Step 1: Lesson Opener - Present the video to the class: “Animation: A Hmong Refugee's Journey” (2:45 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-DHTuZvHE. 

• Reflection: Whole class discussion - ask the questions below
  1. What is happening to the Hmong community in this video?
  2. What if where you call home becomes a hostile place for you to stay?
  3. What is this called when you are chased out of your home because of who you are ethnically, religiously or any identity that is different from the people who are in power? It’s called persecution.
• Teacher gives background information: The Hmong people have suffered from persecution for centuries first in China, then because of their alliance with the US during the Vietnam War, the Hmong were persecuted by the new communist governments in Vietnam and Laos. The people in power resented the Hmong for fighting the communists during the Vietnam War. Instead of reconciling with the Hmong, the Laotian and Vietnamese government targeted the Hmong with chemical warfare, harassment and labor camps. Thousands of Hmong died causing thousands to flee across the Mekong River to Thailand refugee camps. There they applied for asylum to other countries, mainly the US. In 1980, the US government passed a Refugee act that allowed the Hmong to immigrate to the US. 
• The lesson questions: How do Hmong people build and sustain community and belonging when they don’t have a country that they can call home? How does homeland politics impact Hmong people's ability to assimilate?
• Go over Key Terms. If time permits, it may be helpful to students to create their own vocabulary notes.
  1. Statelessness - people of an ethnic group that do not have a country that they can call home
  2. Culture - traditions, practices, celebrations, clothing, food, ways of being of an ethnic group
  3. History - key events, milestones, that have happened in the past that affect the way things are today
  4. Colonization - the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area

Step 2: Reading through Annotation - Interaction with First Source

• Read Hmongstory 40 exhibit panel "Hmong Migration to Indochina" (2015) Information about the history of the Hmong or Meo in China through before Laos (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/p8hdlfrk1khoy0s31mk4xet1hx58exmu).
• Distribute physical copies of the Hmongstory 40 and the Annotation Chart. Tell students to annotate the text using the annotation chart.  
  1. Go over the symbols and the meanings.
• Demonstrate how to annotate using the first paragraph. 
  1. Annotation Chart: Use symbols to represent reactions with sentence frames that give students ways to start a discussion and respond to each other in a discussion: 
     1. ? = I’m confused because… or I’m unclear about the following sentence(s), 
     2. + = I agree with the author’s idea that… because… or I agree somewhat with the author when s/he argues that…because…, 
     3. - = I disagree with the author’s idea that…. Because… or The author claims that… However, I disagree because…, 
     4. * = One significant idea in this text is… or The author is trying to convey…
• Circle any words that are difficult or unknown and use context clues to construct meaning, also look up the meaning on the internet.
• Give students 20 minutes to read and annotate.

Step 3: Round Robin Discussion on Reading

• After reading, in groups of four, have students discuss the reading by sharing their annotations. They can use the sentence frames from the Annotation Chart. Use the Round Robin protocol to have the discussion.
• Round Robin 
  • Each student shares their annotation and why they chose that annotation
  • One person speaks at a time
  • Nobody should interrupt.
  • If a student’s answer is similar to somebody else’s, the student may not pass.  Instead the student should indicate agreement (“I have the same opinion as… I also think…”)
  • There are no interruptions of discussions until all the members have finished sharing their responses
• Teacher will walk around and make sure they have general understanding of the questions (Optional: Students can answer these questions in their group discussions too):
  • Where did the Hmong originate and what’s the earliest documentation of the Hmong? Answer Key: In Northern China, they have been in existence for 1000s of years, but the first documentation was around 3000 BC. They are a subgroup of the Miao people in China who have been persecuted for not conforming to the Han Chinese culture and language. 
  • When and why did the Hmong migrate to Laos? Answer Key: Hmong people have migrated to Southeast Asia since before the establishment of the country borders of Southeast Asia 1000s of years ago to the early 1900’s due to persecution, economic opportunities and lack of farming land.  
  • Which countries in Southeast Asia did the Hmong people settle in? Answer Key: Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

Step 4: Reading through Annotation - Interaction with Second Source

• Repeat the same process of reading, annotations, and discussion with the article:  The Hmong community: Resilience, hope and a place in America (https://abc7chicago.com/hmong-people-being-in-america-culture-story-cloths/10539078/).
• Teacher will walk around and make sure they have general understanding of the questions (Optional: Students can answer these questions in their group discussions too): 
  • Why did Hmong people flee Laos in the 1970s and 1980s? Answer Key: The Hmong young men were recruited to the US CIA to fight the spread of communism into Laos. Therefore, after the fall of Saigon to communism in 1975, and the Laotian government also turned communist, the Hmong were persecuted for fighting for the US.
  • What was the refugee experience like in the US? Answer Key: It was very difficult, because there was very little support given to the families who came here. And there was no support for the Hmong language and culture.
  • Where did most Hmong settle in the US? Answer Key: Hmong refugee families were spread across the nation to stay in churches and with sponsoring families but it was a very isolating experience. Most moved to cities that had large populations of Hmong families, for example, Fresno, CA. 
  • What did most Hmong experience in US society regarding their history and culture? Answer Key: Most Hmong felt pressure to assimilate into American society and forget about their history and culture.  
  • Where can Hmong people call their home? Answer Key: This is a difficult question to answer because there is so much ethnic division and persecution in our world. With no country being a Hmong country and the Hmong being persecuted in several countries have had to find safety in countries that for now seem welcoming. 
  • How do Hmong express their culture through their clothing? Read this quote from the article "Learning about the power of our clothing and how it's helped us really hold on to our identity, our heritage, and our history, I found a lot of empowerment through that." (Vang, owner of Culture through Cloth). Answer Key: It is clear that the Hmong clothing is critical to passing down their heritage and culture.

Step 5: Whole Class Discussion 

• Group Discussion - In groups of four, have the students have a discussion on the compelling and supporting questions, starting with the supporting questions and then ending with the compelling question.
• Supporting Questions: 
  • Where vs Who do Hmong people come from?
  • What is Hmong's conception of home?
  • How does the terms ‘non-state’/’statelessness’ impact Hmong's sense of belonging?
  • How does a history of ‘no homeland’ impact Hmong ability to build community?
  • How does homeland politics impact Hmong people's ability to assimilate?
• Compelling Question: 
  • How do Hmong communities experience displacement, refugee camps, and resettlement?
• Assign roles:
  • Facilitator - responsible for guiding the session and providing opportunities for all students to share
  • Recorders - each recorder will write down group notes and responses. Notes can be written digitally or on paper
  • Presenter the student who will speak on behalf of their group in the whole class share-out
• Whole Class Discussion - As a whole class, go through each of the questions, and call on groups to answer them. Then discuss the compelling question.

Step 6: Assessment - Collaborative Poster or Narrative

• From the reading and discussion, students will create a group written, visual, or digital poster (or individual poster) that will reflect Hmong people’s sense of home and belonging. Ideally, the poster should be constructed on a large poster paper. Alternatively, the poster can be created digitally. 
• Requirements:
  • Three to four images or drawings that represent Hmong sense of home and belonging. 
  • Each image or drawing needs captions. 
  • A short paragraph describing Hmong sense of home and belonging using the key words: statelessness, homeland, culture and history.
• Alternatively, students can create a written, visual, or audio narrative.