HSS 4.4

Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

Far Beyond Phở

HSS 4.4, RI.4.7, W.4.8

Students will be able to trace and identify the origins of Vietnamese cuisine and community hubs in the United States through an exploration of diverse sources and reflect on these elements by creating their own personalized lunch box identity collage.

Green papaya salad “quab” is a staple dish in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Photo credit: Ger Thao, 2022.

Sharing Food Stories

HSS 4.4, HSS 4.4.4, RI.4.7, HSS 10.9, RI.9-10.7, W.9-10.9

Students will be able to trace and identify the origins of Hmong cuisine and community hubs in the United States through an exploration of diverse sources. They will connect these elements to the refugee experience and express their understanding by creating a personalized lunch box identity collage.

Hmong New Year Celebration in Merced, CA in 2008.

HMoob New Year Celebration

HSS 4.4, RI.5.7, W.4.6, WL.CN2.N: Diverse Perspectives and Distinctive Viewpoints

Students will gather that HMoob New Year is interconnected to spirituality and the significance of community and family and fosters an appreciation for the richness and uniqueness of culture and traditions sustained throughout the many displacements and oppressions HMoob people experienced. By learning about the purpose and aspects of the HMoob New Year Celebration (as a public event in the United States), students will compare and contrast their own new year celebrations.

This is early in the years before the story cloths became more streamlined and look alike. In the early years the story cloths reflected more first hand accounts and looked more custom and unique before they began to have the cookie cutter look.

The Story Behind Paj Ntaub (Story Cloth)

HSS 4.4, RI.5.7, W.4.2, SL.5.4

Students will learn about the history of the story cloth and its importance in communicating Hmong history, refugee and migration experience, and preservation of culture. Students will analyze a paj ntaub, and interpret the message, story or feeling that the artist is trying to convey.