Educators

Bringing A Fight for a Cup of Chai into the Classroom

A Fight for a Cup of Chai: A Journey Through Labor, Loss, and Hope has been adopted in high school classrooms to support conversations about labor rights, migration, globalization, and human dignity. Grounded in lived experience, the book invites students to examine how global systems shape everyday lives—while centering resilience, responsibility, and hope.

Written by a school counselor and educator, this memoir is designed to meet students where they are: curious, questioning, and navigating a complex world.

Classroom Use: Currently used in high school English and social studies classrooms.

Suggested Grade Levels

Grades 9–12 (ELA, Social Studies, Global History, Human Rights electives)

Common Classroom Applications

Memoir and nonfiction study
Globalization and labor units
Immigration and migration narratives
Social justice, ethics, and civic responsibility
Interdisciplinary ELA–Social Studies collaboration

Key Themes

Labor and dignity
Migration and displacement
Global supply chains
Identity and belonging
Loss, resilience, and hope

Classroom Resources

To support educators, a free Classroom Guide is available, including:

A_Fight_for_a_Cup_of_Chai_Classroom_Guide.pdf 311.77 KB

Discussion questions
Thematic lenses for instruction
Ideas for reflective writing and dialogue

Adoption, Bulk Orders, & Classroom Sets

Classroom sets and bulk orders are available.
👉 Order classroom copies via Ingram: Bulk Classroom Orders
For orders over 100 copies or international requests, please contact: sanman@sanmanthapa.com