Maintaining Connections with Land
Maintaining Connections with Land: Students study sustainable Indigenous land practices and reflect on personal environmental stewardship.
K-12 Lessons Search
Marvin Sam: Changes for Land Mean Changes for Traditional Foods
- Native American Studies
- HSS 2.1, HSS 2.5, RF.2.4, SL.2.1, SL.2.6, L.2.1, L.2.3, L.2.6, SL.2.2, SL.2.3, RL.2.1, RL.2.2, RL.2.3, RL.2.4, RL.2.5, RL.2.6, RL.2.7, RL.2.9, RL.2.10, RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.3, RI.2.4, RI.2.5, RI.2.6, RI.2.7, RI.2.9, RI.2.10, L.2.4
- Grade 2
This lesson provides insight into how life changed for the Wel-mel-ti in Sierra Valley as their traditional foods and practices were impacted by the influx of immigrant settlers. Historically, the Wel-mel-ti thrived in a reciprocal relationship with their environment, caring for the plants and animals that provided nutritious sustenance, medicine, economy, and more for them. However, current land use practices have made harvesting traditional foods much more difficult. Students will design a garden with some of these traditional plants, considering how this not only helps the grower with a harvest, but also begins to restore natural landscapes.
Math and Value, Hoopa Math
- Native American Studies
- K.CC.4.b, 1.NBT.2.a, 1.NBT.2.b, 1.NBT.2.c, 2.NBT.1.a, 2.NBT.1.b, 3.NBT.1, 4.NBT.1, 5.NBT.1
- Grade K, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5
This lesson approaches basic math theory from a multicultural lens. Lessons have elements that teachers from grades K-5 may choose from to teach place value, based on the needs and skill levels in their classrooms.
Mental Health in the Vietnamese American Community
- Vietnamese American Experiences
- HSS 11.8, RI.11-12.2, WL.CM5.I: Receptive Structures in Service of Communication, WL.CN1.A: Connections to Other Disciplines
- Grade 11, Grade 12
Students will be able to identify and describe the effects of the Vietnam War on the mental health of first generation Vietnamese Americans by engaging in a gallery walk activity to analyze various excerpts of “House of Sticks: A Memoir.”
Mental Health in Vietnamese American Resettlement
- Vietnamese American Experiences
- HSS 10.9, HSS 11.9, RL.9-10.2, RL.11-12.3
- Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12
Students will be able to analyze and reflect on the psychological experiences of Vietnamese refugees during their resettlement process by interacting with various excerpts from "House of Sticks: A Memoir.” (Simon and Schuster) and creating a medium of choice.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)
This lesson covers sensitive material and should be treated with care. Give ample warning to the students because colonial gender violence is part of this lesson. This lesson introduces students to the historical context and contemporary reality of missing and murdered Indigenous women, or MMIW. Importantly, this lesson focuses on MMIW not as an “epidemic” nor as the cumulative result of a few bad actors. Rather, the lesson treats MMIW as an outcome of structural violence directly related to ongoing U.S. settler-colonial occupation of Indigenous homelands. In this lesson students will participate in active note taking with help of a handout while the teacher presents the slide show and facilitates large class discussion. Students will also watch a short 6 minute film featuring the poem “American Arithmetic” by Mojave poet Natalie Diaz and participate in a think, pair, share activity that will help them process this difficult topic. As the film and Diaz’s poem make clear, police violence against Native people, particularly in California, is a significant element of MMIW and therefore part of this lesson. Essential Questions: What does MMIW mean? Why are Native women and Two-Spirit people targeted for violence? How do state actors like the police contribute to MMIW? Students will: Paraphrase main ideas from the lesson while taking notes. Analyze a short film featuring Mojave Poet Natalie Diaz’s poem, “American Arithmetic,” by participating in a think, pair & share activity. Describe MMIW as a result of ongoing settler-colonial occupation. The teacher must: Understand that MMIW is a structural issue not an interpersonal one. Be prepared to actively engage students’ difficult questions and reactions to the sensitive subject matter of the lesson.
Monuments in the Vietnamese Diaspora (Elementary)
Students will be able to describe the narratives and perspectives constructed from monuments in the Vietnamese community and create a collection of monuments that build up their personal identities.
Monuments in the Vietnamese Diaspora (Secondary)
Students will be able to describe the narratives and perspectives constructed from monuments in the Vietnamese community and create a collection of monuments that build up their personal identities.
More than a Store: Small Businesses in Little Saigon (Secondary)
Students will be able to analyze and reflect on the complex history, culture, successes, and challenges that surround Vietnamese small businesses in Little Saigon by analyzing oral histories and Vietnamese discourse and creating a medium of choice.
More than a Store: Small Businesses in Little Saigons (Elementary)
Students will analyze and reflect on the complex history, culture, successes and challenges that surround Vietnamese small businesses in Little Saigon through analyzing oral histories and Vietnamese discourse and creating a medium of choice.
Moving Beyond Land Acknowledgments
- Native American Studies
- HSS 3.2, HSS 4.1, HSS 5.9, SL.3.1, SL.4.1, SL.5.1, W.4.7, W.5.7
- Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5
Students will critically evaluate the limitations of land acknowledgments when not paired with action or accountability. Students will explore tangible ways to support Indigenous communities and advocate for justice beyond symbolic statements.
Moving Beyond Land Acknowledgments
Students will critically evaluate the limitations of land acknowledgments when not paired with action or accountability. Students will explore tangible ways to support Indigenous communities and advocate for justice beyond symbolic statements.
Music and Song as History and Story: The Example of “Champa Battambang”
Students will investigate the connections between Cambodian American history, culture, and art/music. By analyzing a song's text, they'll examine its connection to war and the Cambodian genocide. Students will also evaluate the ongoing role of music in Cambodian American culture and reflect on its potential impact in their own lives.
Music Study of Republic of Vietnam from 1955-1962
Students will describe the social life of the Vietnamese in exile and during the Vietnam War by analyzing three songs from major Vietnamese song composers and creating a modern day playlist.
Music, Memory, and Power in the Life of Arn Chorn-Pond
Students will learn about the history and impact of the Cambodian genocide in general, and the experiences of musician, activist, and survivor Arn Chorn-Pond in particular. In doing so, they will consider how musical activities (including performing and listening) can aid in processes of remembrance and healing.
My Native Plate
In this lesson, students learn about their nutritional needs and practice designing healthy meals using Native foods. Students will reflect on the origins of their food, understand the impacts of processed versus Indigenous foods, and explore the importance of diversity in their diets to support personal health and ecosystems.
Narrating Hmong Migration
Students will be able to understand the importance of intergenerational storytelling by listening and discussing with an elder family or community member. Students will explain and describe their own migration and/or daily life story as a way to practice narrating their own stories.
Narratives About the Republic of Vietnam
Students will critically analyze narratives about the Republic of Vietnam and its people portrayed through US and Vietnamese media, music, and film and evaluate how these narratives influence representation and identity-building in the Vietnamese American community in a graphic organizer.