Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Japanese Internment--How Point of View Influences Attitude

For Teachers 11th
How does background and experience influence one's point of view? Dwight Okita's famous poem about the Japanese internment is the text used to explore this essential question. Class members study primary documents to gain the necessary...
Lesson Plan
NPR

Civil Rights of Japanese-American Internees

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Study Guide
Penguin Books

Teacher's Guide: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed Standards
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...
Activity
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Pearl Harbor Activity #7: Pop Up Video Activity

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A pop-up video version of FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech engages scholars in depending their understanding of the attack on Pearl Harbor. After watching the video, class members select five new things that they learned and research how...
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pearl Harbor and the Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Balancing national security and civil liberties can be tricky. To appreciate the tension between these two concepts, class members investigate the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D....
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Japanese American Internment During World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

Racism and Removal: Japanese Incarceration During World War II

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Race and War in the Pacific: A Propaganda Gallery Walk

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

Can It Happen in America?: Taking Social Action

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...
Lesson Plan
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School Improvement in Maryland

Executive Order

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After reading information about Executive Order #9066, class members assume the voice of an 18 year-old Japanese-American born in California and placed in an internment camp. Individuals then craft a letter to President Roosevelt...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Dear Miss Breed

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will...
Activity
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Shaker Junior High School Library Media Center

WWII Project Outline

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Work together as a class and get to know the ins and outs of World War II with this engaging collaborative project. Class members are broken into groups to research particular war topics, from life on the home front to the Holocaust and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Prisoner in One's Own Home

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World War II Home Front

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Eleventh graders examine the political demands put on one of four groups living in America during WWII. Each class member is asked to research and write a paper describing the homefront experience for women, Hispanics, African-Americans,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Japanese-American Relocation

For Teachers 11th
Consider the causes and effects that led to the internment and relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII. Learners read the story "Baseball Saved Us" and selected chapters from Farewell to Manzanar. Then, they view a slide-show, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journey to Topaz, a Literature Based Approach

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Homefront: America and WWII

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the experiences of various groups of Americans at home during WWII, highlighting race, gender, and ethnicity. They improve their ability to analyze and interpret historical documents and images.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning about the Holocaust

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students participate in learning about the Holocaust including the Japanese Internment Camps. They view the movie, "Schindler's List," in order to gain an even better understanding of the Holocaust. They develop a Power Point...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World War II: Internment in Hawaii

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students examine world history by writing an essay in class. In this World War II lesson, students identify the attack on Pearl Harbor, the response from the U.S and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans. Students define Japanese...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World War II: Modern History of Hawaii

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Young scholars examine world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this World War II lesson, students discuss the role Hawaii played in the great battle and what type conflicts happened among the island chain. Young...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Participating in Democracy

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Under the Blood-Red Sun

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore U.S. history by reading an award winning book about World War II. In this Japanese internment camp lesson, 5th graders read the book Under the Blood-Red Sun and discuss the entrapment of Japanese-Americans on our...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Giving Voice to History

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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...