From the editors of Scholastic Classroom Magazines
Honor Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month this May with seven inspiring and captivating articles from Scholastic Classroom Magazines for grades 3-12. Each story features amazing AAPI trailblazers, young kids, and role models that you can share with your students for AAPI Heritage Month and beyond!
The Storytellers
Author Kelly Yang used her unique childhood experience of living in the motel her family owned and operated to draw inspiration for her novels. Yang’s main character Mia Tang is a young immigrant who uses her writing to stand up for others. Yang’s goal to create an inspirational character who young readers can see themselves in has given kids a window into the life of an immigrant and humanized Asian Americans and their struggles. Read an interview with Yang in Scholastic News for grade 4 to encourage empathy and get kids thinking about using their own voices to tell their story.
Use this graphic novel inspired by 11-year old Naomi Li’s winning entry in Storyworks’ 2020 Create a Character Contest. Your students will learn about celebrating different cultures while practicing their close-reading and critical thinking skills with these free resources.
The Tradition Keepers
Third-grader Rylee Ma loves to perform in New York City’s Asian Lunar New Year parade. In a celebration that lasts two weeks, Rylee dresses in a colorful costume and dances down the streets as a lion dancer. Learn about the lion dancer tradition with this article by Rylee from Scholastic News for grade 3.
Kanna Jinno, 10 years-old, plays traditional Japanese drums called taiko. After seeing a local taiko group perform at a Japanese market in Chicago, Kanna began taking lessons and now performs in her own taiko group for audiences. Read her story and share this video of Kanna’s performance with your 3rd grade students.
The Pioneers
Kim Ng was named manager of the Miami Marlins this year, making her the first woman and the second person of Asian descent in the history of the Major League Baseball to hold a team’s top leadership position. Check out her story in Junior Scholastic and extend the lesson for grades 6-8 with a knowledge-building skill sheet.
Introduce your students to Cliff Kapono, a native Hawaiian who combined his love of surfing and his degree in science to study microbes. Kapono visited surfers around the world to study the microbes on their bodies and hopes his research will help people understand that they are connected to the planet in many ways. Share this article from SuperScience with your students in grades 3-6 and conduct your own hands-on microbes investigation.
Meet brother entrepreneurs Sidharth and Rohit Srinivasan, who were inspired to share their interest in science and engineering with children at an orphanage in India. They created Trashbots, a programming platform and kit that teaches kids how to make robots with household materials. The brothers continue to work on the kits, and they now even provide a curriculum for K–12 students. Check out their story in Scholastic MATH magazine for grades 6‒9.
For more information and articles that spark curiosity, inspire empathy and ignite a passion for learning from Scholastic Classroom Magazines, visit scholastic.com/classmags.
