Process
PHASE ONE
Step 1: Create Groups. Divide into groups of five students; no more than 3 boys or 3 girls per group (groups must be heterogenous)
Step 2: Assign Roles. Each of you will choose one of five roles that you will be researching on throughout the project.
Role 1: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Role 2: American Soldier (Non-Japanese descent)
Role 3: Japanese-American Father/Husband (or) Mother/Wife
Role 4: Japanese-American student (male/female)
Role 5: Japanese-American Soldier in the United States Military
Step 3: Develop Background Understanding.
Before developing an argument from the position you are representing,
you must gain general background information about the issues
surrounding the internment. This information will be useful for each role.
1st) Watch the Densho informational video by clicking here
Step 4: Research and Present Your Role
President Roosevelt: Being the president of the United States and the key political figure during World War II, you must appraise your motivations and intentions. What factors influenced you to issue Executive Order 9066? What pressures did you face? Evaluate these factors and use them to do the following:
A) Prepare one of your famous "fireside chats" that you hold on a weekly basis. (Minimum of five minutes in duration). Your will record your chat on a CD to present to the class at the end of the project. For detailed recording instructions, click here.
For examples and resources on fireside chats, consider the following links
1. An audio and written version of FDR's first fireside chat
2. The complete text from 30 of FDR's fireside chats
3. Overview and explanation of fireside chats
B) Write a formal letter to the US Congress justifying your position (as there has been much hostility and resentment from the general public concerning Executive Order 9066)
1. See the "Japanese-American Internment" subsection of Wikipedia's article on FDR.
3. This site has a Japanese-American Internment subsection as well (in an FDR article)
Non-Japanese US Soldier: As a soldier, what is your position on the internment of the Japanese Americans? There are several factors that might influence your attitude toward the internment of these citizens. There are a variety of resources you might want to consider, before establishing your position. You will use this information to do the following:
A) Compose a personal letter to a loved one at home. In your letter, describe your obligations as a soldier and compare them with the either similar or contrasting personal opinions you hold. To validate your opinions, refer to your personal experience with the Japanese American people in general and to any other specific events/experiences that have influenced your position(s) and beliefs.
B) Record a mock-conversation between yourself and another soldier. Prepare a script and use another group member or a volunteer to play the role of the other soldier. In this conversation, point out personal biases held by many US soldiers during this time. Thsi postion may be reflected by either yourself or the other soldier. You may decide that both soldiers share this bias or there can be a difference of opinions. Express these biases in this conversation. This video-recording should last approximately 2-6 minutes.
You may find the following references helpful in establishing your position as a US soldier
1. Photos and captions depicting major WWII battles in the Pacific
2. Description of the Attack on Pearl Harbor
3. Japanese-American Soldiers in the war
Japanese American Citizen: As a Japanese American citizen, you have been living in America your entire life. Your parents migrated to the United States, but this is the only country you have ever lived in. You may choose to be a male or female, but you must be married and have at least one child. How has the internment affected your life as a parent and a spouse? You will report your feelings by completing the following activities:
A) Writing three personal diary entries
Entry 1) Illustrates your emotions and feelings on the day you were notified that you would have to evacuate your home. Interpret your emotions--what factors contributed to the emotions you exeperienced? Discriminate between physical, emotional, and social factors.
Entry 2) Logs the day you entered the Manzanar internment camp in Owens Valley, California. Describe the climate, the atmosphere, the scenery, using sensory details.
Entry 3) Describes daily life in a concentration camp.
*Each journal entry should be hand-written in blue/black ink. They should be a minimum of one page each on college-ruled paper. Create a cover or folder to put your diaries in. Give yourself a Japanese name and write this name on the cover. You may add drawings and/or photos to enhance your cover if you like.
The following resources will assist you in this task:
1. Wikipedia's general information about Manzanar
2. The site explains some daily life in Manzanar
3. Photos of Manzanar, climate, and daily life can be found here
5. General statistics about Manzanar
B) Creating a Collage. Collect photos from Manzanar concentration camp and construct a collage developed around a specific theme. Acceptable themes include the following:
- Women and children of Manzanar
- Occupations of Manzanar
- Social Life in Manzanar
- Manzanar Struggles (Battles with inclement weather, uprising, unrest, guards, etc.)
Photos from Manzanar may be found at the following sites:
1. Photos by various photographers depicting life in Manzanar
Japanese American Student: It is your the middle of your freshman year in high school and you have just left your friends and peers behind as you will spend the next several years as part of Manzanar High School. You will:
A) Write a letter to one of your high school friends back home.
In your letter, be sure to describe: the classes you are taking
(classes offered), extra-curricular activities available, and other
social and academic aspects of high-school life. Compare Manzanar High
to the school you attended back home. Describe the activities you
participate in on the weekends
B) Write a poem or song. You will record this song or poem to onto an audio CD as well. Instructions on recording can be found here. Your song should illustrate a specific theme or emotion that you feel in response to your internment. Refer to at least two specific events or situations from Manzanar that have influenced your theme/emotion.
View these resources to help you complete these tasks:
1. Information and photos about Manzanar High School
2. An article from Manzanar Free Press on Manzanar's Educational System
*In addition to these resources, you might want to view the resources under the "Japanese American Citizen" section
Japanese American Soldier: You are a Japanese American serving in the United States military. You were unaware that your fellow American citizens of Japanese descent were being relocated to concentration camps. After visiting Manzanar, what are your reactions? What attitudes do you have towards the US government? Do you feel that this is a necessary precaution? You will synthesize your opinions and attitudes by completing the following:
A) Express your views to your family. You will be receiving a phone call from your parents in one week. They will certainly want your opinion about the internment. Produce a telephone conversation. Record your conversation (use a friend/classmate to play the part of a family member) onto a CD. Include a minimum of five questions (by your family) along with your responses to five situations specifically related to the internment.
B) Summarize the feats of Japanese American troops during the War. Moving forward to the end of the war, you will summarize the major accomplishments, victories, and acts accomplished by Japanese American military forces fighting for the United States. Be sure to include specific battles, regiments, and individuals. Likewise, integrate this information to defend the loyalty of Japanese Americans to the United States.
You will find the following resources helpful for your task:
1. Info on the 100th Battalion, 442nd infantry from Globalsecurity.org
2. An extensive article on Japanese American contribution to the war
3. Article on medal of honor awarded to a Japanese American soldier and info. on 100th battalion.
4. Info on 100th battalion and a famous battle they fought in.
5. Wikipedia article on the 100th battalion
5. A brief and easy-to-read introduction to the 100th battalion
6. 4 college students' perspective on the 100th battalion
7. National Japanese American Historical Society on the 100th battalion
PHASE TWO
Introduction: During this phase your group will combine your individual research and findings to design a collaborative presentation that characterizes your position on the internment of the Japanese Americans. Was the internment a "necessary evil", which protected the Japanese Americans and safeguarded the US from potential spies? Was the internment an unsubstantiated misdeed that never should have occurred? Or was it a combination of factors? During this second and final phase, you will defend your position through an interactive multimedia presentation.
Step 1: Discussion. As a group, discuss Manzanar and the internment of Japanese Americans from your respective perspectives. Use these questions to guide your discussion:
1. What did you know about the internment of Japanese Americans before this project?
2. What position do you believe best reflects the attitudes of the role you chose?
3. How do your attitudes correspond or conflict with the attitude of the role you researched?
4. What are two/three guiding principles that you would believe would best prevent such an event from occurring again?
Step 2: Design your presentation. As a group, you will present the following:
a. The collage made by the Japanese American Citizen.
b. One audio recording (of your choice)
c. The video recording between the US soldiers
d. Read the poem or song composed by the Japanese American student
e. Create a group PowerPoint presentation identifying the various positions/attitudes expressed by each individual role, stating your two/three guiding principles, and justifying these principles using group's created works (i.e., letters written, fireside chats, audio conversations, etc.) as your reference points.
f. [An alternative to options a-e] Compose
a dramatic play that fulfills all the requirements of options a-e. To
accomplish this, you may need to create several scenes or
mini-productions. For example, you might switch from one genre to
another and from one time period to another. You may be as creative as
you wish so long as all requirements are fulfilled.