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Participating in Democracy
Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson plan, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well...
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Under the Blood-Red Sun
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...
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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...
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Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Students examine equal protection. In this Supreme Court lesson plan, 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
Students discover details about Japanese Internment. For 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...
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Japanese-American Internment: The Art of Gaman
Students explore Japanese-American internment. In this World War II instructional activity, students view a PowerPoint lecture that features the art of Gaman and determine what the art reveals about the experiences of the interned...
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My Secret War: Lesson 8
Fifth graders explore American history by viewing videos on the Internet. In this Japanese internment lesson, 5th graders discuss the politics that took place between America and Japan during WWII and why it was necessary to incarcerate...
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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...
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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...
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Evacuation: The Japanese Americans in World War II
Students examine Japanese internment camps of World War II. In this World War II instructional activity, students use primary and secondary sources to research the evacuation process and life within the internment camps. Students discuss...
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Lesson III: Crisis, Pearl Harbor, Internment
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
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
Students explore the issue of Japanese-American internment. In this World War II instructional activity, students analyze historical biases regarding Japanese-American internment as they analyze literature, research print and Internet...
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Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of Japanese Americans
Students consider the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this Japanese relocation lesson plan, students examine photographs by Dorothea Lange, the "Pledge of Allegiance," and a US government flyer from 1942. They...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Young scholars 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, Young scholars write...
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Japanese Internment
Fourth graders practice their writing skills. In this reading comprehension lesson, 4th graders review baseball terminology and then read Baseball Saved Us. In this story students learn about Japanese Americans that were taken from...
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Planting Seeds of Philanthropy
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
Students delve into primary research. In 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 advantages...
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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,...
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Liberty Vs. Safety: an American Dilemma
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
Learners 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
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
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
Students role play a trial in which they consider if the United States government violated the rights of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.