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WORLD WAR II EXPERIENCE IN HAWAI'I

Overview
Man adapts to his environment in order to survive. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, which started World War II, created new situations and challenges to which individuals had to adjust.

Suggested Levels
Grade 6 and up


Time Frame
4 weeks

Learner Outcomes
Develop an awareness and understanding of the consequences (positive/negative) of war.

Performance Standard: History
Demonstrate an ability to use correctly vocabulary associated with time (e.g. past, present, future, and long ago), read and construct simple time lines, identify examples of change, and recognize examples of cause and effect. (p. 127)

Performance Standard: Global Issues
Describe universal human rights, concerns, standards, and issues. (p. 130)

Be able to state at least 3 ways individuals adjusted to war-time Hawai'i.

Performance Standard: Economics
Explain the relationship among the concepts of scarcity, opportunity costs, and choice. (p. 129)

Performance Standards: Political Science/Citizenship
Identify and explain the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic republic. (p. 129)
Describe actions citizens can take to influence public policy and act upon them. (p. 129)

Relate a situation in their own lives where they had to adjust (e.g., divorce, move, grade level change).

Performance Standards: Reading and Literature
Extend text reading to other ideas and situations . (p. 21)
Apply themes to own life experiences. (p. 21)

Conduct an interview to get information about an individual's World War II remembrances.

Performance Standards: Speaking and Listening
Generate questions to gain information . (p. 18)
Apply strategies of active, critical listening . (p. 18)
Identify main ideas and supporting details . (p. 18)
Evaluate information and assess validity. (p. 18)

Compare and contrast the effects of WWII on Honolulu and Hiroshima.

Performance Standard: Cultural Anthropology
Demonstrate an understanding that individuals may view and describe the same event in different ways depending on their world view.
(p. 127)

Performance Standard: History
Demonstrate understanding of the roots and foundations of U. S. and Hawai'i History. (p. 127)

Performance Standard: Political Science/Citizenship
Identify and explain the significance of the people, events, and forces that advanced/obstructed the cause of liberty, justice, and equality. (p. 129)

Learning Processes/Strategies
Opening the Unit (1 day)
Conduct a group discussion on:

Have you ever had a situation where you had to change because your environment changed (e.g., divorce, move in household, change in grade level)? How did you feel? How did you change? How did you feel about the change? What helped make things better?

First share your individual reflection or situation where environment changed and adaptations had to be made.

Have students think and write about their situation and share with group if they want to.

Explain that we are going to begin a unit on WWII experiences in Hawai'i and Japan and how the individuals adapted to the changes that war brought on.

Give a pretest to see what the students know about WWII experiences and what their attitudes are toward war in general.

Reading literature related to WWII and Pearl Harbor Large Group (1 day) Give students background about the start of WWII in the U. S. Identify Pearl Harbor and provide information about location and purpose of harbor.

Discuss:

Why do you think Pearl Harbor was attacked?

Take down reasons students give.

Read The Story of the U.S.S. Arizona by R. Conrad Stein

Have students actively listen for answers to questions:

Why did Japan want to aggressively go out and attack other countries?
 Why did they attack Pearl Harbor in Hawai'i?
 Why did the Americans not expect an attack?
 What were the losses with that one attack?
 How does the United States declare war on another country?

Go over questions after reading.

(6 days) Read two chapters of Pearl Harbor Child every day.

Have students listen for information. Provide guide questions:

Why was it special to be a 'child of the harbor'?
 How did Dorinda's father feel when he saw the fire and smoke on December 7th?
 What did they do?
 How did Dorinda feel?
 Where did Dorinda and her family go to stay after the attack on Pearl Harbor?
 What other feelings did people have after the attack?
 How did their life change after the attack on Pearl Harbor?
 How would you feel if you had been Dorinda?
 Why were people worried about food?
 Why did the people have to wear gas masks?
 What is a blackout?
 What is censorship?
 What is rationing? What kinds of things were rationed?
 In what ways did people help during the war to make things better?

Discuss how experiences differed for different ethnic groups:

How do you suppose the Caucasians looked upon the Japanese-Americans after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor?
 How do you feel about what the 'white' Americans did to the Japanese-Americans?

To prepare students for viewing the experiential theater performance of excerpts from Farewell to Manzanar , explain:

There are books that share the Japanese-American experiences. Tomorrow, you will be given an opportunity to be a Japanese-American for a period. Reflect on how you feel as you go through the activities. Imagine that this is 'real' for you.
Experiencing (1 day)
Have students participate in experiential theater with Roosevelt students (high school students will re-enact internment camp experiences from Farewell to Manzanar reading and lead a discussion with elementary students to develop empathy and insight into the experiences of Japanese Americans during WWII).

Discuss feelings and reflections:

Was this the right thing for America to do to its people?

Preparing for Interview (3 days)
Have students in small groups survey the community to find individuals who have WWII remembrances.

Have students prepare for interviews with individuals who experienced war-time Hawai'i with focus on how the individuals adapted to their situation. Have students question for attitudes and behaviors that helped with the adaptation to war-time Hawai'i.

Go over interview skills and protocol:

Introduce yourself.
 Explain why you are interviewing the person.
 Ask open-ended questions--not 'yes'/'no' questions
 Be an "active" listener. Listen so well that you can repeat what they say.

Discuss the kinds of questions that can be asked to get the information:

How did you feel when you first found out about the attack?
 How old were you at the time of the attack?
 What was the hardest part to adjust to when Hawai'i was attacked?
 What helped you adjust the best? Attitude? People around you?
 What kind of attitude helped you do your best? How did people help?

Have students create questions (in small groups) to use in an interview to get information about lifestyle changes.

Interviewing (1 week)
Have small groups conduct and video tape or record an interview with identified members of the community.

Have students reflect on information they retrieved from interviews:

What attitude helped these individuals the most?

Sharing (2 weeks)

Have small groups work on reports to share what they learned electronically through Kid Pix.

Extending Lesson
How were others (Japanese, Jews, etc.) affected by WWII? How did they adapt? How did they survive?


Resources
Pearl Harbor Child ., Days to Remember .
Farewell to Manzanar , Sadako and the Thousand Cranes , Children and War , and My Hiroshima .

State Archives.
Community members.

World Wide Web.
http://129.171.129.67/mf/hibakusha/index.html (eyewitness accounts of the atomic blast)
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/~skimmel/wwii/index.html
http://www.webcom.com/~jbd/ww2.html (memories of 1945 and the aftermath)
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~enda/hist/history.html (war in the Pacific--A Brief History and Timeline)

Materials
Audio and video tapes.

Assessment
Teacher-made pre/post test will be used to measure changes/gains in student attitudes and knowledge relating to WWII (in Hawai'i).

Progress log will be done by students to reflect their attitudes and learning as the unit progresses.

Self-evaluation will be done by students to assess their interviews.

Discussions with small groups by teacher will be used to evaluate group efforts. Students will also evaluate their group efforts through a self-evaluation.

Checklists will be used to evaluate and give feedback on interviews and Kid Pix slide show (content, readability, format).
STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION OF INTERVIEW

1. Did you get the information you wanted?





2. Problems you had during the interview.




Were you able to find a way to solve your problem(s)?




3. How was this experience for you? Would you like to interview others?



WARTIME ADAPTATION

Overview
When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, Japanese-Americans were forced to cope with painful discrimination. Some faced more difficult obstacles when they were forced into internment camps because of unsubstantiated suspicion and accusations. The diverse cultures of the people who ran the camps and the people who tried to make a home were brought together and somehow expected to function as one. The novel, Farewell to Manzanar , illustrates the difficulties of one such Japanese-American family.

Suggested Levels
Grades 9-12

Time Frame
4 days

Learner Outcomes
Participate in and learn from experiential theater performance.

Performance Standards: Speaking and Listening
Demonstrate courteous, attentive listening and speaking, in formal and informal settings. (p. 17 for elementary participants)
 Demonstrate poise and confidence when speaking before a small group, large group, and in presentations/performances. (p. 299)
 Develop information or organize ideas in a manner that is easy to follow. (p. 300)
Relate historical events and universal themes to own lives.

Performance Standard: Reading and Literature
Read a variety of literature that spans time and cultures and presents the universal themes that relate to their lives and the lives of others.
(p. 306)
Discuss and demonstrate an understanding of the commonalties and uniqueness among cultures.

Performance Standard: Cultural Anthropology

Discuss and demonstrate an understanding of culture as an integrated whole that relates traditions, beliefs and values, behavior patterns, and artifacts. (p. 131)
Learning Processes/Strategies
Day 1
 Have students complete reading the novel Farewell to Manzanar beforehand .

Have students brainstorm scenes from the book that illustrate difficulties the characters endured in the internment camp.

Divide students into 4 groups and have each group choose one of the scenes from the brainstorm list.

Give groups 30 minutes to plan a lesson to be presented to elementary students. The goal is to enable the elementary students to experience what the characters in the book experienced in order for the students to empathize with what some Japanese-Americans went through.

Have each group present its lesson to the class and receive feedback regarding how effective the lesson was and how much it involved the learners.

Day 2
 Return the plans to the students with feedback/suggestions.

Have students revise their plans with the goal of streamlining the lesson to 10 minutes.

Have students E-mail lesson plans to the elementary teacher for review and suggestions.

Day 3
 Have students rehearse and prepare the necessary materials for the presentation.

Continue communication with elementary teacher through E-mail as necessary.

Day 4
High school students go to elementary school to present lessons.
Have elementary students divided into 4 groups ahead of time (by elementary teacher).

Provide introduction/directions for lesson to the children.

Have elementary students rotate every 10 minutes to the 4 activity centers prepared and run by the high school students.

Conduct, with involvement of high school students, the wrap-up discussion at the end of rotation as large class. Have children share what they experienced and how they felt.

Resources
Farewell to Manzanar

Materials As necessary. To be determined by student groups.

Equipment Computer for E-mail communication and word processing.
Video camera.

Assessment
Elementary teacher will have students write learning logs to record experiences as they complete each activity. Prompts such as:

What did I learn from this activity?
 How would I have felt if this actually happened to me?

High school teacher will videotape lesson presentations to evaluate effectiveness. The tape will be shown for the teacher and students to evaluate.

A checklist as suggested below will be used for high school students to evaluate each rotation of elementary students.

QUESTION YES NO

Were students on task throughout the activity?


Did all students participate?


Did I participate actively in the presentation?


High school students will debrief upon return to their classroom. They will study the checklists to review overall effectiveness then write individually about the following:

Students will then share their findings with their groups and come up with group findings as to what worked, didn't work, and how they could improve the lesson.

EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR II:

A Bibliography for Grades K-6


EASY:


E Mochizuki, Ken.
Baseball saved us. N.Y.: Lee & Low, c1993. [unpaged]
Summary: A Japanese American boy learns to play baseball when he
and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during World War II. His ability to play helps him after the war is over.
Grades: 1-4

E Mochizuki, Ken.
Heroes. N.Y.: Lee & Low, c1995. [unpaged]
Summary: Donnie, a Japanese American, is always the "bad guy"
when playing war games. He sets out to prove that his family served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Grades: 1-4 (ISBN: 1-880000-16-4)

E Say, Allen.
The bicycle man. Oakland, Calif.: Parnassus Press; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. [40 p.]
Summary: The amazing tricks two American soldiers do on a
borrowed bicycle are a fitting finale for the school sports day festivities in a small village in post-war occupied Japan
Grades: K-3

E Shigekawa, Marlene.
Blue Jay in the desert. Chicago: Polychrome Pub. Corp., c1993. [unpaged]
Summary: While living in a relocation camp during World War II, a
young Japanese American boy receives a message of hope from his grand-father.
Grades: K-3

E Uchida, Yoshiko.
The bracelet. N.Y.: Philomel Books, c1993. [unpaged]
Summary: Emi, a Japanese American in the second grade, is sent
with her family to an internment camp during World War II. She learns that friendship does not require a material reminder.
Grades: K-3

FICTION:


Coerr, Eleanor.
Mieko and the fifth treasure. N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons, c1993.
[77 p.]
Summary: Ten year old Mieko is a talented calligrapher, but her hand
is injured when the atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.
Grades: 4-6

Salisbury, Graham.
Under the blood-red sun. N.Y.: Delacorte Press, c1994. [246 p.]
Summary: Tomikazu Nakaji is a typical Japanese American boy
living in Hawai'i until his life is changed by the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Grades: 4-6

Tsuchiya, Yukio.
Faithful elephants: a true story of animals, people and war. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. [32 p.]
Summary: Recounts the painful death of 3 elephants in a Tokyo zoo
because the war forced their keepers to starve them.
Grades: 3-6 (ISBN: 0-395-46555-9)

Uchida, Yoshiko.
Journey home. N.Y.: Atheneum, c1978. [131 p.]
Summary: A sequel to Journey to Topaz. Twelve year old Yuki
Sakane and her family return home to Berkeley, California and face more prejudice.
Grades: 4-6 (ISBN: 0-689-50126-9)

Uchida, Yoshiko.
Journey to Topaz. N.Y.: Scribner, c1971. [149p.]
Summary: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, 11 year old Yuki
Sakane and her family are forced to go to an internment camp in Utah.
Grades: 4-6 (ISBN: 0-684-12497-1)

BIOGRAPHY:


Coerr, Eleanor.
Sasaki Sadako and the thousand paper cranes. N.Y.: Putnam, c1977.
[64 p.]
Summary: Sadako, a child in Hiroshima, is hospitalized with
leukemia as a result of the atomic bomb.
Grades: K-3 (ISBN: 0-399-61010-3)

NON-FICTION:


940.54 Bachrach, Deborah.
Pearl Harbor: opposing viewpoints. Greenhaven, 1989. [112 p.]
Summary: Explores the circumstances surrounding the attack on Pearl
Harbor by the Japanese in 1941.
Grades: 5-8

940.53 Chin, Steven A.
When justice failed: the Fred Korematsu story. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaugh, c1993. [105 p.]
Summary: Relates the life and experiences of the Japanese American
who defied the order of internment during World War II and took his case as far as the Supreme Court.
Grades: 3-8

362.1 Coerr, Eleanor.
Sadako. N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons, c1993. [unpaged]
Summary: Sadako, a child in Hiroshima, is hospitalized with
leukemia as a result of the atomic bomb.
Grades: K-3 ISBN: 0-399-21771-1)

940.54 Feinberg, Barbara S.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chicago: Children's Press, c1995. [32 p.]
Summary: Gives children a sense of being a witness to important
events in history.
Grades: 3-6 (ISBN 0-516-06627-7)

810.8 Growing up Asian American: An anthology. N.Y.: William Morrow and
GRO Co. Inc., 1993. [416 p.]
Summary: An anthology of 32 Asian-American writers from the
1800's to the 1990's. Contains accounts of growing up in WWII's internment camps.
Grades: 9 to adult, but could be read to upper elementary students.

352.252 Hamanaka, Sheila
The journey: Japanese Americans, racism and renewal. N.Y.: Orchard Book, c1990. [39 p.]
Summary: Text and photographed details of a mural depict the history
of the Japanese people in America with an emphasis on the World War II years.
Grades: 3-6 (ISBN: 0-531-08449-3)

940.54 Hopkinson, Deborah.
Pearl Harbor. N.Y.: Dillion, 1991. [68 p.]
Summary: Describes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and
its aftermath.
Grades: 3-6

940.54 Maruki, Toshi.
Hiroshima no pika. N.Y.: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c 1980. [48 p.]
Summary: Seven year old Mii is having breakfast with her family
when the atomic bomb is dropped on her city of Hiroshima.
Grades: 5-8 (ISBN: 0-688-01297-3)

940.53 Nakamoto, Hiroko.
My Japan 1930-1951. N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1970. [157 p.]
Summary: This journal records a young girl's memories about a
turbulent period in Japanese history. Hiroko was 15 when the atomic bomb was dropped on her city.
Grades: 5 to adult

Nicholson, Dorinda Makanaonalani.
940.54
Pearl Harbor child: a child's view of Pearl Harbor - from attack to peace. Honolulu: Arizona Memorial Museum Association, 1993.
Summary: Personal narrative of a child's experiences after the
bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Grades: 4+ (ISBN: 0-9631388-6-3)

940.53 Stanley, Jerry.
I am an American: a true story of Japanese internment. N.Y.: Crown Publishers, Inc., c1994. [102 p.]
Summary: This is the story of Shiro Nomura's experiences as a
loyal American forced into an internment camp because of his racial heritage.
Grades: 5+

325.252 Takashima, Shizuye.
A child in prison camp. Chicago: Children's Press, c1971. 1991.
[102 p.]
Summary: Award winning of what it was like to be a child in a
Canadian prison camp during World War II.
Grades: 4 + (ISBN: 0-516-08165-9)

940.53 Turrell, Michael O.
The children of Topaz: the story of a Japanese American internment camp: based on a classroom diary. N.Y.: Holiday House, 1996.
Summary: The diary of a third grade class of Japanese American
children being held with their families in an internment camp during World War II.
Grades: 3+

940.54 Young, Robert.
Hiroshima: 50 years of debate. Dillion, 1994. [80 p.]
Summary: Presents the events and decisions that led to the bombing
of Hiroshima in 1945.
Grades: 5 - 8


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