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Korematsu v. United States (1944)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine equal protection. In this Supreme Court lesson, students  examine primary documents from Korematsu v. United States and discuss the implications of the decision with regards to Japanese internment.
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Introduction to Japanese Internment

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students discover details about Japanese Internment. In this World War II lesson, students analyze images and documents related to the movement of Japanese-Americans to West coast internment camps in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attacks....
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Japanese-American Internment: The Art of Gaman

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore Japanese-American internment. In this World War II lesson, students view a PowerPoint lecture that features the art of Gaman and determine what the art reveals about the experiences of the interned Japanese-Americans.
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My Secret War: Lesson 8

For Teachers 5th
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...
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Heroes

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
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...
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Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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...
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Evacuation: The Japanese Americans in World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine Japanese internment camps of World War II. In this World War II lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to research the evacuation process and life within the internment camps. Students discuss the racial bias...
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Lesson III: Crisis, Pearl Harbor, Internment

For Teachers 9th - 11th
The third in a series of lessons introduced by “A Fence Away From Freedom,” uses the Smithsonian website, “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and focuses on the section of the presentation devoted to the...
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Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Lesson: Immigration

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
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...
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Changing Perspectives on the Japanese Internment Experience

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the issue of Japanese-American internment. In this World War II lesson plan, students analyze historical biases regarding Japanese-American internment as they analyze literature, research print and Internet sources, and...
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Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of Japanese Americans

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners consider the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this Japanese relocation lesson, students examine photographs by Dorothea Lange, the "Pledge of Allegiance," and a US government flyer from 1942. They use...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the concept of Japanese internment. In this Japanese internment lesson, students examine primary sources that enable them to discover what internment camp life was like and its implications, Students write their own...
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Japanese Internment

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders practice their writing skills. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, 4th graders review baseball terminology and then read Baseball Saved Us. In this story students learn about Japanese Americans that...
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Planting Seeds of Philanthropy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the importance of maintaining a democracy through philanthropic actions. In this character education lesson, students discover what the Japanese internment camps were, and why they were an infringement on personal...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students delve into primary research. For this Japanese Internment lesson plan, students make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the...
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The War: Japanese Americans and Internment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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,...
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Liberty Vs. Safety: an American Dilemma

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students 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,...
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The Bill of Rights And Japanese Internment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review the Bill of Rights. They interpret how the American Government violated these rights with regard to Japanese Americans during World War II. They write down the violations of the Bill of Rights during Japanese ...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 4th - 12th
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.
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Farewell to Manzanar

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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.
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American Justice on Trial

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scholars role play a trial in which they consider if the United States government violated the rights of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.
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Impact of War with Asia on Asian Americans Angel Island

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
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Japanese American Internment: Examining Racial Tensions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars discover how racial tension led to Japanese Internment. In this World War II lesson, students analyze political cartoons and posters related to the movement of Japanese-Americans to internment camps in the wake of the...
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Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine Japanese-American internment. In this World War II instructional activity, 11th graders research primary sources that they locate to learn about the experiences of the interned Japanese-Americans. Students then...