Field Museum Connections: AANHPI Stories and the TEAACH Act
About Our Project
In April 2021, Illinois passed the TEAACH Act (Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History) requiring one unit of Asian American history in all public elementary and high school classrooms. With the rise of anti-Asian hate and invisibility of Asian American stories in school curricula, museums have a unique opportunity to engage with community organizations to amplify Asian American history. Asian Americans represent a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, and histories, yet their stories often are marginalized from mainstream narratives.
Supported by a three-year grant from the Cyrus Tang Foundation, the Field Museum Connections: AANHPI Stories & the TEAACH Act project seeks to address this gap by partnering with local Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities, cultural organizations, and educators to co-create PreK-12 learning experiences and programs that reflect authentic, multifaceted perspectives centering AANHPI communities. We aim to equip Illinois educators to meet the requirements of the TEAACH Act, educate young people, foster greater cultural empathy, and empower community voices in the telling of their own histories.
See our Teacher Reference Guide
Resource Highlights
Chicago's Chinatown Community Guide
An infographic guide to Chinatown's past, present, and future.
ActivityLesson PlanGrades 3-8AANHPI Teacher Reference Guide
Community Guide Instructions
This activity invites you to document, honor, and analyze a community through history, place, and lived experience.
Chicago's Chinatown Coloring Pages
Color and Explore Chinatown!
Archaeological Footprint | China Toolkit
Analyze how we learn about history through objects and theorize what gaps can exist in object-based stories.
Ask an Artifact | China Toolkit
Discover what you can learn from the objects all around us when you look carefully and apply a specific disciplinary lens. Spanish subtitles available.
Investigating the Qingming Scroll | China Toolkit
Learn about the contradictions depicted in the Qingming Scroll and compare it with present-day representations of idealized societies.
Exploring Language | China Toolkit
Explore the history of writing in China by drawing conclusions about the impact of the written word on human civilizations and how language changes over time.
Exploring Objects | China Toolkit
Analyze objects using varied lenses, including anthropology, history, economics, geography, and art history.
Chicago's Legacy Hula Virtual Tour
Learn the untold history of four Kumu Hula (master teachers of Hawaiian Hula) who perpetuated, preserved, and protected Hula as a way of life.
AANHPI Learning Resources and Collections
The TEAACH Act: From Advocacy to Implementation
During this virtual panel discussion, we listen to the stories of those who fought to pass the TEAACH Act as well as the students whose lives the new legislation directly impacts.
