How can I locate a book that teaches American Chinese children about American culture?

Question

I'm going to give an informal "American Culture" class to my students, who are American-born Chinese, ages 10 - 13. Because they interact only with their Chinese friends and relatives, they feel insecure around children who were born in America to American parents. They need to learn the idioms, games, foods, and customs of American children because they don't have access to that information. All of this, including not being familiar with even basic slang, puts them behind socially and academically. Any ideas for books that would teach them some of these things in a class setting? Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

http://www. pbs .org/becomingamerican/ buythevideo .html







Buy The Video



VHS and DVDBecoming American: The Chinese Experience and Becoming American: Personal Journeys are available together on DVD or VHS from Films for the Humanities and Sciences. To place an order, call 1-800-257-5126. The DVD set is available for $ 99 .95 and the VHS for $ 89 .95.



Films for the Humanities and Sciences

P.O. Box 2053

Princeton, NJ 08543-2053

1-800-257-5126

www. films .com

custserv@ films .com





http://www. pbs .org/becomingamerican/ ce_resources .html



The Becoming American series is accompanied by both a viewer's guide and a guide for high school educators. In addition, the following list of resources — organizations, books and videos — has been compiled for those interested in exploring the ideas found in the series more fully. The organization list is found below while the books and videos can be accessed via the links above this paragraph.



Download the Viewer's Guide

http://www. pbs .org/becomingamerican/ ap_viewersguide .html

This 12-page viewer's guide for BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience provides viewers with background information on the series, including program summaries, timelines, and bibliographies. It also features a variety of historical photographs and other primary sources important to the Chinese American experience. These materials prompt reflection and promote discussion of the process of "becoming American." A broad range of questions and activities accompany these materials to aid viewers in an exploration of the complicated relationship between individual, ethnic, and national identity.



http://www. pbs .org/becomingamerican/ ap_viewersguide .html

Educator's Guide



This 48-page multidisciplinary study guide for BECOMING AMERICAN: The Chinese Experience meet a variety of classroom needs. Part 1 provides students and teachers with an introduction to the major themes explored in the documentary—identity, assimilation, citizenship, and tolerance—through brief readings and activities. Part 2 is a resource for teachers and students. It includes program summaries, timelines, and bibliographies as well as questions and activities that prompt in-depth discussions of the series as a whole. Part 3 helps teachers and students integrate the series into the scope and sequence of an American history or literature course by offering readings, and activities that focus on the series section-by-section.



Facing History and Ourselves is also supporting classroom use of Becoming American by offering workshops in six cities across the country. Detailed information concerning the location, date, and times of these free workshops can be found at www. facinghistory .org.



Download Now (4.8 MB)

(Requires installation of the Acrobat Reader. Download here.)



Hope this helps

Answer 2

This isn't something that a book is going to provide. I've had some success by letting the students 'act out' - assign them roles as American students - the same age that they actually are - and have them act out the stereotypes. Then ask where some of these things come from - you can talk about the magazines and the internet usage that gives them the slang and the idions that they use. You can let them pretend to order foods from a restaurant, from a ball park - from different places where there will be a different selection of foods. And then you can introduce some of these foods through actual experience - either cook 'em up in the classroom (is there a cooking class at your school? Could they cooperate on this plan) or take a field trip.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

American-born Chinese, the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang might be an excellent starting point for discussion, especially among the older students.



You might want to frame this in a media studies, social studies/cultural studies sort of context if appropriate. PBS did a Frontline show called the Merchants of Cool that might be useful.



Since these kids are tweens it might help to focus on tween pop culture. I’ve put some links below that might help as starting places.



http://www. americaslibrary .gov/cgi-bin/ page .cgi/jp

America at Play features some American Sports and Celebrations



http://www. sky-net-eye .com/eng/dictionary/english/idioms/american

A dictionary of American Idiomatic Expressions



http://www. npr .org/templates/story/ story .php?storyId=17914370

In character, American Characters



http://www. englishdaily626 .com/ idioms .php

American Idioms



http://www. learnenglishfeelgood .com/americanidioms/

More idioms



http:// idioms.thefreedictionary .com/American

Even more!



http://www. slangcity .com/

slangs



http://www. wsu .edu/~amerstu/pop/

American Popular Culture Analysis



http:// parenting.ivillage .com/tweens/twculture/topics/0,,4rxg, 00 .html

This has information about Tween Movies and other things



http://www. washingtonpost .com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/22/ AR2006052201903 .html

Tween Pop Culture



http:// tweenscene.wordpress .com/2007/03/28/what-is-a-tween/

Tween girls in pop culture



http://www. americanpopcultureencyclopedia .com/

Encyclopedia of American Pop Culture

Answer 4

Twilight. It shows all of American culture.

Answer 5

reference librarian can do wonders