Resources

Objective: Students will investigate and research the history of arts organizations and their contributions in the Bay Area.

Objective: Students will explore primary documents, like Chiura Obata’s paintings, to understand the severity of the 1906 SF Earthquake.

Jeff Byers, a storyteller at the Asian Art Museum, tells a Japanese folktale about a badger and a magic fan in front of the museum’s tearoom.

Students will consider the ways art can be used as activism in the context of Environmentalism and National Park Preservation.

Lesson: Compare and contrast experiences between Kay Sekimachi and the characters of When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka during Relocation and the Internment Camps to draw themes about the treatment of American and Japanese cultures and the erasure of individuality during World War II. 

Lesson: Wong’s memoirs—Fifth Chinese Daughter (1950) and No Chinese Stranger (1975)—offer students many opportunities to examine issues related to Asian American identity, history, art, and storytelling.  Depending on how much time you have, you can assign one or both books or specific passages; no matter the length of the reading, Wong’s stories and reflections lend themselves to provocative discussions.

Lesson: Watch and discuss the film Jade Snow Wong to understand the cultural conflicts experienced by Chinese American women during the 1930s-40s and how similar tensions still exist today.