Lesson Plan, Professional Development, Unit Plan, Teaching Guide Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum

The Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum (VAEMC) is a set of open-source lesson plans, primary source documents, planning resources, teaching strategies, and professional development activities designed to enhance existing courses or support educators in course development. Curriculum development was driven by community voices as per Assembly Bill 167 and Senate Bill 369. External organizations and local education agencies that serve the communities of interest hosted multiple opportunities for engagement. During listening sessions, participants explain what content they would like to see in model curricula. Engagement session feedback informs the choice of topics for the curriculum projects. Collaborators included researchers, writers, and community members, many of whom have Vietnamese ancestry. The curriculum is designed to assist K–12 educators in teaching about the histories and cultures of Vietnamese, and includes:
• Vietnamese American refugee experience
• The Fall of Sài Gòn in 1975
• Vietnamese boat people and members of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, the reasons behind the exodus, the hardships faced by the Vietnamese people attempting to flee who were apprehended by the communist government, and the conditions that led to the resettlement of Vietnamese people in the United States.
• The long-term causes and effects of the refugee experience
• The establishment of Little Saigons
• An emphasis on cultural practices in the Vietnamese diaspora