The lesson plans offered here help teachers lead students to examine critical issues affecting our democracy in both the past and present: individual rights in wartime, the role news media and other sources of information play, and the protections promised by the U.S. Constitution and our system of government. These lessons are also available on CD-ROM, which can be ordered by contacting info@densho.org.
Lesson Plans
- High School History - Causes of Conflict: Issues of Immigration
- High School Civics - Constitutional Issues: Civil Liberties, Individual, and the Common Good
- High School History - Dig Deep: Media and the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II
- Middle School - Checks and Balances: Japanese American Incarceration
- Elementary School - You Decide: Were Japanese Americans a Threat?
Constitutional Issues: Causes of Conflict: Issues of Immigration
High School History - 3 weeksThis unit asks the essential question, "How do conflicts over immigration arise from labor needs and social change?"
Washington State CBA Topic Alignment: History - Causes of Conflict
Download Curriculum Packages- Full Unit (includes both teacher and student packages)
Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
Classroom Video Materials
Oral History Video ClipsView this short video excerpt from oral history interviews, during Session 3 of the Causes of Conflict unit.
- Roy Matsumoto explains how his father worked as a contract laborer in Hawaii. (5:08)
View these short video excerpts from oral history interviews, during Session 7 of the Causes of Conflict unit.
- Shigeko Sese Uno describes how her father worked his way from Japan through Mexico to the United States. (5:05)
- Harvey Watanabe tells how his father emigrated from Japan and decided to stay permanently in the United States. (4:38)
View these short video excerpts from oral history interviews, during Session 8 of the Causes of Conflict unit.
- Frank Fujii describing how he was reunited with his father at Minidoka incarceration center after nearly three years. (6:55)
- Kara Kondo remembers the day of mass removal to the Portland Assembly Center. (5:19)
back to top
Constitutional Issues: Civil Liberties, Individuals, and the Common Good
High School Civics - 3 weeksThis unit explores the essential question, "How can the United States balance the rights of individuals with the common good?"
Washington State CBA Topic Alignment: Civics - Constitutional Issues
Download Curriculum Packages- Introduction and Teacher Instructions
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Student Handouts
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Full Unit (includes both teacher and student packages)
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
Classroom Video Materials
-
Government Newsreel, "Japanese Relocation"
- Download (34MB QuickTime)
- Watch at YouTube
View this nine-minute video during Session 6 of the Constitutional Issues unit. (9:26)
Oral History Video Clips
View these short video excerpts from oral history interviews, during Session 7 of the Constitutional Issues unit.
- Kara Kondo remembers the day of mass removal to the Portland Assembly Center. (1:43)
- Mas Watanabe talks about his feelings about going into the Puyallup Assembly Center. (2:15)
- Frank Yamasaki shares memories of the Minidoka incarceration camp. (0:56)
- George Morihiro talks about entering the Puyallup Assembly Center and how "the day you walked through that gate, you know you lost something." (1:24)
back to top
Dig Deep: Media and the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II
High School History - 3 weeksThis unit explores the analysis of media and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Washington State CBA Topic Alignment: History - Dig Deep
Download Curriculum Packages- Introduction and Teacher Instructions
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Student Handouts
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Full Unit (includes both teacher and student packages)
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
Classroom Video Materials
-
Government Newsreel, "Japanese Relocation"
- Download (QuickTime)
- Watch at YouTube
View this nine-minute video during Session 8 of the Dig Deep unit. (9:26)
Oral History Video Clips
View these short video excerpts from oral history interviews, during Session 9 of the unit.
- Kara Kondo remembers the day of mass removal to the Portland Assembly Center. (1:43)
- Mas Watanabe talks about his feelings about going into the Puyallup Assembly Center. (2:15)
- Frank Yamasaki shares memories of the Minidoka incarceration camp. (0:56)
- George Morihiro talks about entering the Puyallup Assembly Center and how "the day you walked through that gate, you know you lost something." (1:24)
back to top
Checks and Balances: Japanese American Incarceration
Middle School - 3 daysThis unit examines decisions the three branches of government made relating to the mass removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Washington State CBA Topic Alignment: Civics - Checks and Balances
Download Curriculum Packages- Introduction and Teacher Instructions
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Student Handouts
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Full Unit (includes both teacher and student packages)
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
back to top
You Decide: Were Japanese Americans a Threat?
Elementary School - 3 daysThis unit explores the complex decisions that individuals, local governments, and national governments must face in a democracy.
Washington State CBA Topic Alignment: Civics - You Decide
Download Curriculum Packages- Introduction and Teacher Instructions
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Student Handouts
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
- Full Unit (includes both teacher and student packages)
- Printer friendly version (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
Editable version (requires Microsoft Word)
back to top
Washington State
The lesson plans on this teacher resource CD-ROM were developed to closely align Washington State's Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) as measured by a Social Studies Classroom Based Assessment (CBA) model. Information about the CBA curriculum approach for social studies is available from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
| Grade Level | CBA Topic Alignment | |
| Causes of Conflict: Issues of Immigration | High School - 10th or 11th Grade | History - Causes of Conflict |
| Constitutional Issues: Civil Liberties, Individuals, and the Common Good | High School - 10th or 11th Grade | Civics - Constitutional Issues |
| Dig Deep: Media and the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II | High School - 10th or 11th Grade | History - Dig Deep |
| Checks and Balances: Japanese American Incarceration | Middle School - 8th Grade | Civics - Checks and Balances |
| You Decide: Were Japanese Americans A Threat? | Elementary School - 5th Grade | Civics - You Decide |
Other State and National Guidelines
Many states require that the Japanese American mass removal and incarceration be taught at the secondary level. For example, the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools includes the following at the 11th grade level:
The relocation and internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans during the war on grounds of national security was a governmental decision that should be analyzed as a violation of their human rights. (History--Social Science Framework for California Public Schools, Grades Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 1997, page 97.)
The National Standards for United States History also recommends that students understand the effects of World War II in the U.S. Specifically, students should be able to:
Evaluate the internment of Japanese Americans during the war and assess the implication for civil liberties. (National Center for History in the Schools. National Standards for U.S. History. Los Angeles: National Center for History in the Schools, UCLA, 1996, page 120.)
The Densho Civil Liberties Curriculum was made possible in part by grants from the Washington Civil Liberties Public Education Program. Special thanks to the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and 4Culture.
Some lesson plan downloads are Adobe PDF format documents. Get the free reader at the Adobe download website by clicking on the icon below.
The video downloads above are Apple Quicktime format. Click the icon below to get the free Quicktime Player from Apple.
Copyright ©1997-2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.