1. Culture

Status:

John Wiggins

Lesson Plan: Culture

Standard

1) Students will learn about the Japanese resettlement camps in the 1940’s within the United States.

Performance Expectations

1) Compare and analyze societal patterns for preserving and transmitting culture while adapting to environmental or social change.

2) Explain and apply ideas, theories and modes of inquiry drawn from anthropology and sociology in the examination of persistent issues and social problems.

Learning Outcomes

Students will learn the actions of a few do not reflect the ideology of the many.

Students will compare the similarities between the Nazi camps who detained their own citizens of Jewish decent and the United States’ treatment of the Japanese citizens within camps here.

Evaluation

1)Students will demonstrate knowledge on this subject by doing a compare/contrast of detainment camps in the US compared to detainment camps in Europe.

2) Students will show insight in this subject by providing an essay (2-4 pages) demonstrating the differences between Japanese fighting for their country and the Japanese living in the United States.

3) Students will create a media tool (poster, game, video, etc) in their small groups to show their perspective and view on these camps.

Curriculum

This subject can be taught in a US History course between the grades of 7-12 or a sociology course to demonstrate societal assumptions during periods of war.

Instruction

The instructions listed below are meant to provide you with a time table on how to proceed for the class.  Be aware, my class does not respect lecture but more interactive methods.  Considering this, I have provided you with the following:

First five minutes: For our classes we tend to discuss current events and see different views on issues pressuring us today.  Remember: try to set the discussion in the first five minutes up for your lecture.  I’m sure you can manipulate the discussion to use as fuel for later.

20 minutes: Go over the reading material to the class.  Do not assign the reading but rather pick out the important parts of it and get feedback from the students.  In this section you should utilize some of the questions listed below to help students think about different perspectives.

25 minutes: For the last part of this class, you will break the students into their pre-assigned small groups (as shown on the seating chart).  Do not allow them to jump groups as I have them placed together in a way they know very few of their friends.  Today the students will begin work on their media tool to express their own opinions about the material covered today and in previous classes.  Have them brainstorm/create ideas for their media.

NOTE: be sure to go around the room helping students formulate ideas and create discussion.  Keep them on task.

Questions

1)How do Japanese that live in Japan differ from those who live in the United States?  What sort of norms or values do each have that are different from the other?

Do these differences make them any less Japanese?

2)  If you were a detainee in these camps how would you feel? 

What rights might be denied to you because of your ethnic background?

3) The other questions should come from the current events discussion at the beginning of the class.  The more you can tie in the past to the present the more the students will understand why things such as these should be remembered.