5 Strategies to Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month in the United States, and there are many ways for early elementary teachers to celebrate with their classes.

A Quick History of AANHPI Heritage Month

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter designated the first week of May to be Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week to honor the first Japanese immigrants to America on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad by many Chinese immigrants on May 10, 1869. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush extended the celebration for all of May. In 2009, President Barack Obama changed the name to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, and in 2024, President Joe Biden added Native Hawaiian to the list, making it Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

5 Ways to Celebrate AANHPI Intentionally

While I celebrate a variety of cultures year round in my kindergarten classroom, I think it is important to take advantage of the dedicated time to specifically focus on AANHPI heritage.

1. Celebrate with picture books. I read diverse books throughout the year, but many books by and/or about Asian characters and historical figures in May. Students notice a book‘s characters—they lean in and get more engaged and invested. They also notice when the characters are different from them in new and interesting ways. Picture books can help students understand themselves and those who are different.

Last year, I had a student who had moved to the U.S. from Myanmar as a refugee. Reading Hà Dinh’s Where Wildflowers Grow, illustrated by Bao Luu, helped my students understand what a refugee is and build their empathy.

Here is a small list of picture books that feature stories from a variety of AANHPI countries.

• Korea: Danbi Leads the School Parade, by Anna Kim
• Japan: Words to Make a Friend, by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Naoko Stoop
• China: Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon, by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua
• Taiwan: How We Say I Love You, by Nicole Chen, illustrated by Lenny Wen
• Vietnam: Where Wildflowers Grow, by Hà Dinh, illustrated by Bao Luu
• Philippines: Kailani’s Gift, by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young, illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao
• Thailand: Built to Last, by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
• Laos: Caged, by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Khou Vue
• India: Always Anjali, by Sheetal Sheth, illustrated by Jessica Blank
• Hawaii: Ohana Means Family, by Ilima Loonis, illustrated by Kenard Pak
• Guam: Mrs. CoCo’s Lemon Trees, by Myer M. Krah and Tiana Krah, illustrated by Sisca Angreani
• Easter Island: The Girl Who Heard the Music, by Marni Fogelson with Mahani Teave, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguéns
• New Zealand: Cannonball, by Sacha Cotter, illustrated by Josh Morgan
• Mix: Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country, by Kelly Yang

2. Celebrate with music and art. For Lunar New Year, my kindergartners did a simple dragon dance parade to Chinese music after making dragon puppets out of paper sacks. First, we read Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon. Amy’s teacher asks her class to make a New Year’s dragon, but Amy is not satisfied with her creation until a story from Grandma gives her an idea. Amy realizes she needs to add her own special touch. Since it was the Year of the Dragon last year, we read The Truth About Dragons, by Julie Leung, illustrated by Hanna Cha, in which a biracial boy listens to bedtime stories by his mother. He’s challenged to go on a quest to find out the truth about Eastern and Western dragons with wisdom from his grandmothers.

After reading the books, you could have your students design their own dragon puppets or find dragon head templates online for them to color. YouTube has many Chinese instrumental videos students can parade to while displaying their dragons. My class had so much fun and couldn’t wait to show their dragons to their parents.

3. Celebrate with language. Find out what languages are represented in your classroom, and use them as a jumping-off point to bring diverse phrases into the classroom. For morning meetings, you can teach familiar greetings like hello and goodbye. If you have a specific language represented, have that child share how to say hello. If you don’t have other languages represented, you can choose languages represented at your school or district, and play a short YouTube video on how to say the greeting or learn it yourself first and then share it with the class. Have students turn and practice the greeting with two classmates.

You can also integrate these phrases into core subjects. One year, my class counted to 10 in Spanish, Korean, Bosnian, and Vietnamese. You can leverage technology so that students can translate phrases using translation apps and see what different alphabets look like.

4. Celebrate holidays and food. Your students (and their parents) will love it if you take the time to learn something about their culture. One year, I invited a Chinese mom to talk about Lunar New Year. She gave each student a red envelope and a coin. Each fall I teach my students about the Korean harvest holiday, Chuseok. I like to teach them a hacky-sack game called jegi chagi and a traditional game called Chicken Fight. For Chicken Fight, we sit in a big circle on the rug, and I pick a pair of students who are similar in height. Because balance is key, their match usually ends within five to 10 seconds.

For Korean Lunar New Year, I teach them the New Year’s bow. If food is allowed, you can have kids taste foods from other cultures; if not, you can show photos. When I have students from India, I like to share about Diwali, a festival of lights. You can share about these holidays even if you don’t have students from those countries. Some classes have a multicultural fair or tie holidays in with geography. With the aid of technology, you could invite an AANHPI author, illustrator, or speaker to speak to your class via Zoom or Google Meets, or watch one on YouTube. Broaden your students’ awareness of diversity.

5. Celebrate with show-and-tell. Let students bring in something that represents their culture. Last week, one of my students brought money from her country of Mexico. She was so proud to show it. We compared the banknote with the American dollar. My kindergartners noted that her peso bill was red and not green. We located Mexico on the globe. It was eye-opening to learn that money is different around the world.