7 Asian Pacific Islander Month Activities for Students

Since the 1970s, the United States has recognized Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month each May. You can bring Asian Pacific Islander Month activities into your classes with Formative to help students get diverse perspectives on the rich cultures and vast histories that make up the AAPI experiences in our country.

• 3 documents for AAPI Heritage Month
• 4 letters and speeches by and about influential AAPI people and cultural groups

[3 documents for AAPI Heritage Month](id-doc)

1. The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii

On July 12, 1898, Congress voted to officially annex the Hawaiian Islands as a territory of the United States. But not everyone was pleased by this development. In the fall of 1897, two groups, the Hui Aloha ‘Aina and Hui Kulai‘aina, organized a mass petition drive to try to stop the annexation from happening.

The petitions were unsuccessful, and the Islands remained a U.S. territory from 1898 until 1959, when Hawaii became the 50th and last U.S. state.

2. General J.L. DeWitt orders Japanese American relocation

In 1941, shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment of hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans. Even those with as little as 1/16th Japanese ancestry were subject to exclusion.

American Army General J.L. DeWitt was one of the biggest proponents of internment. He issued the first orders to move Japanese Americans to internment camps in 1942.

3. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988

Forty years after the end of World War II and the end of Japanese-American internment, Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The bill provided compensation for survivors of the internment camps for American citizens and permanent residents of the United States.

[4 letters and speeches by and about influential AAPI people and cultural groups](id-speech)

4. Queen Liliuokalani protests Hawaii’s annexation

In 1887, a group of foreigners known as the Hawaiian League overthrew King Kalakaua, who ruled over the kingdom of Hawaii. His sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded him. Though the Hawaiian monarchy ended with her in 1893, she and other Indigenous Hawaiians opposed the annexation of the Islands by the U.S. government. 

In June 1897, she wrote a letter to President McKinley protesting the annexation and hoping to change his mind about the decision. Her letter was unsuccessful, and Hawaii became a part of the U.S. territories in 1887.

5. Filipinos fight American annexation

Following the Spanish-American War, Spain gave its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States. Just two days before the annexation treaty was supposed to go into action, Filipino nationalists and American forces clashed in what became known as the Philippine-American War.

The year before the war began, Felipe Agoncillo published a letter in “The New York Times, pleading with the U.S. government to give the country independence instead of colonization.

6. Harold Ickes writes a letter to President Roosevelt on Japanese internment

Living conditions at Japanese internment camps were poor. The camps were overcrowded, and there often weren’t enough cots, food, or supplies to meet everyone’s needs. Confrontations like the Manzanar Riot of 1942 further stoked tensions between Japanese Americans and the camps’ guards.

Two years after internment began, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes sent a letter to President Roosevelt, questioning these injustices being committed in the internment camps.

7. Kamala Harris gives her vice president-elect acceptance speech

In 2020, Kamala Harris became the first woman, Black woman, and woman of Indian heritage to be elected vice president. Her speech highlighted the need to fight for justice and equality and recognized the historic moment for women—especially those of Black and Asian backgrounds.

Create engaging AAPI Heritage Month activities with Formative

The Formative Library has a variety of free, pre-made activities developed by our curriculum experts and educators like you. You can use these templates as-is or customize them to fit your instructional needs. Use the library’s sort filters to browse content by subject and grade level to find what you want.

Create your own activity if you don’t see a template that matches your instructional needs! Log into your Formative account and choose how to customize your lesson or assessment. You can create new slides with various multimedia, including audio and video, import content from Google, or enhance a PDF or existing document.

Don’t have a Formative account yet? Sign up for Formative for free today to start creating activities for AAPI Heritage Month and beyond!