Activity 2-1

Activity 2-1: A Japanese Immigrant Experience

Introduction

In this activity, students examine experiences of early Japanese immigration to the United States as depicted in three episodes of comic strips by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama. Students will learn about the segregation of Asian children in San Francisco schools in 1906; the alien land acts passed by the State of California in 1913 and 1920; and the Immigration Act of 1924, which ended further Japanese immigration to the United States. Students are asked to respond to these comic strips by writing a poem, writing a persuasive letter, and/or developing a five-minute role play.

Time

Two to three class periods

Materials

Handout 2-1a: A Crisis Over Japanese School Children (one copy per group of three students)
Handout 2-1b: Alien Land Acts (one copy per group of three students)
Handout 2-1c: Immigration Act of 1924 (one copy per group of three students)

Download printer-friendly (PDF) file of Activity 2-1 handouts

Download printer-friendly (PDF) file of lesson page and activity procedures

Procedure

1. Download and print the PDF file of Activity 2-1 handouts. Make copies as indicated above.

2. Point out to students that they will be examining the experiences of early Japanese immigrants to the United States. During this examination, students are encouraged to reflect upon their own family's immigration history.

3. Divide the class into small groups of three students. Distribute one of the three handouts to each group. Allow students the rest of the class period and a subsequent class period to work on their handouts and group tasks. Each group should select a group facilitator to share or facilitate the sharing of the group's work with the rest of the class.

4. Ask each of the groups to come to the front of the class to share its group's work. After each group has presented, expand this activity with the following discussion questions:

How did the Japanese immigrant experience in the United States affect U.S.-Japan relations?
Describe civil rights issues related to the issei's history in the United States.
How is your family's immigration history similar to or different from the immigration experience of the Japanese in the United States?
Why is immigration important in your life?

5. Assign Reading: Prelude to Incarceration.

Follow-up Activities

1. Have students write a textbook entry titled "Japanese Immigrant Experiences in the United States." Consider how well the information is synthesized and interpreted and how effectively historical documents or other primary sources are used.

2. Have students research the immigration history of a particular ethnic group in the United States, and examine the impact this has had on U.S. relations with the ethnic group's country of origin.