Japanese Internment during World War II

Subject Area(s): World War II

Grade Level(s): 11

Format of Library of Congress media: Images

Best Instructional Practices

Standards

Standard 11:c - The student will demonstrate knowledge of the effects of World War II on the home front by explaining the internment of Japanese Americans during the war.

Length

One 90 minute block period

Lesson Summary

This lesson will allow students to get a sense of what it was like for Japanese Americans to be placed in internment camps during World War II. This lesson relies heavily on primary source documents and the Socratic Seminar. Students will be involved in a variety of activities throughout the class period.

Back to top

• 

  Potatoe, [i.e., Potato] fields, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams

• 

  Mrs. Naguchi and two children, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams.

• 

  Manzanar from Guard Tower, view west (Sierra Nevada in background), Manzanar Relocation Center, California.

• 

  Relocation: Packing up, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams

• 

  Tojo Miatake [i.e., To yo Miyatake] Family, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams.

• 

  Mess line, noon, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams

• 

  Dorothea Lange Photos of Japanese Internees

 

Back to top

All of the materials used in this lesson plan are available for downloading as PDF Files and PowerPoint files, as appropriate. PDF Files can be viewed with the free Adobe Reader.

• Entire Lesson Plan (PDF File)
• Japanese Internment (T-List) Worksheet (PDF File)
• A Letter from "Home" Assignment and Rubric (PDF File)
• Teacher Assessment Log: Socratic Seminar (PDF File)
• Class Discussion: Analytic Rubric (PDF File)

Back to top