April is National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM). For decades, groups and individuals across the country called for official recognition and celebration of Arab American heritage. In 2017, these efforts were formalized in a national, coordinated campaign for a federally recognized heritage month. Finally, in 2023, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation formally declaring April as NAAHM.
Join us in celebrating Arab American Heritage Month in your classrooms this year!
The Middle East in Historical Context:
In the 2024-2025 school year, the CHSSP partnered with the UC Davis Department of History and the Middle East/South Asia (MESA) Studies program in a project called The Middle East in Historical Context. This project invited four renowned historians to the UC Davis campus for a series of public talks. Subsequently, scholars, graduate students, and teacher-leaders worked together to develop a series of lesson plans that highlight the research that each scholar presented. The resulting inquiry sets provide accessible and engaging entry points for teachers hoping to introduce more Middle Eastern and Arab American histories into their classrooms. Check them out today:
- Premodern Elite Culture in Andalusia introduces students to the multicultural world of medieval Iberia, where Muslim, Jewish, and Christian elites shared cultural practices across political and religious divides. Through structured interpretation of court poetry, visual arts, and chronicles, students gain an understanding of the commonalities premodern elites shared, contextualizing later studies of political absolutism and revolutionary change.
- Middle Eastern Jewish Life and Early Zionism, 1880-1920 presents a variety of voices from Arabic-speaking and Sephardic Jewish communities alongside European Jewish perspectives. The set situates the emergence and early debates over Zionism among Jewish communities, highlighting perspectives often excluded by European-centered narratives on this topic. The set provides historical grounding for classroom discussions of nationalism, empire, and identity.
- The Arab American Immigrant Experience narrates the history of Arab immigration to the United States and how these immigrants navigated racial stereotyping. Focused attention is paid to how Arab Americans were represented in popular culture, introducing students to the concept of Orientalism and illustrating how Arab Americans contested these stereotypes. Using oral histories, photography, and poetry, the set introduces Arab American immigration history while teaching media literacy related to Arab communities.
- Modern Palestinian History contextualizes the 1948 Nakba – the displacement of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes with Israel’s establishment – with sources ranging from Ottoman maps to British commission reports and Palestinian writings and poetry. Students trace the intersections of Zionist colonization in Palestine and British imperial rule, while also examining Palestinian claims to political continuity, cultural resilience, and resistance to displacement after 1948. The set encourages engagement with how colonialism and nationalism reshaped Palestine through the twentieth century.
CHSSP Resource Spotlight:
- Arab American Heritage: This 2024 Resource Spotlight features a wealth of teaching resources, historical scholarship, and picture book recommendations celebrating Arab American history and heritage. Check out our History Blueprint on the Cold War for lessons on the Algerian War for Independence (1954-1962) and other decolonization efforts across the Middle East in the late twentieth century.
Other Resources for Educators:
- The Arab American National Museum has numerous resources for educators, including virtual galleries and free lesson plans.
- TeachMidEast is an educational initiative that provides K-12 educators with high-quality classroom resources on the Middle East. Check out their website for articles, lesson plans, timelines, and more!
#KatesBookClub Reads:
Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden by Jenan Matari, illustrated by Aya Ghanamen. This story follows a young girl who spends time in her grandfather’s garden, where caring for plants becomes a way to learn about her family’s history and identity. As they tend the garden together, she discovers how connection to the land, memory, and tradition can help keep a sense of home alive, even while living away from it. Would be nice to pair with A Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child’s Search for Home.
Mama Shamsi at the Bazaar by Mojdeh Hassani and Samira Iravani, illustrated by Maya Fidawi. Mama Shamsi is off to the market, and today, Samira gets to go with her! Samira loves spending time with her grandmother, and she especially loves her chador, which Mama Shamsi wraps around herself every time they leave the house. As the pair get closer and closer to the market, Samira is worried about getting lost in the crowded streets of Tehran, until she has an idea - She can hide under her grandmother's chador. But when Mama Shamsi says no-if Samira hides under there, the pair of them will look like a strange animal! Using humorous illustrations and a vivid imagination, Samira and Mama Shamsi turn into a donkey, a giraffe, a kangaroo, and a turtle under the chador. But maybe there's some other way for Samira to stay safe with her grandma in the crowded market.
Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child’s Search for Home, A by Maysa Odeh, illustrated by Aliaa Betawi. Falasteen, a young Palestinian girl, tries to find her homeland of Palestine on a map and struggles with the realization that it doesn’t exist on the map. Through conversations with her family, she learns about history, memory, and identity, discovering new ways to understand where she comes from and her connection to Palestine. Could be a good starting point for identity discussions.
Mariam’s Dream: The Story of Mariam Al-Shaar and Her Food Truck of Hope by Lelia Boukarim, illustrated by Sona Avedikian. Story about how one woman, Mariam Al-Shaar, made a huge difference in her refugee community. Discover the joys of cooking, the power of community, and the flavors of Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Addresses questions about who can start a business, what documents one needs, and the finances necessary to make one’s dream a success.
Sister Friend by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Shahrzad Maydani. Ameena feels invisible. It's been that way since she started at her new school, where Ameena plays alone at recess. But now there is another new girl in class, Sundus. Ameena sees her brownness, her hijab, even though the other kids do not. Ameena wants to be her friend, but she can’t seem to find the right words or do the right things. Until one day, the girls find the right words together: “Assalamu Alaikum, Sister. Welcome.” Amazing artwork. Educator resources from the author: https://pdfs.abrams.link/SisterFriend_ActSheets.pdf