Celebrating a Melting Pot of Diversity

Did you know that May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month?

The US Census Bureau lists over twenty-five Asian and Pacific Islander groups. Some of the largest groups are: Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipinos, Indian, Pakistani, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, Indonesian, Thai, Taiwanese, and a variety of Pacific Islanders from the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesian Islands, and New Zealand.

The number of U.S. residents in 2000 who were born in Asia was 7.2 million. The total number of people who claimed Asian ancestry in that census was 11.9 million or 4.2% of the population. More than half of these live in Hawaii, California, New York, and Texas.

In June 1977, Representatives Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. In May 1990, the holiday was expanded further when President George H. W. Bush designated May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843.

The Asian/Pacific American Heritage Association (APAHA) was formed in 1992 to "promote awareness and increase understanding of the Asian/Pacific American culture and its diversity through education and celebration, focusing on May, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), and continuing throughout the year."

Assign students to learn more about the contributions of Asian Pacific American history and contributions to our country. Students should cite at least three resources in a report of approximately 150 words. Reports should focus on a specific ethnic group from the list above and describe their history in the U.S., their culture, and the contributions of their outstanding citizens.

Search Pathfinder: Click Search Topics link > United States History > Special Subjects > Asian-American History. Students can also use a keyword search to access more information.

Many teachers are beginning to prefer assigning a BookCart based on a selected topic, rather than traditional searching, because it's easier for both students and teachers. When students open a BookCart, all the instructions, essential questions, and even a quiz can be integrated with the best relevant resources. This saves classroom time that students ordinarily would need to search and evaluate, and saves teacher time needed to provide directions and assess the relevancy of resources that students select.

1. Open the eLibrary Teacher Edition BookCart Editor
   
   
2. Click the BookCart Admin link at the top-right corner.
   
   
3. Click the ProQuest Carts tab.
   
   
4. Click the Folder on the left margin: Ethnic Culture and Interests.
   
   
5. Click the Copy icon next to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
   
   
6. Click Return to My Local Carts.

1. In My Local Carts, find and click the new Title that has "Copy of" as its prefix.
   
   
2. Delete "Copy of" in the Title.
   
   
3. Type your name in the Author boxes.
   
   
4. Scroll down and click the Save button at bottom.
   
   
5. Return to My Local Carts.

Assign students a report of 150-200 words that cites at least three resources. Or assign a PowerPoint report of about two to three minutes. Remember that each student BookCart includes essential questions for critical thinking; you can add or substitute others if appropriate.

Click here for a teacher's guide to written reports. Or, click here for a student PowerPoint report template.



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