Intergenerational Trauma and Healing

Home
Areas of Study
Implementation
Conceptual Approaches
About
Search
Overview

Download Lesson

🖨️ Lesson

Intergenerational Trauma and Healing 

This watercolor illustrates how refugees are a stateless people caught “neither here nor there.” Nguyễn, like many others, waited for the day when she would settle in a new country. Through light and shadow, the subdued color choices, and the imposing clock hovering over the two figures in tight quarters, the painting calls attention to a difficult life in waiting.

Author: Tori Phù
Grades: 7-8

Suggested Amount of Time: 60 - 75 Minutes
Area of Study: Vietnamese Departures and Transit

Compelling Question

  • How did Vietnamese build communities as they attempted to survive and traverse the hardships of life in transit?

Lesson Questions
  • How has the Vietnam War influenced intergenerational trauma within the Vietnamese American community?
  • How has the Vietnamese community engaged in healing practices to address and mitigate psychological and social impacts of intergenerational trauma within their community?
  • What connections can be drawn between the Vietnamese communities’ intergenerational trauma and healing practices, and that of other marginalized communities in present day society?
Lesson Objective

Students will be able to analyze the ways in which the Vietnam War has influenced and contributed to intergenerational trauma within the Vietnamese community and how the community engages in healing practices as a response to the trauma by engaging in a Socratic Seminar discussion.

Lesson Background

The Vietnam War was a longstanding war in American history and ended in 1975. Following the end of the war, many Vietnamese families fled the war-torn country and sought out new opportunities and lives in different countries. Some families were unsuccessful in their attempt to flee, but for those who were, they likely carried with them the burden of trauma. Left with no choice but to be resilient, refugees did what they could to adjust to a new life in a new country with post-traumatic stress disorder. Not only do such mental health issues impact the refugee individual, but can negatively impact the wellness of the entire family. 

This lesson contains content that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether the resources are suitable for their class and provide a content warning to their students at the beginning of the lesson.

Image Citation: Khuu Phuoc Nguyễn. (n.d.). Waiting or Waste, by Khuu Phuoc Nguyễn. Calisphere. Retrieved February 8, 2024, from https://calisphere.org/item/6bb199f1-c38c-45aa-bb91-d663689b32e3/ 

Ethnic Studies Theme

This lesson connects to the ethnic studies theme of reclamation and joy from the Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative, 2022). Students explore the ways that communities reclaim histories through art, cultural expression, and counternarratives. Students must understand intergenerational trauma in order to identify healing practices. 

For additional guidance around ethnic studies implementation, refer to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2021)  https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp.

 
Historical Thinking Skills

This lesson will facilitate student proficiency in continuity and change, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). To consolidate and express understandings about continuity and change. Students consider how change is driven by multiple causes, and results in multiple consequences. These create a complex web of interrelated short-term and long-term causes and consequences.

Supplies
  • Access to laptop device
Readings
  • “Trauma at Root of Mental Health Issues Among Vietnamese”
  • “Just Like My Mother: How We Inherit Our Parents’ Traits and Tragedies”
  • “Wartime Trauma Among Vietnamese Refugees Subject of New Study”
  • “Healer for the Vietnamese Community Whose Path Was Forged by Pain, Trauma and Resettlement”
  1. Warm-Up (5 minutes)
    1. Prompt students to consider the following: What are some ways you practice self care? Teachers can provide examples such as going on a walk, listening to music, drawing, etc.
      1. Students will share with a partner and then have a whole class share out.
  2. Lesson Introduction (10–15 minutes)
    1. Display the following title on the board for students:
      1. “The Hidden Scars All Refugees Carry” (from https://diacritics.org/2016/09/the-hidden-scars-all-refugees-carry/)  
        1. First Read: Have students silently read it to themselves.
        2. Second Read: Teacher reads it out loud to students.
    2. After the two reads, give students a moment to do a five minute partner share discussing one or more of the following questions:
      1. What “hidden scars” do you think are being referenced?
      2. What implications do you think these “hidden scars” have on the refugees themselves and the people in their lives?
      3. What thoughts or emotions pop up as you read this one line? 
      4. What do you think is the meaning behind this line?
      5. Ask for volunteers to share their responses with the whole class.
    3. Teachers provide insight and inform students that this quote is referring to the author’s (Việt Thanh Nguyễn) reference to intergenerational trauma being the “hidden scars”.
      1. If time permits or if students are interested, they can read the whole article, “The Hidden Scars All Refugees Carry” https://diacritics.org/2016/09/the-hidden-scars-all-refugees-carry/ 
    4. Display the following definition of intergenerational trauma for students: Intergenerational trauma means passing down difficult experiences, like pain or challenges, from one generation to the next within a family or community. It's like carrying the effects of tough times through the years.
      1. Teachers can provide additional context highlighting emerging research on its impact on biological changes and parent-child relationships.
    5. Now would be a good time for teachers to provide the following content warning language: This lesson will be talking about traumatic events and the impacts of trauma.This lesson will discuss topics that may trigger an emotional response. Emphasize that having an emotional reaction is more than okay, and if at any time during the lesson they may step out of class to process what they are learning or hearing.
  3. Shared Learning (30 minutes)
    1. Inform students of the lesson objectives and lesson questions. 
    2. Students will be preparing for a Socratic Seminar addressing the lesson questions. In order to prepare for the discussion, they must first conduct research on the Vietnam War and events that unfolded thereafter, that have contributed to intergenerational trauma, and ways in which refugees have tried to heal from their traumas.
      1. Inform students that they will be given time to explore resources and gather information on the following categories: 
        1. Key Details of the Vietnam War 
          1. Consider what details from the Vietnam War (and thereafter) have contributed to lasting psychological and social impacts. Include specific details.
        2. Key Healing Practices 
          1. Consider ways that the Vietnamese American community has engaged in healing practices to mitigate the impacts of intergenerational trauma.
        3. Evidence of Intergenerational Trauma 
          1. What does trauma look like in the Vietnamese American community? Include names of mental health challenges and socio-emotional impacts.
    3. Provide the list of resources and handouts to students. 
      1. Task: In groups of two to three, have students read the resources together as they take notes on each of the categories listed above. 
        1. “Trauma at Root of Mental Health Issues Among Vietnamese” https://voiceofoc.org/2013/02/trauma-at-root-of-mental-health-issues-among-vietnamese/
        2. “Just Like My Mother: How We Inherit Our Parents’ Traits and Tragedies” https://www.kqed.org/news/11616586/just-like-my-mother-how-we-inherit-our-parents-traits-and-tragedies
        3. “Wartime trauma among Vietnamese refugees subject of new study” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/wartime-trauma-vietnamese-refugees-subject-new-study-rcna12759
        4. “Healer for the Vietnamese Community Whose Path Was Forged by Pain, Trauma and Resettlement” https://medium.com/california-state-of-mind/healer-for-the-vietnamese-community-whose-path-was-forged-by-pain-trauma-and-resettlement-c195bfaa13a1
  4. Socratic Seminar Assessment (25 minutes)
    1. If educators have never conducted a Socratic Seminar, the following resource on Facing History has step-by-step instructions: (https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/socratic-seminar) 
      1. There will be two rounds of discussion - split the class in half to see who gets to start in the inner versus outer circle. 
        1. Each round will be given 12 minutes of talking time.
    2. Students should be prepared to answer the three lesson questions after reading the provided sources.
      1. How has the Vietnam War influenced intergenerational trauma within the Vietnamese American community?
      2. How has the Vietnamese community engaged in healing practices to address and mitigate psychological and social impacts of intergenerational trauma within their community?
      3. What connections can be drawn between the Vietnamese communities’ intergenerational trauma and healing practices, and that of other marginalized communities in present day society?
    3. Have each student also create three open-ended questions of their own to contribute to the academic discussion. (Student generated questions should align with topics and themes of the lessons: intergenerational trauma, mental health, community building, family dynamics, etc).
    4. During the Socratic Seminar, allow students to have their notes with them to refer to their reading while discussing. 
  5. Closing Reflection (5 minutes)
    1. After the Socratic Seminar is complete, go around the room and have each student share one word to describe their takeaway from their discussion. (For example: empowered, calm, loved, connected, etc.)
      1. Additional potential reflection questions: 
        1. What was something that stood out to you from today’s conversation? 
        2. How would you rate your participation in today’s discussion? 
        3. What have you learned from our discussion today and how will you apply it to your personal life?

Students will articulate their understanding of how the Vietnam War has played a role in intergenerational trauma within the Vietnamese community, while drawing connections to other communities in present day society by participating in a Socratic Seminar discussion.

  • Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
    • Engage learners in assessment discussions of what constitutes excellence and generate relevant examples that connect to their cultural background and interests.
    • Create an accepting and supportive classroom climate.
  • Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
    • Embed visual, non-linguistic support for vocabulary clarification (pictures, videos, etc).
    • Anchor instruction by linking to and activating relevant prior knowledge (e.g., using visual imagery, concept anchoring, or concept mastery routines).
  • Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
    • Provide graphic organizers and templates for data collection and organizing information.

 

For additional ideas to support your students, check out the UDL Guidelines at CAST (2018) http://udlguidelines.cast.org.

  • Emerging: Consider the following method to support with emerging students:
    • Speaking: Provide sentence frames for pair interactions
      • In response to a prompt, the teacher offers a sentence frame orally and/or in writing to support expression of student thinking. Frames are adjusted based upon specific grammatical structure, key vocabulary, content learning, and language proficiency level descriptors, etc. Frames are a temporary scaffold that require modification. 
  • Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
    • Speaking: Repeat and expand student responses in a collaborative dialogue 
      • In partner and group discussions, students use conversation moves to extend academic talk. Conversation moves help students add to or challenge what a partner says, question, clarify, paraphrase, support thinking with examples, synthesize conversation points, etc.
  • Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
    • Speaking: Require the use of academic language 

      • In response to a prompt, the teacher offers a sentence frame orally and/or in writing to support expression of student thinking. Frames are adjusted based upon specific grammatical structure, key vocabulary, content learning, and language proficiency level descriptors, etc. Frames are a temporary scaffold that require modification.

         

For additional guidance around scaffolding for multilingual learners, please consult the following resources:

  1. Healing Board - Students can tap into their creativity and create a healing board, which is a play on a vision board or mood board. On that healing board (digital or physical), students can include a collage of images, quotes, ideas that illustrate ways the students themselves deal with healing or socioemotional/mental health wellness. If time permits, students can share their healing board with their peers.
  2. Students can watch this video clip (time stamp: 1:32–8:05) to learn from another Vietnamese American refugee about his experiences with trauma. Source: ABC10. (2022). War trauma and Vietnamese Americans: A first-of-its-kind study seeks to learn more. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfg__GvKZ4Q   

American Initiative. 2022. Asian American Studies K-12 Framework.  https://asianamericanresearchinitiative.org/asian-american-studies-curriculum-framework/ 

Britt, K. 2020, May 11. English learner toolkit of strategies. California County Superintendents.  https://cacountysupts.org/english-learner-toolkit-of-strategies/

California Department of Education. 2021. Ethnic studies model curriculum. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp 

California Department of Education & English Learner Support Division. 2012. California English Language Development standards (Electronic Edition) kindergarten through grade 12 (F. Ong & J. McLean, Eds.). California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf

California Educators Together. (n.d.). ELA / ELD framework. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

CAST. 2018. The UDL guidelines. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Just Like My Mother: How We Inherit Our Parents’ Traits and Tragedies. (n.d.). KQED.  https://www.kqed.org/news/11616586/just-like-my-mother-how-we-inherit-our-parents-traits-and-tragedies

Nguyễn, V. T. 2016, September 12. The Hidden Scars All Refugees Carry. DVAN. https://diacritics.org/2016/09/the-hidden-scars-all-refugees-carry/

OC, V. of. 2013, February 25. Trauma at Root of Mental Health Issues Among Vietnamese. Voice of OC.  https://voiceofoc.org/2013/02/trauma-at-root-of-mental-health-issues-among-vietnamese/ 

San Diego County Office of Education. (n.d.). Providing appropriate scaffolding.  https://www.sdcoe.net/educators/multilingual-education-and-global-achievement/oracy-toolkit/providing-appropriate-scaffolding#scaffolding

Sexias, P. & Morton, T. 2013. The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.

Tulare County Office of Education. (n.d.). Strategies for ELD. https://commoncore.tcoe.org/Content/Public/doc/Alpha-CollectionofELDStrategies.pdf 

Waters, R. 2020, May 29. Healer for the Vietnamese Community Whose Path Was Forged by Pain, Trauma and Resettlement. California State of Mind. https://medium.com/california-state-of-mind/healer-for-the-vietnamese-community-whose-path-was-forged-by-pain-trauma-and-resettlement-c195bfaa13a1

Wartime trauma among Vietnamese refugees subject of new study. (n.d.). NBC News.  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/wartime-trauma-vietnamese-refugees-subject-new-study-rcna12759 

 
Supplementary Sources

Cynthia Nguyễn - Another War Memorial. 2023, April 8.  https://anotherwarmemorial.com/cynthia-nguyen/ 

Nguyen, S. 2020, October 18. Age-old Wounds: Southeast Asia’s Intergenerational Trauma. Ynotnetwork.  https://medium.com/ynotnetwork/age-old-wounds-southeast-asias-intergenerational-trauma-5cb1508204b0

Việt Thanh Nguyễn on trauma, displacement, and identifying as a refugee. 2018, October 30. Việt Thanh Nguyễn.  https://vietnguyen.info/2018/viet-thanh-nguyen-on-trauma-displacement-and-identifying-as-a-refugee 

Model Curriculum

Vietnamese American Experiences

Standard(s)

RI.8.1 SL.7.1 SL.7.2

Grade(s)

Grade 7 Grade 8