Global Schools Project
The University of South Florida
Social Studies Education Program http://www.coedu.usf.edu/GlobalSchoolsProject
Title: Japanese-American Internment Camps
Author: Joel Goodrick
Concept/Main Idea of Lesson:
What were the reasons for the U.S. government placing Japanese-Americans into internment camps during WWII? This lesson explores the U.S. government’s decision to detain over 100,000 Japanese-American citizens in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Intended Grade Level: 9-12
Infusion/Subject Area(s): U.S. History, World History
National Curriculum Standards: Culture; Time, Continuity, and Change;
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions; Power, Authority and Governance
Instructional Objective: The student will explain the reasons for the U.S. government policy of Japanese-American internment during WWII.
Learning Activities Sequence:
Step 1: The teacher will begin the lesson with the following bell work question:
“Should the government have the right to detain people in times of war—even when they have done nothing wrong ?”. Allow the students in pairs to discuss this question for about two minutes. After the students have had time to discuss this, ask for students to offer their answers to the class and explain their rationale for their responses. (It is likely that most, if not all, students will say that it is not right for the government to detain people if they have done nothing wrong.)
Pro be students’ answers by asking: What if the United States is at war with a particular country? Should Americans who are descendants of that country be held under suspicion of possible treason or espionage? Lead a class discussion.
Explain to the class tha t today’s lesson will help the students analyze this question while studying the events surrounding the U.S. government’s decision to place Japanese-American citizens in internment camps following the attack on
Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Step 2: The teacher will introduce the topic using a PowerPoint presentation.
The students will have a guided notes handout while following along with the
PowerPoint. Also, to engage the class in the discussion, using PPT slide #2, have the students briefly discuss with their partner again what items they would most likely need to bring with them if they had been one of the Japanese-
Americans being interned. Have them discuss for 1-2 minutes, and again, have

individual groups identify some of the items they thought they might need to bring with them. Ask the students how they think it must have felt to have been forced to gather up belongings with very little notice, and without being fully aware of where they might be relocated to.
In the following slides, identify the reasons why the U.S. government would have authorized Executive Order 9066, which ultimately allowed for the internment camps to operate.
Step 3: To provide the students with an eye witness’ perspective of the situation, have them listen to the song, “Kenji” by the band Fort Minor. This song analyzes the Japanese-American internment experience through the family history of one of the band member’s whose own family was placed in an internment camp. So that the students gain a deeper appreciation for the song, distribute copies of the lyrics (Handout 2) to each student so they can follow the song more closely.
Once the song is over, pass out to students a “lyrics analysis” handout (Handout
3) that will allow the students to analyze the song’s meaning more in depth. This can be done in pairs so students can discuss their findings. After giving the students enough time to complete their handout and discuss with their partner, as a class discuss students ’ responses to their interpretation of the song and its relevance to the Japanese-American internment camps.
Closing: Have the students imagine that they were Japanese-Americans living in the U.S. when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, and that they along with their families were sent off to a government relocation camp due to the government and society’s fears that Japan could bring another attack against the U.S. From this perspective, have the class compose a letter to a friend living outside the internment camp to express their feelings over being interned. There is a student handout (Handout 4) to pass out that provides more details for the students to consider and to include in their letters. Based on time constraints for this lesson, this could be an activity that takes an additional day to complete in order to allow students to have ample time to compose a well thought out letter. The students’ letters should make the connection with the original bell work question at the beginning of the lesson, as well (
“Should the government have the right to detain people in times of war
—even when they have done nothing wrong?”).
Day 2:
If you have access to a computer lab, have your class take part in a Web Quest that will allow them to read and analyze first hand accounts and visuals of one of the mood in the nation surrounding society’s fears of another attack by Japan.
This Web Quest will also introduce the students to what life in some of the
Japanese-American internment camps was like, particularly Camp Manzanar
(the same camp referenced in the song “Kenji” that the students listened to in the lesson above). There is a handout (Handout 5) attached that provides directions

for the students to navigate through the website, as well as questions (Handout
6) for them to be answer. This will take at least 1-2 days to complete.
Day 3:
If time allows, have students analyze this situation from a more current perspective by having them find a current event pertaining to the days after 9/11 where many U.S. citizens of Middle Eastern descent were also viewed with a high degree of suspicion even in some cases where there was no actual evidence that tied individuals to terrorist activities. There is a handout included
(Handout 7) that would help guide the students in this assignment. This would be a useful activity that could take 1-2 days to complete.
Materials and Resources: PowerPoint, computer access, equipment to play and amplify music
PowerPoint: “Japanese-Internment Camps”
Handout 1: Guided Notes for PPT
Handout 2:
“Kenji” lyrics
Song: “Kenji” by Fort Minor
Source: Fort Minor. “Kenji”. Album: The Last Stand. 2005.
Handout 3: “Kenji”: Song Analysis Graphic Organizer
Handout 4: RAFT letter (from perspective of a Japanese-American placed in an
internment camp)
Website: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/89getting.htm
Handout 5: Web Quest directions
Handout 6: Web Quest student questions
Handout 7: Current Event activity directions
Suggested Teacher Readings:
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki. & Houston, James D, Farewell to Manzanar; a true story of Japanese American experience during and after the World War II internment. Boston, Houghton Mifflin. 1973.

(Handout 1)
What was the government’s response to Pearl Harbor which called for Japanese-
Internment?
What were the reasons for sending Japanese-Americans to the camps?
(How do you think you would have reacted to this? What could Japanese Americans have done to fight this? Was there any legal action that Japanese Americans could have taken to fight this?)

(Handout 2)
by Fort Minor
My father came from Japan in 1905
He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan
He worked until he was able to buy respect and build a store
Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream,
I don't know why I have to tell it but I know what it means,
Close your eyes, just picture the scene,
As I paint it for you, it was World War II,
When this man named Kenji woke up,
Ken was not a soldier,
He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA,
That day, he crawled out of bed like he always did,
Bacon and eggs with wife and kids,
He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran,
He moved to LA from Japan,
They called him 'Immigrant,'
In Japanese, he'd say he was called "Issei,"
That meant 'First Generation In The United States,'
When everybody was afraid of the Germans, afraid of the Japs,
But most of all afraid of a homeland attack,
And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat,
His world went black 'cause,
Right there; front page news,
Three weeks before 1942,
"Pearl Harbour's Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin',"
Pictures of soldiers dyin' and runnin',
Ken knew what it would lead to,
Just like he guessed, the President said,
"The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away,"
They gave Ken, a couple of days,
To get his whole life packed in two bags,
Just two bags, couldn't even pack his clothes,
Some folks didn't even have a suitcase, to pack anything in,
So two trash bags is all they gave them,
When the kids asked mom "Where are we goin'?"
Nobody even knew what to say to them,
Ken didn't wanna lie, he said "The US is lookin' for spies,
So we have to live in a place called Manzanar,
Where a lot of Japanese people are,"
Stop it don't look at the gunmen,
You don't wanna get the soldiers wonderin',
If you gonna run or not,
'Cause if you run then you might get shot,
Other than that try not to think about it,
Try not to worry 'bout it; bein' so crowded,
Someday we'll get out, someday, someday.

As soon as war broke out
The F.B.I. came and they just come to the house and
"You have to come"
"All the Japanese have to go"
They took Mr. Ni
People didn't understand
Why did they have to take him?
Because he's an innocent laborer
So now they're in a town with soldiers surroundin' them,
Every day, every night look down at them,
From watch towers up on the wall,
Ken couldn't really hate them at all;
They were just doin' their job and,
He wasn't gonna make any problems,
He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that,
He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made,
But in the back of his mind, he wanted his families life saved,
Prisoners of war in their own damn country,
What for?
Time passed in the prison town,
He wanted them to live it down when they were free,
The only way out was joinin' the army,
And supposedly, some men went out for the army, signed on,
And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb,
That 15 kilotonne blast, put an end to the war pretty fast,
Two cities were blown to bits; the end of the war came quick,
Ken got out, big hopes of a normal life, with his kids and his wife,
But, when they got back to their home,
What they saw made them feel so alone,
These people had trashed every room,
Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors,
Written on the walls and the floor,
"Japs not welcome anymore."
And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside,
He, looked at his wife without words to say,
She looked back at him wiping tears away,
And, said "Someday we'll be OK, someday,"
Now the names have been changed, but the story's true,
My family was locked up back in '42,
My family was there it was dark and damp,
And they called it an internment camp
When we first got back from camp... uh
It was... pretty... pretty bad
I, I remember my husband said
"Are we gonna stay 'til last?"
Then my husband died before they close the camp.
Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fortminor/kenji.html

(Handout 3)
“Kenji”:
WWII and the Homefront: Japanese Internment
“Japanese Internment”
Summary/Explanation
What details/descriptions in the lyrics indicate trouble ahead for Ken and other Japanese-Americans in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor?
List a few adjectives that explain what life was like at
Camp Manzanar.
What does the end of the song indicate about the situation that Japanese Americans would face even after
WWII was finally over?

(Handout 4)
Japanese-Internment Camps
Writing Activity
Imagine that you and your family were “relocated” to one of the Japanese-Internment
Camps during WWII. You and your family were not involved with this attack in any way, but the U.S. government has decided to move you away from your community as a national security precaution. You will be writing a letter to someone that you know outside of the camps to explain why you have been relocated and also explain your reaction to this, as well.
Be creative, but also remember to use historical facts and details. Also in your letter, you will need to respond to the question, “Should the government have the right to detain citizens in times of war…even when they have done nothing wrong?”.
Your letter home must include the following terms/names: FDR, Executive Order 9066,
Internment, Pearl Harbor, National Security, Loyalty
Japanese-Internment Camps
Writing Activity
Imagine that you and your family were “relocated” to one of the Japanese-Internment
Camps during WWII. You and your family were not involved with this attack in any way, but the U.S. government has decided to move you away from your community as a national security precaution. You will be writing a letter to someone that you know outside of the camps to explain why you have been relocated and also explain your reaction to this, as well.
Be creative, but also remember to use historical facts and details. Also in your letter, you will need to respond to the question, “Should the government have the right to detain citizens in times of war…even when they have done nothing wrong?”.
Your letter home must include the following terms/names: FDR, Executive Order 9066,
Internment, Pearl Harbor, National Security, Loyalty

(Handout 5) Japanese Internment Camps
Web Quest Directions
1.
Go to http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/89setting.htm
and read the paragraphs titled, “Setting the Stage”. Answer the four questions related to the reading.
2.
Then, click on continue and examine the first map, “Map of the South Pacific
1942” and answer the questions on that page.
3.
Next, click on continue and examine the second map, “War Relocation Centers in the US” and answer the questions on that page.
4.
Continue to the first reading; headlines and excerpts from articles appeared in The
Los Angeles Times between December 1941 and February 1942. They provide a glimpse of what people living in Los Angeles could read in the papers in the months following Pearl Harbor. Answer the questions at the end of the page.
5.
Continue to document one, "To All Persons of Japanese Ancestry" and answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
6.
Continue to the third reading “A Life in the Relocation Centers” and answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
7.
Continue PAST DRAWING 1 AND go to the seven images of life in the relocation centers, and answer the questions as they go along.
Japanese Internment Camps
Web Quest Directions
1.
Go to http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/89setting.htm
and read the paragraphs titled, “Setting the Stage”. Answer the four questions related to the reading.
2.
Then, click on continue and examine the first map, “Map of the South Pacific
1942” and answer the questions on that page.
3.
Next, click on continue and examine the second map, “War Relocation Centers in the US” and answer the questions on that page.
4.
Continue to the first reading; headlines and excerpts from articles appeared in The
Los Angeles Times between December 1941 and February 1942. They provide a glimpse of what people living in Los Angeles could read in the papers in the months following Pearl Harbor. Answer the questions at the end of the page.
5.
Continue to document one, "To All Persons of Japanese Ancestry" and answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
6.
Continue to the third reading “A Life in the Relocation Centers” and answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
7.
Continue PAST DRAWING 1 AND go to the seven images of life in the
relocation centers, and answer the questions as they go along.

(Handout 6) Japanese-Internment Camps
Web Quest Questions
“Setting the Stage”
1.
Why do you think the number of Japanese immigrants increased significantly during the late 1800s and early 1900s?
2.
Why were many Americans fearful of Japanese-Americans after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor?
3.
How many Japanese-Americans were “interned” in the months following
December 7 th
?
4.
Do you think this was justified?
Map 1: “The South Pacific in 1942”
1.
Separated from Europe and Asia by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Americans had always felt safe from enemy attack. How do you think people living on the West Coast of the United States would have felt when they saw maps like this in their newspapers?
2.
American and British forces in the South Pacific were not able to stop the Japanese advance until the Battle of Midway in June 1942. How might a major U. S. victory over
Japan in January have affected attitudes towards the Japanese living on the West Coast?
Map 2: “War Relocation Centers in the United States”
1.
Locate the Manzanar and Rohwer War Relocation Centers. How many centers were there? In what states were they located? Why do you think many Western states refused to allow relocation centers to be built there?

2.
Compare this map with a general map of the United States. How are the locations of these centers alike? How are they different?
3.
The locations of most of the centers fulfilled the requirements established by the U.S. government: that the site should be on federal or other public land; that it should be a safe distance from strategic war facilities; that it should be large enough to accommodate at least 5,000 people; that it should be able to provide year-round work opportunities for the residents; and that good transportation to the center should be available. Why do you think these requirements were considered important? Can you think of any other requirements that you might consider if you were creating centers like these?
Reading 1: “Fear!”
1.
Based on the headlines, what do you think people living in Los Angeles were afraid of? What do you think W. H. Anderson meant when he said: "A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched"?
2.
What words were used to refer to people of Japanese ancestry? How do you think the words differ? For most Japanese, the word "Jap" was and is highly offensive. Why do you think it was used so often?
3.
If you were a Japanese American living in Los Angeles, how would you react to these headlines?
4.
Walter Lippmann was a highly respected correspondent for the New York Tribune, who had just returned to the East after a visit to California. What facts did he cite as justification for his conclusion that a Japanese "fifth column," or spy network, existed on the Pacific Coast? Japanese submarines were patrolling off the California coast, but neither the Federal Bureau of Investigation nor the Federal Communications Commission could find any evidence of communication from the shore. Why do you think officials and others were so willing to believe that Japanese living on the West Coast were signaling the submarines?

5.
Why do you think Executive Order 9066 never mentions the Japanese, even though they are the people most directly affected?
6.
How do these headlines compare to newspaper or television coverage of events occurring today?
Reading 2: “To all persons of Japanese ancestry”
1.
How would you feel if you saw a notice like this posted in your neighborhood and referring to you or your friends?
2.
What services will the Civil Control Station provide? How expensive would it be for the government to provide these things for the 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast? Do you think cost would have been an issue at the time? Why or why not? Could the government have spent the money in a different way to solve the same problem?
3.
What could people take with them? Why do you think restrictions were placed on the quantity of goods they could bring?
4.
How much time were people given to prepare for relocation--sell their houses, businesses, and farms, pack their belongings, and so forth? How long would it take your family to do this?
5.
The instructions say that the government will provide for storage of household items left behind "at the sole risk of the owner." What does that mean? If you were being relocated, would you leave your things to be stored? Why or why not?

Picture 3
Picture 4
Reading 3: “A Life in the Relocation Camps”
1.
How long did it take to move people of Japanese ancestry to the permanent relocation centers?
2.
What components made up a typical relocation center? Why do you think the centers were designed to be self-contained and self-sufficient?
3.
Why was it important for evacuees to make changes in their environment?
4.
Why did some members of the community cease to be loyal to the United States? How did they show their anger at the way the government had treated them? How did others seek to demonstrate their continued loyalty? If you were a relocated Japanese American, how do you think you would have reacted?
Picture 1
Picture 2

Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
***(All questions listed above for this activity are located at http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/89getting.htm
and are found on the corresponding links of the web quest).***

(Handout 7)
American History Honors
World War II Current Event
YOUR JOB…
You will be writing a one page paper that describes the background for the U.S. rationale of ordering the Japanese-Internment Camps during WWII, and you are to also tie in one current event stemming from 9/11 in which a group or an individual was detained for reasons of national security.
As usual, you will need to find a current event article either online (from reputable news sources which I will provide) or in actual newspaper format (Tampa Tribune, St. Pete
Times, etc). The article must deal with this specific issue.
Paper Format…
First section - Use this part to focus on the general details of the Japanese-Internment
Camps, and explain how it impacted the U.S. (Use historical facts/details)
Second section - Use this part to introduce what your current event was about. Include key details and specific information from the article.
Third section - Use this for your conclusion to answer this question… “Do you think the
U.S. government should be able to detain individuals during times of crisis even if there is little/no evidence to hold them on?”. Answer fully and be sure to defend your reasoning.
You will need to include a copy of the article that you have written about. Papers turned in without an article will be penalized. Your paper should be typed (12 pt., Times New
Roman). Spelling DOES count (be sure to use spell check, AND proof read your papers before submitting!). Focus on your writing, and please…no pictures/border outlines

.
Due Date… ____________________________