America’s entry into World War II ended the Great Depression. Lange focused on two government projects that showed different sides of the war effort. Men and women of all races worked together in California shipyards. At the same time, racist policies targeted Japanese Americans for removal and imprisonment. For both projects, Lange set out to make truthful images of the effects of the war on the home front.
“These were defense years, war years, shipyard years. There was overtime, and swing shifts, and graveyard shifts, and everyone in the family worked. And the migratory workers settled down and slept under a roof and the Negroes kept coming in droves, leaving the cotton fields of the South, and everyone was welcome.” — Dorothea Lange
[alt text: A black-and-white photograph of a gas station. A sign hanging on one of the pumps reads "Sorry, Today's Gasoline Allotment Sold," meaning the station ran out of its allowed supply of gasoline for the day. The price signs on the pumps show gasoline cost about 17 cents per gallon, plus 4 cents in taxes, for a total of 21 cents. Old-style cars can be seen parked in the background.]
Launch by introducing the unit topic, and build curiosity by having students analyze visual and informational texts depicting Japanese American life before World War II.
Say these Directions: You will examine historical photos and read a text from before the events of the book. Begin reading “Before Pearl Harbor, L.A. Was Home to Thriving Japanese Communities. Here's What They Were Like” by Patt Morrison. Start at the beginning of the article and pause when you reach the line, “How that idyll ended, I’ll get to presently.” You may read independently or follow along as classmates read aloud.
When you reach the line “How that idyll ended, I’ll get to presently,” pause your reading. As needed, review the meaning of the word idyll. Then, respond to the questions that follow to check your understanding and guide your discussion.
Ask: What traditions did Japanese people bring with them when they came to the West Coast? What American traditions did they adopt?
Japanese immigrants brought food traditions such as mochi, religious traditions including Buddhism, and traditional sports such as sumo. Many adopted American foods like ice cream and pastimes such as baseball, and some enrolled their sons in the Boy Scouts.
Continue reading the article. Pause again when you reach the sentence, “And then, beginning Dec. 7, 1941, it was all swept away.” Be ready to stop and discuss your understanding at that point.
Ask: What challenges did Japanese and Japanese American people face as they built communities in Los Angeles and other cities?
Japanese people who were not U.S. citizens could not own land in California because of a discriminatory law. They had to lease land to farm or buy it in the name of their American-born children who were citizens. They also faced discrimination in hospitals and other institutions, so they built their own despite legal challenges along the way.
Read the rest of the article, or assign the wartime and postwar portions for homework as needed.
Say these Directions: Take out the Key Terms and Topics graphic organizer. Add the terms perspective and bias to your organizer. As you add each term, write its definition so you can use it to support your understanding of the text.
Connection to Today’s Learning
Say: Today, we are building our understanding of Japanese Americans’ experiences in the United States before World War II. In the rest of the unit, we will be focusing on what happened during the war, so we must understand the situation at the war’s start.
Part A: Compare Media: Daily Life on the Homefront (RI.7.6, RI.7.7) (15 minutes)
Display or circulate the photos from “Daily Life on the Homefront” (Spark Resource Set #1). Lead discussion of the photos and provide needed background knowledge specific to each photo, such as:
“Wartime Gas Rationing,” “Horse Meat”: Rationing was a big part of the wartime economy. Households were limited in how much of certain foods and other essentials they could buy, even if they had the money. People made do with substitutes that were not rationed.
“Let’s Get It Over”: To support the war effort, Americans lent money to the government through a program called War Bonds. Like today’s savings bonds, these gained interest and could be turned in for cash when they matured.
“Work for All”: Dorothea Lange was optimistic in saying that “everyone was welcome,” but it was true that the war economy opened opportunities to groups that historically had faced severe discrimination in the workforce.
With many men deployed overseas, women took on new roles, including blue-collar jobs that had been previously deemed “men’s work.” The famous “Rosie the Riveter” poster shows the government’s encouragement of this trend.
Many Black workers found employment in factories and shipyards, sometimes with the support of anti-discrimination directives to keep wartime production levels high. Some Black civic and business leaders urged cooperation with the war effort as an opportunity to fight both the Nazi threat abroad and racism at home.
These trends obviously contrast with the intensified discrimination against Japanese Americans.
Turn and Talk
Turn-and-Talk
Say these Directions: Analyze the photos from “Daily Life on the Homefront.” As you look closely, listen for important background information about each image. Then, turn and talk with a partner to compare how the article and the photos present the lives of Japanese and Japanese American communities in the United States, including their cultural life. As you discuss, think about what each source shows, emphasizes, or leaves out, and how that shapes your understanding of the time period:
Ask: What do you understand from the article about Japanese and Japanese American communities? What do you want to learn more about?
I understand that these communities were in some ways isolated, with their own newspapers and hospitals and law firms. But in other ways, places like Little Tokyo were strongly connected to the culture and economy of the rest of the city and country. What I want to understand is how and why non-Japanese people suddenly decided that their Japanese neighbors were spies. Did the government promote this view because of the war?
Ask: In what ways was the response to Pearl Harbor a break with past treatment of Japanese Americans? In what ways was it a continuation?
Japanese Americans had faced significant discrimination, including under the law, well before Pearl Harbor. In one sense, the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans were an extension of this discrimination. [Toward the end of the article, museum director Kristen Hayashi describes “a long arc of discrimination” extending well before Pearl Harbor.] However, despite the discrimination, Japanese Americans had been able to “put down roots” in places like Los Angeles, establishing schools and businesses and places of worship. Wartime relocation and imprisonment tore up these roots in a way that seems unprecedented.
Once you have observed the photos and answered the questions, you will use your Key Terms and Topics graphic organizer to record important historical events, policies, and key details that help you build context for what you are learning.
[alt text: 1944 image of a newsboy holding copies of the San Francisco News that read “Deeper into Reich!”]
[image credit: Dorothea Lange]
🎯PURPOSE
Support students in comparing article information with photo evidence by using observation and interpretation language to explain what is visible, what is missing, and how that shapes understanding.
🗣️SAY / ASK
Invite students to connect visual literacy skills (sports photos, social media, family albums) to historical photos: “What choices does a photographer make that shape the story?”
Require each pair to contribute one Notice anchored in a specific photo detail and one Wonder tied to the article’s claims (e.g., discrimination, laws, institutions).
Push students to name who is being shown and who is missing in the photo set (age groups, jobs, neighborhoods).
When students share, prompt them to add a “so what?” sentence about memory: “So this would make the public think ___.”
Model a two-step sentence: “The photo depicts ___. This suggests ___.”
Add contrast connector: “However, the image does not show ___.”
Add cause/effect connector: “As a result, viewers might ___.”
“I notice ___ in the photo (detail), which suggests ___ (idea).”
“The caption/angle emphasizes ___; however, it omits ___.”
“This image represents ___, and as a result, the viewer might think ___.”
“I wonder ___ because the article explains ___.”
👁️WATCH FOR / SUPPORT IF NEEDED
If students only describe (“People are standing”) → Prompt: “Add interpretation: what does their posture/setting suggest?”
If students make a big claim with no anchor → Prompt: “Point to the exact detail that supports your claim.”
Student uses depicts/represents/suggests/emphasizes at least once.
Student distinguishes visible detail vs. inference.
Student names one possible omission and why it matters.
Teacher Tip
To help students deepen background knowledge, encourage them to briefly research the United States’ policy toward involvement in the war before Pearl Harbor and its conflicts with Japan leading up to the declaration of war. Set the stage by explaining that isolationism—opposition to getting involved in World War II—was a popular view in the U.S. right up until the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Check for Understanding
Write 1-2 sentences explaining how the article and photos present life before Pearl Harbor. In your response, be sure to:
Explain one difference or similarity in how the topic is shown across the two sources.
Describe what one source emphasizes or leaves out and how that reflects a perspective or possible bias.
Situation
Try this
Struggling with: Reasoning from Details
Take sample paragraphs from the text and model the process of using details to support broader inferences. Ex. The article says, “Like many communities of color, the Japanese population here perforce had its own doctors, lawyers, teachers, dentists, and other professionals.” The word perforce means that they didn’t have a choice. So we can infer that some discriminatory practices were already in place.
Ready for extension: Identifying Broader Effects of a Policy
Ask: How did the incarceration of Japanese Americans affect life in Los Angeles County beyond the Japanese community? The article points out that “most” Japanese Americans “never returned from being incarcerated” and that this led to a decline in a previously vibrant farming industry. Hubs of economic activity like Fish Harbor were evacuated by force and physically destroyed: “Like the farmers of the South Bay, the fisherfolk of Fish Harbor did not return.”
Part B: Preview Themes (RI.7.6) (15 minutes)
Remind students that in this unit, they will be reading a text titled Seen and Unseen. Discuss what it means to be “seen and unseen” in both literal and figurative senses.
Collaborative Idea Board
Say these Directions: Think about the ideas of perspective and purpose. As we discuss, consider bias, representation, and what gets remembered, and why. Share your ideas as we record them on a Collaborative Idea Board, and connect your thinking to how photographs shape what people understand and remember.
Ask: Is it possible for a photographer to be biased, or do photos—assuming they are not heavily edited—merely present neutral facts?
I think it is possible for a photographer to be biased because photographers choose what subjects to photograph and which photos to develop or publish. Even when there is not a political issue at play, photographers pick and choose what to show: a wedding photographer picks the photos that show the couple looking happy and elegant. Individual photos may present facts by showing that a specific thing happened in front of the camera at a specific time. But if you only show the “good facts” or the “bad facts” about something, you are presenting a biased perspective.
How does a photographer’s perspective come through in their work?
A photographer’s perspective shows up in their work in the people, things, and moments they choose to photograph. We can learn what a photographer considers important by noticing what they include and what they leave out. For instance, two photographers might visit a national park and photograph it from different points of view. One might be focused on the natural beauty of the place and take lots of photos that show the landscape but have few or no people in them. Another might want to show how people enjoy and experience the park and include hikers, campers, etc. in their photographs.
Review the Essential Questions that will guide your thinking and learning throughout this unit.
How do historical records—texts, images, and testimony—shape what is remembered about the past?
How can listening to survivor stories—and examining the words and images used to tell them—help us to remember the past more responsibly?
As time permits, identify and preview key terms from these questions, such as testimony.
🎯PURPOSE
Help students explain how perspective and bias operate in documentary photography by forming a defensible claim supported with one photo-based example.
🗣️SAY / ASK
Encourage students who are strong speakers to model a claim and evidence turn; encourage quieter students to contribute via the “Detail/Interpretation” labels first.
During the Collaborative Idea Board, require students to label their contribution as either: Detail (fact) or Interpretation (meaning).
Push for specificity: “Which photo, what detail, what effect?”
After the discussion, have students rehearse one claim orally before writing later in the unit: “A photographer can be biased because ___.”
Upgrade to analysis: “This choice frames the event as ___.”
Add comparison: “One photographer might focus on ___, whereas another might focus on ___.”
Tighten claims with evidence: “For example, in the photo of ___, we can see ___.”
“A photo can show facts, but it can still be biased because ___.”
“The photographer’s perspective comes through when ___.”
“This photo frames the event as ___ by emphasizing ___.”
“Whereas one image emphasizes ___, another suggests ___.”
👁️WATCH FOR / SUPPORT IF NEEDED
If students argue “photos are always neutral” → Prompt: “What did the photographer choose not to photograph?”
If students overgeneralize (“All photos are propaganda”) → Prompt: “Name one specific choice (subject, angle, caption) and its effect.”
Student explains perspective as choice and effect (not just definition).
Student cites one specific photo detail as evidence.
Student uses contrast language (however/whereas).
Situation
Try this
Struggling with defining Terms
Lead students in finding the dictionary definition of a term, including its various literal and figurative sense, and determining which ones apply to the subject of this unit. Ex. I see that bias can mean “prejudice against, or in favor of, someone or something.” That meaning seems very relevant to the treatment that Japanese Americans experienced during World War II. It can also mean “what someone focuses their attention on,” and that connects to the fact that we are reading about photographers. Other meanings that have to do with sports, statistics, and electronics are probably not relevant to our work in this unit.
Ready for extension: Identifying Concrete Examples
Have students review the Lange photo set from Part A, and invite them to pick one or two photos they find interesting. Ask: How do these photos show the photographer’s perspective? What do you think she deemed important to capture about wartime America? The “Work for All” photo caught my eye. By portraying a woman in overalls and work boots, I think that Dorothea Lange wanted to show how the war was changing the workforce. She may also have wanted to capture how women were doing their part for the war effort and stepping into new roles in society.
Reflection
Reflect on your ability to analyze how a photographer’s perspective and purpose influence what is shown, what is left out, and how events are understood using the Reflection routine.
How confident do you feel explaining how a photographer’s perspective shapes what viewers see and remember about an event?
Transition students into the Lesson Look Back by providing them with the 3-Column Chart graphic organizer.
3-2-1 Summary
3–2–1 Summary
Say these Directions: Create a 3–2–1 summary focused on the phrase “Thriving Japanese Communities.” Think about what it means for a community to thrive as you complete your summary.
3 important words/phrases
2 key details or Ideas
1 sentence explaining what the text is mostly about (gist sentence)
3 Important Words/Phrases
2 Key Details or Ideas
1 Sentence Explaining What the Text Is Mostly About
1. Little Tokyo/Japantown
2. Fish Harbor
3. Mochi ice cream
1. Japanese Americans built their own institutions such as hospitals because they were excluded from mainstream ones.
2. Japanese and Japanese American workers were hugely important to the agriculture and fishing industries.
Japanese immigrants and their descendants formed strong, close-knit communities within Los Angeles and other West Coast cities, but these communities were uprooted soon after war broke out between the United States and Japan.
Purpose
🎯PURPOSE
Support students in producing a clear 3–2–1 summary that separates details from the gist, using one interpretation sentence about what it means for a community to “thrive.”
🗣️SAY / ASK
Invite students to connect “thriving” to modern community markers they know (schools, local businesses, faith centers) and then match those to article details.
Require the “one gist sentence” to name (a) community strength and (b) what changed after December 7, 1941.
Push students to choose words that match meaning: “thriving” vs. “surviving” vs. “uprooted.”
During share-out, ask: “Which detail best proves ‘thriving’?”
Provide a gist frame: “The article shows ___; however, ___.”
Add an interpretive verb: “This suggests that ___.”
Clarify vocabulary: thriving = growing/strong/connected (not just “happy”).
“Three words/phrases that show a thriving community are ___, ___, ___.”
“One detail that suggests the community was thriving is ___ because ___.”
“Overall, the excerpt is mostly about ___; however, ___.”
👁️WATCH FOR / SUPPORT IF NEEDED
If gist is too broad (“It’s about Japanese Americans”) → Prompt: “Add the key idea: thriving community before war and uprooting after.”
If details don’t match the gist → Prompt: “Swap one detail that better proves the main idea.”
Student’s gist sentence is accurate and includes change over time.
Student uses one interpretive verb (suggests/depicts/represents).
Student selects details that clearly support “thriving.”
