Asian America

Biography and lesson plans

Biography and lesson plans

The “Paintings by Masami Teraoka” exhibition was on view at the Asian Art Museum from October 22, 1997 to January 25, 1998. This exhibition featured thirty-three current paintings and four prints by Masami Teraoka (b. 1936), a Japanese-born painter of contemporary American pop art. The Asian Art Museum was pleased to present Paintings by Masami Teraoka as a partial response to the frequently asked question, “What happened in Japanese art after the middle of the nineteenth century?”

As a magician, Arthur Okamura wrote and illustrated his own magic trick books, including Paper Propeller, the Jumping Frog, the Spinning Quarter: And 38 Other Amazing Tricks You Can Do With Stuff Lying Around the House. In this activity, you will complete one of his physical balance tricks and suspend one cup above or at the same height of three other cups.

Inspired by Okamura and the Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, students will learn about California’s water distribution and drought through the integration of science, math, and art.

Students will 1) learn the difference between location and place; 2) identify the location and place characteristics of different cities; and 3) reflect on the effects of a sudden change in location and place on the Japanese Americans when they were forced to evacuate and relocate.

Biography and lesson plans

Share your favorite spots in your city’s Chinatown, Japantown, Koreatown, Manilatown, Little Saigon, or Little Delhi. Some Asian American communities might not have names like these, but they can be mapped just the same to show what makes them special.

The lessons below increase in the level of analytical thinking required of the students, with Lesson 1 being accessible to all grade levels and the final lesson, Lesson 5, being more appropriate for Grades 9-12+.