Browse > Interest Level > Grades 7-8
125 articles
When Military Necessity Overrides Constitutional Guarantees: The Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Evils of racism, Immigrant experience, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
This curriculum guide examines the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans through the lens of its constitutional merit. It should be noted that it was published in 1982, and it contains terminology that in 2017 is considered inappropriate and/or offensive in the use of "Oriental" versus Asian or Asian American. In addition, many of the suggested classroom materials are outmoded (filmstrips) or out of print and may be difficult to access. The guide refers to a "media kit" which may have been available when the guide was first published.
When National Security Trumps Individual Rights (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Individual versus society, Injustice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Power of the past, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain tragedy
- Widely available
This lesson prompts students to think about the balance of civil liberties and national security during times of national crisis by considering the Supreme Court case of Korematsu v. United States (1944). Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu fought against the mass removal of Japanese Americans during World War II by refusing to report to the Tanforan Assembly Center in 1942. He challenged his felony conviction on constitutional grounds, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court where he lost in a 6-3 decision. In 1983, this conviction was vacated after information surfaced proving that the government had originally withheld critical evidence.
When the Emperor Was Divine: Teacher's Guide (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Displacement, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Evils of racism, Injustice
The Information provided in this 10-page guide aims to get students to understand When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka "as both a work of art and a meditation on freedom, identity, and loyalty" (page 2). There is background information about the novel and the author, including excerpts from an interview with Otsuka. The historical information provided about the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans was garnered from Lauren Kessler's Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese-American Family (New York, Random House, 1993).
Yamashita (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Animation, History
- Coming of age, Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Facing darkness, Family – blessing or curse
- Widely available
Short animated film by Hayley Foster that tells the incarceration story from the perspective of a girl of about eight: her removal from home with her parents and grandfather, the hardships they face at Manzanar (meals in communal mess halls, the barbed wire fences, and saying the pledge of allegiance in a barrack classroom), and her embrace of Japanese culture that her mother discourages, but that her beloved grandfather supports. The hand drawn animation is mostly in black-and-white, with strategic bursts of color.
An American Story: Norman Mineta and His Legacy (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Biography, History
- Empowerment, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Quest for power, Wisdom of experience
- Widely available
Documentary film that profiles Nisei politician Norman Mineta with a particular focus on his childhood years in an American concentration camp and his role forty years later in the Redress movement .
Beacon Hill Boys (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Grades 7-8
- Young Adult, Historical Fiction
- Coming of age, Convention and rebellion, Family – blessing or curse, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Identity crisis, Power of tradition
- Available
Novel for young adults by Ken Mochizuki about a Sansei teenager's quest for identity and meaning in 1972 Seattle.
Burma Rifles: A Story of Merrill's Marauders (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Historical Fiction, Children's
- Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Vulnerability of the strong, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Limited availability
Book for young readers by Frank Bonham centering on a Nisei intelligence soldier in Burma during World War II. Published in 1960, it is among the first children's books to depict the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.
By the Hands of a Working Man: A Japanese Background, a Mexican Childhood, an American Life (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Companionship as salvation, Displacement, Forgiveness, Identity crisis
- Available
Nisei landscape architect shares his life story, from his childhood in Mexico to his years working in Los Angeles-area nurseries to his wartime experiences in Manzanar and Illinois.
Best Friends Forever: A World War II Scrapbook (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Everlasting love, Family – blessing or curse, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
- Widely available
Children's book about the friendship between a German American girl and her forcibly removed Japanese American friend in the form of a scrapbook from the year 1942.
A Boy No More (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Young Adult, History
- Coming of age, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Patriotism – positive side or complications
- Widely available
A 2004 young adult novel by Harry Mazer about Adam Pelko, who is torn between grieving his father, who died on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 , and his feelings of loyalty towards his Japanese American best friend, Devi, whose own father has been arrested and taken to the War Relocation Authority camp in Manzanar, California. When Devi asks Adam to help him find his father, Adam is faced with a moral conflict: should he risk both his own safety and his friendship in order to do what is right? He is also still deeply affected by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the urge to scapegoat the Japanese Americans, despite his urge to help and defend his friend.
Children of Topaz (short story)
- Short Stories
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Companionship as salvation, Isolation, Nature as beauty
- Widely available
A snowfall at Topaz brings children out of the barracks to engage in snowball fights and snowman building. They recall friends back home and wish their non-Japanese American friends can join them in play. The very short story by Toshio Mori —dubbed "A Sketch"—appeared in the Pacific Citizen newspaper in 1945.
Citizen 13559 (play)
- Plays
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
Play for children by Naomi Iizuka, based on the children's book The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp by Barry Denenberg. The story focuses on the wartime experiences of twelve-year-old Ben Uchida, whose family is incarcerated at the fictional "Mirror Lake" camp in Wisconsin. After workshop productions at the Kennedy Center and the Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop, the hour-long play premiered in March 2006 as part of the Kennedy Center Family Theater's first season.
Child Prisoner in American Concentration Camps (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Grades 7-8
- Memoir
- Evils of racism, Family – blessing or curse, Immigrant experience, Working class struggles
- Available
Memoir of a childhood spent in American concentration camps by a Nisei educator and activist from Seattle.
Classroom Guide for the National Japanese Memorial to Patriotism (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Power of the Past, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
The National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 2000. It was initially developed in 1988 by the "Go For Broke" National Veterans Association Foundation; ownership was transferred to the United States Government in 2002. The Memorial is currently managed by the National Park Service. The classroom guides (one for upper elementary/middle school and another for high school) are designed for teachers to provide an overview of the Memorial and to provide some basic information about the World War II experience of Japanese Americans, particularly around forced removal, incarceration, and military service.
Caucasian Boy at a Japanese Camp (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Companionship as salvation, Displacement
- Available
The son of the superintendent of schools at Tule Lake concentration camp recounts his experiences as a young boy there.
Suitcase Sefton and the American Dream (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Historical Fiction
- Everlasting love, Family – blessing or curse, Importance of community, Injustice
- Widely available
Novel by Jay Feldman about a New York Yankees scout who discovers a hot Nisei pitching prospect in an American concentration camp during World War II.
Sushi (short story)
- Short Stories
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Loss of innocence, Power of the past, Coming of age
- Limited availability
Short story by Rei Noguchi about a young Japanese American girl who learns about the wartime incarceration from an Issei woman neighbor. It is a cold New Year's Eve in Dover, New Jersey, and Maya Okano has been dispatched by her parents to return a plate to a woman they call Grandmother Okamoto. The older woman, who is making sushi for New Year's, is happy to see the girl and serves her tea. Maya tells Grandmother Okamoto that she doesn't like sushi or Japanese food in general, preferring "American" food. Grandmother Okamoto sends Maya into the bedroom to fetch a can of nori from the dresser; when she does, she sees a little shrine on the dresser and the photograph of a young man in military uniform in front of barracks. When Maya asks, Grandmother Okamoto tells her about her son, who was killed fighting (presumably in the 442nd Regimental …
Thin Wood Walls (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Coming of age, Evils of racism, Loss of innocence, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
Children's book by David Patneaude that follows a Japanese American boy and his family as they are forcibly removed from their Washington state home and sent to the Tule Lake concentration camp during World War II.
This Time Will Be Different (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Grades 7-8
- Young Adult, History
- Capitalism – effect on the individual, Coming of age, Family – blessing or curse, Power of the past
- Widely available
Acclaimed coming of age novel by Misa Sugiura that explores the continuing impact and relevance of Japanese American incarceration.
The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear was Stronger than Justice (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Injustice, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
This lesson for upper elementary and secondary students produced by the National Park Service centers on files from the National Register of Historic Places: " Manzanar War Relocation Center" and " Rohwer Relocation Center Memorial Cemetery". The lesson can be used in the study of World War II in U.S. History or human rights in a social studies unit. Links allow teachers to search for relevant curriculum standards by subject and grade level.
I Am an American: A True Story of Japanese Internment (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Grades 7-8
- Children's
- Displacement, Evils of racism, Injustice
- Widely available
Book aimed at middle school audiences that tells the larger story of the Japanese American World War II removal and incarceration through the experiences of one typical Nisei teenager.
Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Young adult
- Displacement, Evils of racism, Hazards of passing judgment, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications
- Widely available
Lavishly illustrated large-format juvenile book for that provides an overview of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, military service, and the redress movement.
In America's Shadow (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Children's
- Patriotism – positive side or complications, Power of the past
- Available
Children's picture book by Kimberley Komatsu and Kaleigh Komatsu told from the perspective of a young girl recounting her family's wartime incarceration story.
Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066 (exhibition)
- Museum Exhibitions
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- History
- Evils of racism, Injustice, Power of the past, Rebirth, Wisdom of experience
- No availability
Exhibition mounted by the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 .
Internment of Japanese Americans (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Children's
- Displacement, Evils of racism, Hazards of passing judgment, Injustice
- Available
Non-fiction overview of the Japanese American forced removal and incarceration by John L. Wukovits as part of Lucent Books' World History Series. Published in 2013, the 120-page book is intended for students in grades 7 to 10.