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Contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Introduction | Background Knowledge | Activities | Extensions | Standards

Introduction

Asian culture is represented in every aspect of the United States—food, art, music, sports, politics, business, education, and more—and has helped to shape the country’s identity. Each May, the United States recognizes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to honor Asian American and Pacific Islander history, culture, and contributions.

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Background Knowledge

The term Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) encompasses a diverse group of people and cultures originating from Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, including Native Hawaiians. Each culture within this broad category brings a rich history and unique contributions to the American tapestry.

According to the 2020 Census, approximately 20.6 million Americans identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander, making up 6.2% of the population. The Asian population saw a remarkable growth of 40% from 2010 to 2020, while the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population increased by 30%. The 2020 Census indicated that the United States was more diverse than ever.

The initial efforts to recognize the contributions of the AAPI community began in 1977 when New York Representative Frank Horton introduced a bill to designate the first week of May as Asian/Pacific American Week. Although the bill initially failed, Horton persisted, and subsequent versions passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. President Jimmy Carter signed the bill into law, proclaiming May 1-10, 1979, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. In 1990, this week was extended to a month, and in 1992, May was officially designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month by President George H.W. Bush. May was chosen because it marks the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant in the United States on May 7, 1843, and the Transcontinental Railroad was completed largely by Chinese laborers on May 10, 1869.

Historically, Asian Americans have faced significant challenges and discrimination in the United States. After depending on Chinese laborers to complete the demanding work of building the Transcontinental Railroad, the U.S. government enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which halted the immigration of Chinese laborers and required those already in the country to carry documentation at all times. This exclusion expanded with the Immigration Act of 1917, which banned entry from a “barred zone” that included regions from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, leading to the forced internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans, who were deemed a security threat and removed from their homes and livelihoods. In 2020, anti-Asian sentiment surged when some referred to the COVID-19 virus as “the China Virus,” resulting in an alarming increase in violence against Asian Americans. Despite these adversities, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders have overcome obstacles to thrive and contribute significantly to American culture.

In 2020, the United States elected Kamala Harris as Vice President, marking her as the first Asian American to hold this position. By 2025, 64 U.S. Representatives and nine sitting Senators were within the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, comprised of members of AAPI descent or those representing AAPI constituents. Additionally, since 2001, individuals from the AAPI community have served in the Presidential Cabinet.

Asian Americans have also made notable impacts in the arts. World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, famous fashion designer Vera Wang, martial arts icon Bruce Lee, and journalist Connie Chung, the first Asian American anchor of a major network newscast, are all prominent figures. Achievements in sports include golfer Tiger Woods, figure skater Kristie Yamaguchi, and gold medal snowboarder Chloe Kim.

Despite facing numerous challenges, the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander communities have been integral to the American experience since its inception and continue to enrich every aspect of American culture.

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Activities

Selective List of Picture Books

  • Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina Lazo Gilmore (ISBN 978-1885008480) - Cora does not get to help when her family cooks in the kitchen. One day, when her siblings leave the house, she helps her mom make a favorite dish.
  • Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho (ISBN 978-0062915627) - A young Asian girl begins to notice that her eyes look different from those of her classmates. As she notices those differences, she also notices that her eyes are like those of her mother, her grandmother, and her little sister. She finds strength and love in looking like her family.
  • Watercress by Andrea Wang (ISBN 978-0823446247) - As they drive through their Ohio town, a young Chinese girl’s immigrant parents stop the car to gather watercress from a roadside ditch. The girl is embarrassed and does not want to eat the meal, but changes her mind after her mother shares her family’s story back in China.
  • Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (ISBN 978-0593530061) - Long before Waikiki became a popular tourist destination, four Māhu sailed from Tahiti to share their gifts with the people there. The Hawaiian people share a monument of four large boulders to honor the visitors. The Māhu blessed the boulders with healing powers, and the boulders were forgotten until the 1960s.
  • Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang (ISBN 978-1534411333) - Amy Wu wants to make bao with her family, but hers are too big, small, full, or empty. After many attempts, she figures out how to make the perfect one!

Selective List of Chapter Books and Graphic Novels

  • It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li! by Nicole Chen (ISBN 978-0063228627) - Pearl Li is an artist born into a family that loves technology. The only person who understands her is the owner of Boba Time, her favorite tea shop. When she learns that Boba Time is in financial trouble, she uses her craftiness to try to save it.
  • Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim (ISBN 978-0525554998) - Yumi Chung is quiet and shy but wants to be a stand-up comedian. When she comes across a class taught by her favorite YouTube star, everyone thinks she is someone else, and she doesn’t correct them.
  • Finding Juni Kim by Ellen Oh (ISBN 978-0062987990) - Juni Kim experiences racism at school. After a school project encourages her to learn about her grandparents’ experiences in the Korean War, she finds the strength to take a stand.
  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang (ISBN 978-1338157826): Mia Tang lives with her family in the hotel they manage. She discovers that her parents are hiding immigrants in the empty rooms.
  • A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits) by Lisa Yee (ISBN 978-1984830296)- Olive Cobin Zang doesn’t quite fit in. She gets sent to a mysterious boarding school in an old castle and quickly realizes that everything is not as it seems.
  • American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (ISBN 978-1250811899) - In this graphic novel, author and illustrator Gene Luen Yang weaves together the stories of Jin Wang, the American-born son of Chinese immigrants, a modified version of the Monkey King, a figure from Chinese culture; and Danny, who struggles with his cousin Chin-Kee’s yearly visits. Visit this Reading Trek (reviewed here) to explore the book using maps and extension activities to reflect upon the book’s characters and issues of social inequalities.

Explore Asian resources on TeachersFirst

  • View the Special Topics Collection - Asian-American Contributions to American Culture. Learn about people from the past and present, find web resources and class lesson ideas.
  • For more ideas, visit TeachersFirst’s Resources tagged Asia. These resources provide many links to museums, biographies, and lesson ideas for K-12 classrooms.
  • Asian Art Museum Educator Resources (reviewed here) shares free lesson plans and classroom activities, including video playlists featuring Asian art and exhibitions.
  • The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (reviewed here) offers many free resources for educators, including downloadable activities that can be modified for language arts and social studies lessons.
  • Google Arts and Culture (reviewed here) features several Asian American collections that feature art, culture, Asian-American contributions to war efforts, and America’s Chinatowns.

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Extensions

  • Living Wax Museum
    • After reading multiple biographies and teaching a few basic research skills, invite students to choose a famous person to learn more about. As a culminating activity, students can present a Living Wax Museum. If a physical living wax museum is impossible, consider using Blabberize (reviewed here) to record their short (about 30-second) presentations.
    • After the Wax Museum, invite students to stay in character for a dinner party activity. Group students into teams and have them interact as their biography subjects.
    • Take advantage of these suggestions for 50 Mini-Lessons for Teaching Students Research Skills (reviewed here) to guide students as they conduct their research and prepare biography presentations.
  • A World Without
    • Ask students to think about what the world would be like without the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Have students write a story about what life would be like and how people would adapt. For example, Ajay Bhatt developed USB technology. How would the world be different without USB technology?
  • AAPI Heritage Gallery Walk
    • Use Padlet (reviewed here) to create a digital gallery walk featuring the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Include links to videos, articles, and podcasts that share information about their contributions.
  • AAPI Podcasts
    • Have students create podcasts about Asian American contributions. Use Buzzsprout (reviewed here) to record and share student podcasts.
    • Include podcasts such as Asian American History 101 as part of station rotations or blended/flipped learning activities. After listening to podcasts, ask students to use Canva (reviewed here) to create biographies of someone featured on the podcast.

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Correlation to Standards

  • AASL National School Library Standards
    • Inquire Shared Foundation, Think Domain - Learners display curiosity and initiative by:
      • 1. Formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.
      • 2. Recalling prior and background knowledge as context for new meaning.
    • Inquire Shared Foundation, Share Domain - Learners adapt, communicate, and exchange learning products with others in a cycle that includes:
      • 1. Interacting with content presented by others.
      • 2. Providing constructive feedback.
      • 3. Acting on feedback to improve.
      • 4. Sharing products with an authentic audience.
    • Include Shared Foundation, Share Domain - Learners exhibit empathy with and tolerance for diverse ideas by:
      • 1. Engaging in informed conversation and active debate. 2. Contributing to discussions in which multiple viewpoints on a topic are expressed.
    • Include Shared Foundation, Grow Domain - Learners demonstrate empathy and equity in knowledge building within the global learning community by:
      • 1. Seeking interactions with a range of learners.
    • Engage Shared Foundation, Think Domain: Learners follow ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information by:
      • 1. Responsibly applying information, technology, and media to learning.
      • 2. Understanding the ethical use of information, technology, and media.
    • Engage Shared Foundation, Create Domain: Learners use valid information and reasoned conclusions to make ethical decisions in the creation of knowledge by:
      • 1. Ethically using and reproducing others’ work.
      • 2. Acknowledging authorship and demonstrating respect for the intellectual property of others.
      • 3. Including elements in personal-knowledge products that allow others to credit content appropriately.
    • Engage Shared Foundation, Grow Domain: Learners engage with information to extend personal learning by:
      • 1. Personalizing their use of information and information technologies.
      • 2. Reflecting on the process of ethical generation of knowledge.
      • 3. Inspiring others to engage in safe, responsible, ethical, and legal information behaviors.
    • Collaborate Shared Foundation, Think Domain - Learners identify collaborative opportunities by:
      • 1. Demonstrating their desire to broaden and deepen understanding.
      • 2. Developing new understandings through engagement in a learning group.
      • 3. Deciding to solve problems informed by group interaction.
    • Collaborate Shared Foundation, Create Domain - Learners participate in personal, social, and intellectual networks by:
      • 1. Using a variety of communication tools and resources.
      • 2. Establishing connections with other learners to build on their own prior knowledge and create new knowledge.
    • Collaborate Shared Foundation, Grow Domain - Learners actively participate with others in learning situations by:
      • 2. Recognizing learning as a social responsibility.
    • Explore Shared Foundation, Think Domain - Learners develop and satisfy personal curiosity by:
      • 1. Reading widely and deeply in multiple formats and writing and creating for a variety of purposes.
    • Explore Shared Foundation, Create Domain - Learners construct new knowledge by:
      • 1. Problem-solving through cycles of design, implementation, and reflection.
    • Explore Shared Foundation, Share Domain - Learners engage with the learning community by:
      • 3. Collaboratively identifying innovative solutions to a challenge or problem.
    • Explore Shared Foundation, Grow Domain - Learners develop through experience and reflection by:
      • 1. Iteratively responding to challenges.
      • 2. Recognizing capabilities and skills that can be developed, improved, and expanded.
      • 3. Open-mindedly accepting feedback for positive and constructive growth.
  • ISTE Standards for Students
    • Empowered Learner 1.1
      • 1.1.b. Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.
      • 1.1.c. Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
    • Digital Citizen 1.2
      • 1.2.c. Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.
    • Knowledge Constructor 1.3
      • 1.3.d. Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories, and pursuing answers and solutions.
    • Innovative Designer 1.4
      • 1.4.d. Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance, and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.
    • Global Collaborator 1.7
      • 1.7.c Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

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