As a Native Hawaiian Wahine, it is incredibly important to me that our keiki (children) are taught the history of my community and other Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. There is so much joy and brilliance from our communities along with harm and sadness that we have faced. Both must be brought to the surface of the conversations in our schools, libraries, and homes. 

This month I am doing an AAPI Studies Series for Colorful Pages. My hope is to release a plethora of resources for educators, families, and librarians to ensure that our history and heritage is taught. 

In this post, I am sharing a Unit Plan & Materials that I created centered around learning about AAPI Leaders in History! This is a great lesson to START to talk about AAPI History and introduce students to some key AAPI Leaders. Please make sure the conversations do not just stop here. Check out the unit plan and materials below!

Learning Plan & Materials

In this unit, students will start to learn more about AAPI History through researching different AAPI Leaders. 

In each lesson, students will participate in research by reading and discussing a book from our book list “Books About AAPI Leaders”. The class will make an anchor chart about the facts they are learning from the book. Then, they will be asked to complete a worksheet where they will write about the facts that they learned about the AAPI Leader. 

In the last lesson of the unit, the teacher will have multiple ideas to pick from in order to meet the needs of their learning community and celebrate learning about AAPI Leaders in History!

We hope you are able to use our resources as a jumping off point or a way to end the year teaching AAPI History! Check out the following free resources we have created:

AAPI Leaders in History Unit Plan (Grades K-5)

This unit plan includes the learning plan for each day which are aligned to Common Core Reading Standards for Grades K-5. In addition, there are rubrics to use to grade their worksheets and assess if they meet the objectives of the lesson.

“Books About AAPI Leaders” Book List

For each lesson, you will choose one book from this book list and an AAPI Leader to teach your students about.

Grade Level “AAPI Leaders in History” Worksheets

These worksheets are differentiated by grade level standards and developmental needs. The first page aligns to the Grades K/1 standards and rubric within the unit plan. The second page aligns to the Grades 2/3 standards and rubric within the unit plan. And, the third page aligns to the Grades 4/5 standards and rubric within the unit plan.

I would LOVE to see pictures of your kiddos learning about AAPI Leaders and their worksheets! Please tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using @ColorfulPagesOrg or email us your photos at kaitlinkamalei@colorfulpages.org. It always warms my heart when I see people using our resources! 

Also, remember these resources WILL BE HERE NEXT YEAR! I challenge every family, educator, and librarian to ask yourselves: How will we continue the fight for racial justice into the summer and next school year? How will we continue to make sure AAPI Studies and Ethnic Studies are taught in our classrooms?