Grade 8

Ethnic Vietnamese fly the flag of former South Vietnam in Orange Country, California.

Flags of Vietnam

RI.7.2, W.7.7

Students will be able to explain the major differences between the two Vietnam flags by completing a thinking map and reflect on their own identity by creating their own flag.

Exterior view of the Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple

Overview of Religion in Vietnam

HSS 6.6, W.6.9, RI.6.7, SL.6.4

Students will be able to analyze differences between the major religions in Vietnam, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Caodaism, Hòa Hảo Buddhism, and Chăm Islam, by conducting research and creating a poster.

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.

Intergenerational Trauma and Healing

RI.8.1, SL.7.1, SL.7.2

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.

Child embracing parent

Intergenerational Trauma and Healing

RI.8.1, SL.7.1, RI.9-10.1, W.9-10.4, SL.9-10.1, W.6.8

Students will be able to analyze and articulate how Hmong American history has influenced and contributed to intergenerational trauma within the Hmong community, and they will critically examine the long-term impacts on successive generations. Students will also be able to identify how the Hmong community has engaged in healing practices as a response to coping with the trauma and make connections with present-day society and their own lives in a Socratic Seminar discussion.

Profile image of Hmong American artist Boonma Yang.

Hmong American Artists

RI.6.3, 6.MA:CR1, 6.MA:RE7, 6.VA:CN11, 6.VA:CR2.1

This lesson will feature Hmong American artist, Boon Ma Yang, and the stories behind his paintings. Students will gain an understanding of how artists, such as Boon Ma, can highlight experiences of Hmong American identity and issues. Students will also learn how artists use art to build a sense of belonging and to empower the community.

New Year Celebration in Santa Ana in 1984.

Grounding of Homeland and Statelessness

HSS 6.6, RI.6.2, RI.6.4

Students will learn the complex history of Hmong people as a ‘stateless’ people, having no geographical homeland to call their own. Students will explore how statelessness has affected Hmong people’s desire and search for sovereignty and homeland and dive into how being stateless has affected their conception of home-making, sense of belonging and community building.

Image of the Hmong diaspora from The Hmong journey: Hmoob txoj kev taug by Ger Thao.

Hope Away from Home

HSS 6.6, RI.6.7, W.8.2

Through oral storytelling and text, students will learn about the diasporic history and experience of the Hmong people, where they settled after being displaced, what hopes and dreams they had of traveling to new unknown places, and challenges they faced coping with life in their new homes. Students will create an Accordion Book to demonstrate their learning(s) of the Hmong diasporic experience.

Mien refugees in northern Thailand refugee camps during 1980-1983 taken by Erica Hagen.

Ethnic Diversity of Laos

HSS 6.6, RI.7.1, W.8.6, WL.CL2.S: Cultural Products, Practices, and Perspectives

Students will be able to define the term "Laotian" and differentiate between the three groups (Lao Loum, Lao Theung, and Lao Sung) that make up the ethnic diversity of Laos through collaborative group research projects. By the end of the lesson, students will understand that ‘Laotian’ includes, but is not limited to, the Lao, Iu Mien, Khmu, Phutai, Tai Lue, Tai Dam, and Tai Deng ethnic groups.