WORLD WAR II AND THE JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

Students immerse themselves in the World War II era by creating a frieze, or mural, of a community in 1940 and developing fictional Japanese American families. When they hear about Executive Order 9066, the families have to prepare to leave their homes and get sent to an assembly center. Students will create a frieze of the prison camp based on information provided in the accompanying content slides. The unit comes to a conclusion when the war ends and the families resettle; they are then given the option of testifying before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.