LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES

The student will:
-use both print and non-print resources to gather information about the Japanese-American internment camps.
-use the online catalog, CD-ROM resources, and the Internet to find information about the topic.
-use Boolean operators in formulating a search statement to retrieve information.
-examine photographs and diaries to derive information about the topic.
-research, organize, and present a finished project that reflects the knowledge gained.
-use MLA format to create a bibliography of the resources used in the research process.

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES:

This activity can be incorporated into a larger unit on World War II, or taught alone as a unique mini-unit on prejudice and racism. This article focuses mainly on the historical aspects of the internment camps, but does not ignore the social and cultural aspects.

The student will:
-explain the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, including the reasons for Executive Order 9066.
-define Issei, Nisei, and Sansei.
-locate and identify all ten internment camps on a United States map.
-describe life in the internment camps.

MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES:

The student will:
-become interested in the research process.
-understand the importance of information skills.
-experience increased confidence in research ability.
-achieve satisfaction in research accomplishments.

1. Resource List
2. Boolean Demonstration
3. Research Outline

INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES:

-The classroom teacher and the library media specialist will teach this unit cooperatively. The classroom teacher will be responsible for introducing the unit, explaining the research outline, describing the projects, organizing the students into cooperative groups, and leading class discussions that require students to use higher level thinking skills. The library media specialist will be responsible for obtaining all resources needed, teaching research skills, and providing instruction and guidance in media production.

-The classroom teacher and the library media specialist will be responsible jointly for guiding and assisting individual students as they conduct their searches.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION:

-Introduce the subject by reading aloud the book 'The Bracelet' by Yoshica Uchida, the poem 'Internment of Japanese Americans' from 'Believers in America' by Steven Izuki, or excerpts from diaries written by the internees. Display and discuss the Japanese American Creed, which was included in the Congressional Record in 1941. Display a map on which students may pinpoint the relocation centers and ten internment camps.

-Capitalize on the interchangeability of this topic's descriptors (Japanese American or Asian American, Internment Camps and Concentration Camps) to demonstrate the terms 'See' and 'See Also', Boolean operators, and truncation. Demonstrate the importance of an encyclopedia's index by asking students to compare the amount of information found by using articles only to the amount found by using the index.

-Many of the sources listed in the bibliography contain photographs depicting the evacuation and relocation of the Japanese Americans. Display one or two of these, then have students point out items of interest and relate what these items tell us about the times and the situation. Read excerpts from the diaries of internees and lead students in a similar discussion.

-Use large-screen projection to teach students how to use the Internet, and CD-ROM encyclopedias, atlases, and magazine indexes. If large-screen projection is not available, divide the students into small groups for instruction.

-Show a videotape about the internment camps. Have students identify the specific facts presented, and then discuss the attitudes presented and the role racism played in this historical event.

-After the skills instruction, each student will gather information about the Japanese-American internment camps and complete the Research Outline. Students then will be divided into cooperative groups to work on separate projects. Groups may select one of the following projects:

*Conduct a debate on whether or not the United States government was justified in ordering the evacuation and relocation of the Japanese Americans. Be sure your arguments for and against are reasonable and are based on facts, not emotions.

*Create a mural depicting a timeline of the events concerning the evacuation and relocation of the Japanese Americans. Include executive orders and congressional acts. Present and explain your mural during a five-minute report.

*Create a collage of photographs, diary entries, newspaper headlines, the Japanese American Creed, Executive Order 9066, quotations, information about the biographers, and any other interesting facts you discovered about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Present and explain your collage during a five-minute oral report.

*Make a ten-minute presentation on the subject of World War II Japanese-American internment camps at the next PTSA meeting. Create transparencies, slides or a *HyperCard stack to convey your knowledge. Present your project to the class.

-For the final activity, invite a representative from the federal government to speak to the class about what has happened concerning this issue since the end of World War II. The representative should address the specific laws that have been introduced into Congress and what the effects of those laws have been.

FOLLOW-UP:

-Students may compare the treatment of other immigrant groups, past and present, to that of the Japanese Americans. They may speculate on the possibility of this type of event happening again in the future.

-Students may compare the treatment of other 'Enemy Aliens' to that of the Japanese-Americans during World War II.

-Students may study the manner and culture of the Japanese, cook a meal that features authentic Asian food, and eat in classic Japanese style.