Through this unit, students will explore Asian American and Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) women’s poetry in order to craft and inspire their own poetry. After analyzing and interpreting poems, students recognize poetry as a vehicle to express their own untold stories about events small and large.
This unit will expose students to voices of AAPI women poets. Their experiences will help facilitate a dialogue of identity, beauty, tradition and activism. Many students face these issues during this pivotal time of their development.
Furthermore, this unit will help students explore their viewpoints as they craft and design their own poems and explore the readings. This unit allows students of all abilities and intersectionalities to make their voices heard and draw from their unique perspectives.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 7.5, HS.2, HS.11
Geography: 6.14, HS.51
Historical Knowledge: 6.21, 8.22, 8.25, HS.63, HS.64, HS.65, HS.66
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.32
Social Science Analysis: 6.24, 6.27, 7.28, 7.29, 8.36, HS.78

Organized around the compelling question "How have Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders engaged civically and contributed to U.S. culture?" and grounded in inquiry-based teaching and learning, this lesson brings history, civics, and the arts together to learn about the experiences and perspectives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in U.S. history. Primary sources, literature, and works of art created by AAPI individuals and related organizations provide an historical as well as contemporary context for concepts and issues including civic participation, immigration, and culture.

Students will explore Asian American and Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) women’s poetry in order to craft and inspire their own poetry, studying central idea and six different poetic elements over the course of the unit. After analyzing and interpreting poems, students will recognize poetry as a vehicle to express untold stories about events small and large. Students will learn about the experiences of and challenges faced by AAPI women, including topics of retaining culture, climate change, and more.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 5.1, 7.5
Economics: 4.4
Historical Knowledge: 5.22
Social Science Analysis: 3.19, 4.21, 4.24, 5.26, 52.27, 6.26, 7.28, 7.29

Asian Americans have been in the U.S. for over 170 years yet common stereotypes and myths persist. Even today, Asian Americans are often regarded as “perpetual foreigners” or the “model minority.” Unfortunately, the Asian American experience is overlooked, forgotten, or misrepresented in history texts and in the K-12 curriculum. The COVID-19 pandemic has evoked a disturbing surge in racist and violent acts targeting Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) that has its roots in ignorance, xenophobia, and mistrust. These actions have galvanized the AAPI community into action and promoted solidarity between AAPI and other groups.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 5.1, HS.2, HS.9
Geography: 5.13
Historical Knowledge: 6.21, 8.25, HS.52, HS.60, HS.61, HS.64, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.31, 8.32, HS.69
Social Science Analysis: 5.26, 5.27, 5.28, 5.29, 6.24, 6.26, 6.27, 6.28, 7.29, 7.30, 8.34, 8.36, HS.71, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.75, HS.76, HS.77, HS.78