INTRODUCTION
This Wing Luke Museum teacher’s guide accompanies Chapter 1–3 of the three-week series in The Seattle Times.
Journey with Newspapers In Education and Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience and learn
about New Year celebrations for Asian ethnic communities in the Pacific Northwest. Families in these communities have
maintained some of the cultural traditions and celebrations of their ancestral homelands while living here in Seattle.
One of the most important celebrations for Asian Americans is New Year’s. You will learn about some of the customs for the
Korean New Year, the Chinese Lunar New Year and Chaul Chnam Thmey, the Cambodian New Year. Students will also have
the opportunity to discuss and share their own family and cultural traditions, and to dive into deeper discussions and writing
assignments regarding the history of Asian immigration, culture, food, celebrations, traditions and cultural stereotypes in the
of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the American media.
NOTE TO EDUCATORS
The first section of Lessons 1–3 were written for K–5th grade classes and are extensions of the articles printed in The Seattle
Times on Jan. 30, Feb. 6 and Feb. 13, 2015. The second sections of Lessons 1–3 and Lessons 4–6 were written at a 4th–9th grade
level and refer back to the article series on Asian New Year’s printed in January, 2012. The 2012 series is posted at
seattletimes.
com/nie
. Teachers of all grade levels are encouraged to modify the guide to fit the needs of their individual classes.
Information on the Series/Dates
You can visit the NIE website (
seattletimes.com/nie
) to find the exact location and publishing dates of these pages in the
newspaper. Have students take notes from the in-paper content each week to use in combination with this guide.
The Seattle Times Newspapers In Education (NIE)
To enroll in The Seattle Times NIE program and receive free access to the electronic replica (e-Edition) of the newspaper,
lesson plans and curriculum guides, as well as the in-paper content for this guide, please email
or call
206.652.6290
.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lesson 1
Cultural Ties to Food
Lesson 2
Cultural-Based Vocabulary
Lesson 3
Cultural Celebrations
Lesson 4
Cultural Traditions
Lesson 5
Cultural Stereotypes in the Media
Lesson 6
Asian Pacific American Immigration
Appendix
A Brief History of Asian Immigration to the United States Mainland
2
