Web Sitings: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May with these
great Web sites.

By Francine Cabreja

Ask Asia
www.askasia.org
An important resource for teachers planning a unit on Asian culture, the site features a variety of teaching aids in Instructional Resources. The standards-based information is sorted by theme, country, and grade level. On the students' page, primary students can learn how to count, say words such as sun in Chinese, and make origami. Intermediate students can design their own art exhibit or play a map game. All grades can benefit from the Student Library, which contains a timeline, maps, and various readings.

Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
www.lvccld.org/
The Clark County Library created this site to celebrate the diversity found in the state of Nevada. In "Just for Kids & Teens," you will find great kid-friendly information. For example, in Fun & Interesting Facts, students can read fascinating facts from India, Korea, and many other Asian countries. Children can learn how to write a Haiku or play Catch a Carp's Tail in Games & Activities from Asia. Learn how to make nian gao (Chinese rice cakes) in Recipes from Asia to give your students a special treat while celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

Asia For Educators
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/
Just for teachers, this site's four categories—Teaching Aids, Asian Topics, Resources, and World History—are dedicated to supplementing any curriculum. Teaching Aids contains electronic versions of workbooks, guides, and theme units — all of which are written and researched by the East Asian Curriculum Project of Columbia University. You will find a library of Chinese and Japanese multimedia topics ranging from poetry to government. All the information is printable and includes related Web links. Resources contains an Education about Asia Journal for teachers as well as a review of Asia in American textbooks. For social studies teachers and anyone looking to supplement their world history curriculum with primary sources, East Asia in World History provides them based on specific topics.

Asian Educational Media Service
www.aems.uiuc.edu/index.las
Many teachers are always looking for ways to keep up with today's fast-paced media-driven world, stay current, and stay within a budget. Although AEMS's focus is Asian studies, this Web site was created with the former factors in mind. You can search for resources based on region or do a general search. The site provides an Online Guide to Finding Educational Films as well as resources specifically focused on Afghanistan. The Bargain Buys Column features news about and reviews of inexpensive media for educators. While AEMS doesn't provide all of the products that have been reviewed, it does list all the necessary information on how to purchase them.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
www.factmonster.com/spot/asianhistory1.html
Fact Monster, an excellent kids resource, spotlights Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Interesting features include the Origins of APA Heritage Month and Notable Asian Americans, which contains biographies of Asian Pacific Americans from astronaut Kalpana Chawla to actress Lucy Liu. In History and Timelines, students can read about the Transcontinental Railroad, Angel Island, and the McCarran Walter Act of 1952. If your students are wondering about the history of chopsticks or tea, check out Special Features.
 

Francine Cabreja is the publishing coordinator of Instructor.