NPR
Civil Rights of Japanese-American Internees
Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Julie Otsuka's haunting novel, When the Emperor Was Devine, is the subject of a 14-page teacher's guide. The guide includes the text of an interview with Otsuka, background information about Japanese immigration to the United States, and...
Center for History Education
Japanese American Internment During World War II
World War II turned nations against each other and neighbors into enemies. An eye-opening lesson explores the dark past of Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. Scholars learn of the fear and distrust toward Asian Americans...
Smithsonian Institution
Racism and Removal: Japanese Incarceration During World War II
During World War II people saw how far the government's control would go, but it was at the expense of its citizens. The resource brings the conditions of Japanese American internment camps to light using primary documents. Scholars...
Stanford University
Japanese American Incarceration
Using documents, such as reports from government sources and civil rights activists, budding historians explore the justification for forcing hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans to leave their lives and re-evaluate that tragic...
Stanford University
Ansel Adams at Manzanar
Analyzing photos from Ansel Adams of Manzanar—a camp where the American government imprisoned thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II—individuals consider what images have to say about this period in American history....
National WWII Museum
Race and War in the Pacific: A Propaganda Gallery Walk
Race played a key role in the war in the Pacific during World War II. Using images from both American and Japanese sources, learners consider racial propaganda and how leaders used it to rally popular support during the conflict. After...
Curated OER
Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching additional...
Curated OER
Journey to Topaz, a Literature Based Approach
Students view a video clip of the experiences of Japanese-Americans during World War II. They read parts of a book in which a child tells her story about living in the internment camps. They participate in a simulation activity as well.
Curated OER
Giving Voice to History
Students examine the plight of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this World War II lesson, students participate in a mock evocation simulation, research primary and secondary documents about internment camps, and share their...
Curated OER
My Secret War: Lesson 8
Fifth graders explore American history by viewing videos on the Internet. In this Japanese internment lesson plan, 5th graders discuss the politics that took place between America and Japan during WWII and why it was necessary to...
Curated OER
Heroes
Students explore reading comprehension strategies. In this character development and reading comprehension lesson, students brainstorm common traits of "heroes." Students read Heroes, then identify the personal conflicts the story...
Curated OER
Japanese American Internment
Students create a presentation based on the primary sources they have researched about the Japanese Americans that were held in internment camps during World War II. In this Japanese Americans lesson plan, students read different points...
Curated OER
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Lesson: Immigration
Many of your class members will have heard of Executive Order 9066 and the Japanese internment camps of World War II. Some may even recognize the terms “Issei” and “Nisei,” but few will have heard of Enemy Alien Hearing Boards, of the...
Curated OER
The War: Japanese Americans and Internment
Students examine the experiences of Japanese-Americans at the beginning of World War II in America. After watching an excerpt from "The War", they answer reflection questions about the Japanese being put into internment camps. In groups,...
Curated OER
Liberty Vs. Safety: an American Dilemma
Learners study the process of consensus and the value of studying history as we try to craft a more perfect society. They examine President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to incarcerate Japanese Americans in the Western United States,...
Curated OER
Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Curated OER
Farewell to Manzanar
Students investigate themes of justice and rights while reading the novel Farewell to Manzanar. They research contemporary civil rights issues and write reports. They also research the background of internment camps during World War II.
Curated OER
American Justice on Trial
Students role play a trial in which they consider if the United States government violated the rights of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.
Curated OER
Impact of War with Asia on Asian Americans Angel Island
Students identify perceptions towards Asians widely held by the American public through the analysis of political cartoons from the 1940's and 1990's. They recognize the ramifications of such perceptions on Asians and Asian Americans.
Curated OER
Fighting for Democracy, Fighting for Me
Students explore the contributions of African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Mexican Americans in World War II. In this World War II lesson plan, students research Internet and print sources regarding the treatment of the ethnic...
Curated OER
Social Effects of WWII
Fifth graders study the social effects of World War II on America. In this WWII effects lesson plan, 5th graders read paragraphs about the history of World War II. Students watch a video about the period and formulate questions for...
Curated OER
Japanese-Americans of World War II
High schoolers research the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and Roosevelt's Executive Order. They listen to an audio file of the Fifth Amendment before holding a mock trial about the policy of internment of...
Curated OER
The "Yellow" Peril
Learners discuss what happened on the west coast of the United States in 1942 from the perspective of either Japanese and Japanese Americans or their non-Asisan neighbors. They watch a video, where they are aware of both sides of the...