Browse > Interest Level > Grades 3-5
83 articles
Journey Home (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Young Adult
- Evils of racism, Family - blessing or curse, Importance of community
- Available
Novel for young adults about a Japanese American family leaving the concentration camps and eventually returning to their home by prolific author Yoshiko Uchida, written as a sequel her 1971 book Journey to Topaz .
Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8
- Grades 6-8
- Children's, Young Adult
- Displacement, Growing up - pain or pleasure
- Widely available
Pioneering 1971 novel by Yoshiko Uchida that was the first book for children on the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans written by a Japanese American. Based in part on Uchida's own family experience, Journey to Topaz was the first of five books the prolific children's book author wrote that focused on the incarceration experience.
Justice Denied: A History of the Japanese in the United States (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- History, Children's
- Evils of racism, Immigrant experience, Injustice, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
- Limited availability
Early overview of the history of Japanese Americans for young readers by British author/activist Jennifer Cross.
Lasting Beauty: Miss Jamison and the Student Muralists (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Art, History
- Expression through art
- Limited availability
Exhibition featuring murals painted by Japanese American students at Rohwer High School under the direction of art teacher Mabel Rose Jamison Vogel. Lasting Beauty was one of eight exhibitions mounted in and around Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the Life Interrupted project in 2004. It was later shown at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles in 2005.
Living in Color: The Art of Hideo Date (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Art, History
- Expression through art, Injustice, Immigrant experience
- Available
Retrospective exhibition featuring the work of Issei painter Hideo Date at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) that opened in 2001. Curated by Karin Higa, Living in Color draws on works Date donated to JANM as well as works held by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum from the 1930s to the 1980s. An established artist by the 1930s, Date was sent to Santa Anita and Heart Mountain during the war, where he taught art and formed an Art Students League at the latter. Best known for his watercolor and gouache painting before the war, he turned to pencil drawings while incarcerated due in part to the difficulty of obtaining painting materials while in camp. The exhibition includes several of these drawings. Unlike artists such as Henry Sugimoto or Estelle Ishigo , Date's wartime drawings do not depict scenes from the concentration camps, most …
Lucky Ears: The True Story of Ben Kuroki, World War II Hero (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Biography
- Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of men, Heroism – real and perceived, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
- Widely available
Biography of Nisei war hero Ben Kuroki , written for a fourth grade audience.
The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 3-5
- Historical fiction, Children's
- Coming of age, Displacement, Identity crisis
- Available
A Japanese American boy is forcibly removed from his home in Southern California and incarcerated in a concentration camp but learns important life lessons through continuing to play baseball.
Manzanar National Historic Site Educator Resources Kit (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Displacement, Evils of racism, Self-awareness, War
- Available
"How does identity shape my experience in America?" is the central question which serves to unify the wide range of materials in this resource kit. The kit includes printed materials (lesson plans, reproductions of primary sources, official park brochure, booklet for self-guided tours, Densho brochure), and digital resources (video documentary, electronic field trip, biographical sketches of former inmates, related standards, lesson plans, and historical photos). The Manzanar National Historic Site Educator Resources Kit was supported by a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the Manzanar History Association.
Manzanar: Photographs by Ansel Adams of Loyal Japanese-American Relocation Center (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Art
- Displacement, Injustice, Character - destruction, building up
- Available
Landmark exhibition of Ansel Adams ' photographs of Manzanar at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Opening on November 9, 1944, Manzanar was not only the sole major museum exhibition documenting the Japanese American incarceration to be displayed while incarceration was still ongoing, but arguably the only such exhibition to appear for the next twenty-five years.
Months of Waiting, 1942-1945 (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Adult
- Art, History
- Expression through Art, Displacement, Injustice
- No availability
The first group exhibition of art created in the wartime concentration camps. Produced by the California Historical Society in 1972 as a companion to its Executive Order 9066 photographic exhibition, Months of Waiting toured several venues from 1972 to 1974.
Nihonjin Face (play)
- Plays
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Circle of life, Evils of racism, Progress – real or illusion, Wisdom of experience
- Widely available
Short play for school audiences by Janet Hayakawa and Tere Martínez that juxtaposes the Japanese American incarceration with the Civil Rights Movement and anti-immigrant sentiment in the present.
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (book)
- Books
- Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
- Grades 1-2
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Darkness and light, Empowerment, Expression through art, Importance of community, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
- Widely available
Children's picture book by Amy Lee-Tai and illustrated by Felicia Hoshino about Mari, a young Japanese American girl in Topaz , an American concentration camp during World War II. As the book begins, she plants sunflower seeds in the desert soil, hoping they will grow like the sunflowers in their old backyard. She recalls their prewar home, where she lived with her older brother and artist parents. At Topaz, she goes with her father to the art school he started. Initially unable to draw anything in the children's class, she slowly starts to find things to draw with the help of a supportive teacher, her father, and her new friend Aiko. After drawing a picture of her barrack with the sunflowers growing tall in front, she returns home to find little sunflower seedlings, giving her hope for the future. A final page provides biographies of the author and illustrator and …
Paper Wishes (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Lost love, Power of silence
- Widely available
Children's novel by Lois Sepahban centering on a young girl from Bainbridge Island, Washington , who turns mute when she and her family are uprooted and sent to Manzanar .
Our Burden of Shame: Japanese-American Internment During World War II (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Children's, History
- Displacement, Evils of racism, Hazards of passing judgment, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications
- Available
Book by Susan Sinnott on the wartime forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans intended for a middle-school audience and published by Franklin Watts in 1995.
Painting the Rainbow (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Family – blessing or curse, Coming of age, Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Growing up – pain or pleasure
- Widely available
Coming-of-age novel for young readers about two thirteen-year old cousins at a New England family summer retreat in 1965 who grapple with both their changing relationship and with the discovery of family secrets stemming from the World War II period that tangentially involve the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Only What We Could Carry: The Santa Anita Assembly Center (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Adult
- History
- Displacement, Injustice
- Limited availability
Temporary exhibition at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum about the nearby detention facility. Drawing on photographs, objects, and issues of the Santa Anita Pacemaker in the museum's collection, Only What We Could Carry opened in November 2009. The museum also includes the story of the Santa Anita Assembly Center as part of its permanent gallery on the history of Arcadia.
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Coming of age, Displacement, Evils of racism, Role of women
- Widely available
Children's novel aimed at ages 8 to 11 by Sandra Dallas centering on the wartime incarceration experience of the Itano family at the Tallgrass, Colorado, camp, featuring as its protagonist twelve year old Tomi Itano. The book is a sequel of sorts to Dallas' adult novel, Tallgrass (2007).
A Diamond in the Desert (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Coming of age, Disillusionment and dreams, Forgiveness, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
- Widely available
Novel for children centering on Tetsuo Kishi, a teenager at the Gila River , Arizona, concentration camp who finds solace in baseball.
A Lesson in American History: The Japanese American Experience, Curriculum and Resource Guide, 5th Edition (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Fear of other, Injustice, Rights, War
Created by the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), this 150-page guide for teachers is a comprehensive resource focused on the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. It provides historical information, a timeline, an annotated listing of K-12 resource materials (books, audio and visual works, websites, museum exhibits, agencies and organizations), K-6 and 7-12 lesson plans, and an appendix of various primary source materials. The content also covers other historic events when the government restricted the rights of individual citizens in favor of national security, including the story of Arab and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.
Mendez v. Westminster: For All the Children (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Change versus tradition, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
- Limited availability
Children's picture book that tells in simplified form the story of the landmark Mendez case that ultimately ended segregated schools in California. The story is told through the perspective of Sylvia Mendez who is eight years old in 1943. Having rented the farm of Munemitsu family, who had been forcibly removed to concentration camps, they were new to Westminster, California. When she and her brothers are prohibited from attending the same school as her cousins (who can pass as "white") and must attend the inferior school for those of Mexican, African or Asian ancestry, her family decides to sue. With the help of lawyer David C. Marcus—and support from various organizations including the Japanese American Citizens League —the suit proves successful, ending segregation in the state. A brief epilogue notes the long-term impact of the case and the fate of Sylvia and others involved in it.
Dear Miss Breed: Letters from Camp (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- History
- Importance of community, Power of words
- Available
Exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) based on the letters sent to librarian Clara Breed by Japanese American students forcibly removed to concentration camps. Dear Miss Breed opened in JANM's Legacy Center gallery on January 14, 1997, and closed on April 13, 1997. A short film of the same name was also featured in the exhibition. Though it did not travel subsequently, an online version of the exhibition was created and is available at the JANM website.
Those Who Helped Us (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Coming of age, Heroism – real and perceived, Rights - individual or societal
- Available
Simply animated story set in Minidoka told in the first-person voice of a young Nisei girl named Sumi that highlights the role that key white supporters in and out of the concentration camps played in aiding Japanese Americans. After noting the deprivations Nikkei faced in the early months at Minidoka, Sumi notes the presence of Reverend Andy ( Emery Andrews ), who had come to minister to his flock all the way from Seattle. Later, she highlights the role played by Thomas Bodine of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council and Father Leopold Tibesar in helping Sumi's older sister, Yuri, leave Minidoka to attend college in Philadelphia. The black and white animation turns to color as Yuri leaves camp. After the main story, author Ken Mochizuki provides brief profiles of Andrews, Bodine, and Tibesar, along with Minidoka Education Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf and Deaconess Margaret Peppers, both of whom are …
Executive Order 9066: 50 Years Before and 50 Years After (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- History
- Evils of racism, Injustice, Displacement
- Limited availability
Exhibition on the Japanese American experience in the Seattle area mounted by the Wing Luke Asian Museum to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 . The exhibition was organized, scripted, and constructed largely by volunteer community members and was accompanied by an exhibition catalog authored by David Takami.
Henry Sugimoto: Painting an American Experience (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Art, History
- Expression through art, Immigration experience, Displacement
- Limited availability
Retrospective exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) featuring the work of Issei artist Henry Sugimoto , who was best known for his depictions of the wartime incarceration experience, many of them executed while he was confined at the Fresno , Jerome , and Rohwer camps. Debuting at JANM in 2001, the exhibition subsequently traveled to Sacramento and to Arkansas.
Hiroshi Honda: Detained (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Art, History
- Expression through art, Evils of racism, Displacement
- No availability
Exhibition featuring the internment art of Hiroshi Honda at the Honolulu Academy of Art (HAA) which ran from June 21 to September 9, 2012. Hiroshi Honda: Detained , was the HAA's second exhibition of Honda's art, after Reflections of Internment: The Art of Hawaii's Hiroshi Honda in 1994. The exhibition included drawings and watercolors produced during Honda's internment in camps in Hawai'i and in the continental U.S. drawn from the HAA's permanent collection.