnamese Boat Person Refugee, housed at the University of California, Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive. The diary details an anonymous refugee’s boat journey beginning at 8:00 p.m. on June 17, 1979, from Cà Mau. This rare primary source object captures the experiences and feelings of an individual, but also sheds light on some of the first asylum countries’ roles in the refugee exodus.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • A refugee families crowded on a small wooden boat waves and smiles to the camera. A larger ship is seen in the background.

    Image

    Huy Tran on a boat

    In the years following the Fall of Saigon, many refugees left Vietnam secretly in unseaworthy and overcrowded boats. This second wave of refugees became known as the “boat people.”

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Vietnamese American Quynh-Trang Nguyen dressed in a gray shirt sits to the left of a large grandfather clock.

    Image

    Quynh-Trang Nguyen

    Quynh-Trang Nguyen was thirteen years old in 1975 when she and her family were temporarily housed at Camp Pendleton. This photo was taken in 2012 by Brandon Nguyen as part of the Vietnamese American Oral History Project.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Children play inside of an airplane as flight attendants dressed in red sit, chat, and assist them.

    Image

    Operation Babylift

    Operation Babylift was the evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other Western countries. An estimated 3,000+ children were airlifted through this program in April 1975 and adopted by families around the world.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Operation New Life in the United States. Vietnamese refugees carrying their personal belongings wait in a line for processing. Civilians and navy personnel serve refreshments to the refugees waiting in the line. Vietnamese men, women and children walk wearing shower slippers provided by U.S. personnel.

    Video

    Operation New Life

    Operation New Life (April 23–November 1, 1975) was a US government operation that processed over 111,000 refugees on Guam (Guåhan) before and after South Vietnam’s collapse.

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Black-and-white photo of a dirt road lined with houses. Three children crossing the road turn to face the camera.

    Image

    Vietnamese Refugee Housing

    Refugees from Vietnam were housed in temporary resettlement homes, such as these homes pictured at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas (c. 1970s).

    Featured in:

    Vietnamese American Experiences, Module 3
    View multimedia

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  • Vietnamese author Le Ly Hayslip squats with a young girl in a rice field in Ky La, in the Quang Nam-Da Nang Province.

    Module

    Module 2: The Vietnam-American War

    Thuy Vo Dang

    Chapter:

    Vietnamese American Experiences
    View module
  • A refugee families crowded on a small wooden boat waves and smiles to the camera. A larger ship is seen in the background.

    Module

    Module 3: The Vietnamese Refugee Exodus

    Thuy Vo Dang

    Chapter:

    Vietnamese American Experiences
    View module

  • Module

    Module 4: Building Community in “Little Saigon”

    Thuy Vo Dang

    Chapter:

    Vietnamese American Experiences
    View module
  • Large white cement statue of an open palm with a little girl standing along the fingers while a little boy lays down on the palm.

    Module

    Module 5: Politics and Remembrance in the Vietnamese American Community

    Thuy Vo Dang

    Chapter:

    Vietnamese American Experiences
    View module
  • Family portrait of the Tape family in 1884. Joseph and Mary are sitting on chairs while Joseph has Emily on his lap. Mamie and Frank are sitting between them. Label at the bottom reads 'Brown, 606 Kearny Street, San Francisco.'

    Chapter

    Chapter Overview: The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights

    Mae Ngai

    View chapter
  • Family portrait of the Tape family in 1884. Joseph and Mary are sitting on chairs while Emily, Marnie, and Frank are seated in between.

    Module

    Module 1: That Chinese Girl

    Mae Ngai

    Chapter:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights
    View module
    Lesson Plan
  • Joseph Tape with his hunting rifle and two bird dogs.

    Module

    Module 2: In-Between People

    Mae Ngai

    Chapter:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights
    View module
    Lesson Plan
  • A line of lion dancers are in the foreground. In the background is a paifang, or a traditional chinese gateway.

    Module

    Module 3: The World’s Fair

    Mae Ngai

    Chapter:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights
    View module

  • Module

    Module 4: The Strange Career of a Chinese Interpreter

    Mae Ngai

    Chapter:

    The Tape Family and Chinese American Civil Rights
    View module
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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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