Reflecting on Roots: Understanding our Identity

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Reflecting on Roots: Understanding our Identity

Collage of Vietnamese icons, people, symbols, and landscapes

Author: Duyên Tống
Grades: 9-12

Suggested Amount of Time: 60-80 Minutes
Area of Study: Framing the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum

Compelling Question

  • Why is it important to learn about Vietnam, Vietnamese refugees, and Vietnamese American experiences?

Lesson Questions
  • What challenges do Vietnamese American youth face in the United States?
  • How do youth negotiate changes of family hierarchy, responsibilities, stereotypes, education between Vietnamese and US culture when it comes to understanding their own identity?
Lesson Objective

Students will be able to define and reflect on what identity means to them by drawing from various Vietnamese refugee experiences and creating their own poem. (The lesson objective can be broadened to students from other cultures as well).

Lesson Background

After the Fall of Vietnam, many Vietnamese people escaped Vietnam and created different communities all over the world. The most populous Vietnamese diasporas would be in California. As they settle into their new life, their identities come into question. What does it mean to be a Vietnamese living in America? What does it mean to be Vietnamese American? To be Việt kiều? To be Người Mỹ gốc Việt? Each has its own nuance. This lesson focuses on how identity is not fixed and is continuously changing and can help answer the question of identity in many young minds. We also have multiple identities and they can change depending on the situation. This can help to clarify the challenges they may be experiencing straddling two cultures and countries. They will be able to focus on different elements that make up identity: relationships, family, generational differences, intersectionality, individual traits, loss, and shared memories.

Image Citation: Dao, D. Q. (2023, December 18). Vietcetera International 2.0: Creating a Global Vietnamese Identity. Vietcetera. https://vietcetera.com/en/vietcetera-international-20-creating-a-global-vietnamese-identity

Ethnic Studies Theme: This lesson connects to the ethnic studies theme of identity from the Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative, 2022). Students will explore their own identities, as well as the ways that society engages in stereotyping and discrimination. Students consider multiple aspects of how family and culture shape perceived and experienced identity.

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 historical perspectives, one of Seixas’ historical thinking skills (Seixas & Morton, 2013). To demonstrate the use of evidence to write historical fiction that accurately conveys the beliefs, values, and motivations of historical actors. Students consider how an ocean of difference can lie between current world views (beliefs, values, and motivations) and those of earlier periods of history.

  • Supplies:
    • Vietnamese Refugees Settled in California [Photo]
    • Refugees Flee South Vietnam by boat [Photo]
    • Refugee Family Arrives in US [Photo]
  • Readings:
    • Thi Bùi, author of “The Best We Could Do,” on Vietnamese identity and telling her parents’ stories
  • Handouts: 
  1. Cultural Energizer: To engage students, ask students some of the following questions. (5–10 min)
    1. Where were you born? Where were your parents born?
    2. What have you noticed that your parents do that is “different” to you?
      1. How do your parents or guardians respond to certain of your actions or activities that you consider normal, but may not be to them?
    3. What language(s) do you use to communicate with your family?
    4. Alternatively, teachers can project this quote, “How much of ME is my own, and how much is stamped into my blood and bone, predestined?” 
      1. Ask students: What does it mean and why does it matter?
      2. Solicit several responses to share with the entire class.
  2. Transition into today’s lesson by reading and explaining the objective.
  3. Interaction with a first source with multiple reads (10 min)
    1. Analyze a few pictures of people arriving in America and how they settle into their communities. 
      1. Refugee Family Arrives in US: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/nu9lrja9qspy7i9zadtfm58pv7qdf9rs (original source: https://calisphere.org/item/111b40a51595a94d10f813f96bd9f167/)
      2. Refugees Flee South Vietnam: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/8jdjuomj52i234t3vm41bs6gy951dggf (original source: https://calisphere.org/item/6c1d86dbc182a575e8a198891936caf1/) 
      3. Vietnamese Refugees Settled in California: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/xhktozrz05cfh8voalyx8nbp5xox6kz3 (original source: https://calisphere.org/item/196f0f5c72146800f89dd13b221424a4/) 
    2. Teacher modeling: Have a brief discussion of the photos to help students preview the topic and together, answer the lesson questions based on what can be inferred from the photos. The analysis can be written or discussed verbally.
  4. Interaction with a second source (15 min)
    1. Thi Bùi, author of “The Best We Could Do,” on Vietnamese identity and telling her parents’ stories (https://medium.com/the-baton/a-conversation-with-thi-bui-author-of-the-best-we-could-do-on-vietnamese-identity-and-bursting-92689349f113) 
    2. Partner Work: Teachers will have students find an A/B partner and split up the speaking roles to read the interview together. 
    3. With their partners, students should answer the lesson questions as it pertains to Thi Bùi’s story.
  5. Interaction with a third source (15 min) 
    1. As a class, or independently, have students read the poem “Name” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/145607/names-5a68f233f023d) 
      1. Have students answer the lesson questions as they read the poem. 
  6. Cultural Production: Directions for writing the “Name” poem (25–30 min)
    1. Students will create their own version of a “Name” poem using a similar structure and template (see handout titled: “Names” Poem Template Resource). The final product can be open to a written, visual, or audio narrative. 
      1. The poem should reflect their takeaway of the lesson questions: What challenges do Vietnamese American youth face in the United States? How do youth negotiate changes of family hierarchy, responsibilities, stereotypes, education between Vietnamese and US culture?
    2. Teachers should prepare by modeling the poem by filling in the template with their own story.
    3. Show students the structure of the poem by showing them the frames (see handouts).
      1. Students are not required to use the frames. Teachers can allow flexibility in poem creations, so long as the main objective is met. Alternatively, students can create a video reflection or song lyrics.
    4. Brainstorm
      1. Ask students: What is a name? Where did you get your name? Do you know the importance of it? Family origin? Students brainstorm the different ideas that they’d like to put in their poem. Encourage them to mirror the author’s writing.
      2. Take it to writing: Students are given time to write down their poems. They can design it if time allows. 
  7. Conclusive Dialogue and Critical Circular Exchange (10–15 min)
    1. Students Share Poems: There are many ways that students can share their bio-poems:
      1. Gallery Walk
      2. Listen to each other’s recordings of the poem.
      3. Small group read alouds.

Students will apply their learning by writing their own poem using the structure of “Names” by Teresa Mei Chúc. Alternatively, students can create a video reflection or song lyrics. The goal is for them to understand that identity is fluid and not fixed based on growth, wisdom, and understanding different perspectives.

  • Engagement: Consider the following method to support with lesson engagement:
    • Vary activities and sources of information so that they can be:
      • Personalized and contextualized to learners’ lives 
      • Culturally relevant and responsive 
      • Socially relevant 
      • Age and ability appropriate
      • Appropriate for different racial, cultural, ethnic, and gender groups 
  • Representation: Consider the following method to support with multiple means of representation:
    • Use advanced organizers (e.g., KWL methods, concept maps) 
    • Incorporate explicit opportunities for review and practice
  • Action and Expression: Consider the following method to support in presenting their learning in multiple ways:
    • Provide the following sample starter frames and language frames to exchange opinion and ideas: 
      • What do you think of the _____? 
      • What part of the text that supports your opinion that _______? 
      • Do you agree? 
      • How does that sound to you? 
      • I’d like to add an idea, may I interrupt? 
      • I’d like to piggyback on _____. 
      • I have a different perspective, based on ____, I think ____

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:
    • Writing: Require vocabulary notebooks with non-linguistic representations or L1 translations 
      • During integrated ELD, teacher may sometimes offer strategic primary language support for EL students who are newcomers or at the earliest level of Emerging proficiency.
  • Expanding: Consider the following method to support with expanding students:
    • Writing: Provide rubrics and exemplars to scaffold writing assignments 
      • Using mentor text - Text written by authors used to analyze craft, a particular writing style, word usage, structure, etc.
  • Bridging: Consider the following method to support with bridging students:
    • Writing: Hold frequent writing conferences with teacher and peers
      • Teacher works collaboratively with students to scaffold writing before they write independently. Teacher uses students’ understanding of narrative stages, specific vocabulary, and grammatical structures while questioning for precision.

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

  • English Learner Toolkit of Strategies

 https://ucdavis.box.com/s/ujkdc2xp1dqjzrlq55czph50c3sq1ngu 

https://ucdavis.box.com/s/dcp15ymah51uwizpmmt2vys5zr2r5reu

  • ELA / ELD Framework

https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/6537/ela-eld-framework

  • California ELD Standards 

https://ucdavis.box.com/s/vqn43cd632z22p8mfzn2h7pntc71kb02

  1. Oral History Project: Read the poem to someone in their family. Ask them to retell their story about how they came to America and what their experiences were like.
  2. World Cafe Discussion - The World Cafe discussion can be incorporated into the “My Name, My Identity Campaign” to delve into students’ individual names, fostering a sense of belonging and building positive relationships in the classroom, which are crucial for healthy social, psychological, and educational outcomes. The site for the campaign can be found at “The My Name, My Identity Campaign” (https://www.mynamemyidentity.org/). 

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

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

Bùi, N. 2018, March 30. Thi Bùi, author of “The Best We Could Do,” on Vietnamese identity and telling her parents’ stories. Asian American News | Pacific Islander News | the Baton. https://medium.com/the-baton/a-conversation-with-thi-bui-author-of-the-best-we-could-do-on-vietnamese-identity-and-bursting-92689349f113    

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

Calisphere. 1976, April 29. Vietnamese Refugees Settled in California [Photo]. Calisphere,Chapman University, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives. https://calisphere.org/item/196f0f5c72146800f89dd13b221424a4/ 

Calisphere. 1975, May 1. Refugees Flee South Vietnam by Boat [Photo]. Calisphere, 

Chapman University, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives. 

https://calisphere.org/item/6c1d86dbc182a575e8a198891936caf1/ 

Calisphere. 1975, April 23. Refugee Family Arrives in US [Photo]. Calisphere, 

Chapman University, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives. 

https://calisphere.org/item/111b40a51595a94d10f813f96bd9f167/ 

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

Chuc, T.M. 2014. Names [Poem]. In Keeper of the Winds. Foothills Publishing.

Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/145607/names-5a68f233f023d

Foundation, P. 2022, January 12. Names by Teresa Mei Chúc. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/145607/names-5a68f233f023d 

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 

Model Curriculum

Vietnamese American Experiences

Standard(s)

RI.9-10.7 W.9-10.3

Grade(s)

Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12