Lesson 1: Building Background Knowledge: Before Pearl Harbor

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.

• What traditions did Japanese people bring with them when they came to the West Coast? What American traditions did they adopt?

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.

• What challenges did Japanese and Japanese American people face as they built communities in Los Angeles and other cities?

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.

Part A: Compare Media: Daily Life on the Homefront

Turn and Talk

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:

• What do you understand from the article about Japanese and Japanese American communities? What do you want to learn more about?

• In what ways was the response to Pearl Harbor a break with past treatment of Japanese Americans? In what ways was it a continuation?

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.

Part B: Preview Themes

Collaborative Idea Board

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.

• Is it possible for a photographer to be biased, or do photos—assuming they are not heavily edited—merely present neutral facts?

• How does a photographer’s perspective come through in their work?

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 readers evaluate words and images for accuracy, perspective, and ethical use?

3–2–1 Summary

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)