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Lesson 2: “I Am an American”
50 min
California CCSS: Focus Standards
California CCSS: Supporting Standards
ELD Standards
Student Lesson
Lesson 2: “I Am an American”
Student Learning Objectives
1
Content
Students will consider the question “What makes an American?” in light of two visual appeals to Americanness: a sign put up by a Japanese American grocer in 1942 and a recruitment poster that predates the United States’ entry into World War II.
2
Language
Students will analyze how public messages shape perception by interpreting two wartime images (“I Am An American” sign and Uncle Sam poster), using evidence-based language and cause/effect connectors (because, as a result, therefore) plus academic interpretation verbs (suggests, communicates, portrays) to explain how fear can influence how audiences understand “Americanness.”
3
Foundations
Students will reflect on the many definitions that a political and geographic term such as American can have in different contexts.
Essential Question
How do historical records—texts, images, and testimony—shape what is remembered about the past?
Connections to
Knowledge-Building:
The items in this lesson’s Resource Set show the political stakes of defining Americanness and related concepts such as patriotism and loyalty.
Enduring Understanding:
Many Japanese Americans were eager to prove their loyalty to the United States. In this way, they hoped to counter racist and xenophobic narratives about who could be a “real” or “true” American in wartime.
Future Lessons:
Lesson 3 continues the exploration of primary documents and the construction of background knowledge. In Lesson 4, students begin exploring the anchor text with this background in mind.
Unit Performance Task:
In seeking to understand the stories of internment camp survivors, students will benefit from an understanding of the narratives used to excuse the incarceration policy—narratives that were sometimes explicitly promoted, and very often tacitly encouraged, by those in power.
Lesson Pacing
| Lesson Flow | Purpose of Learning Experience |
|---|---|
Launch10 Minutes | Students will summarize and reflect on their observations from the last class with a focus on representation and cultural attitudes. |
Learning in Action35 Minutes | Part A: What Makes an American? (SL.7.1a) Students will review the history of the term American and discuss how the term is, or should be, defined today. Part B: Analyze Media (RI.7.6, RI.7.7) Students will examine two iconic images from World War II: the “I Am an American” sign displayed by Tatsuro Matsuda, whose family owned a grocery store in Oakland, and the Uncle Sam recruitment poster from 1940. They will analyze both pictures in terms of the messages they convey about Americanness. |
Look Back5 Minutes | Students will work together to complete a Check for Understanding question that summarizes their analysis of the two images. |
Material List
- Display copies of “I Am an American” sign and Uncle Sam poster
Routines
- Turn-and-Talk
- Collaborative Idea Board
- Check for Understanding
