When the Emperor Was
Divine
A novel by Julie Otsuka
Written and Compiled by
Mike Cullerton, Jefferson High School
Pam Garrett, Franklin High School
Alex Gordin, Cleveland High School
Janice Wallenstein, Cleveland High School
Doug Winn, Grant High School
Summer Curriculum Institute, 2007
Portland Public Schools
Table of Contents
Rationale
Section Summaries
Calendar
Standards Addressed
3
5
6
7
Opening acts
Picture Carousel
Web Scavenger Hunt (directions and questions and answers)
Map Activity
Possible Web Sites
Relic Bag
Civil Liberties Role Play
Discovering Cultural Values Activity
9
11
15
16
17
18
20
Main Stage
Point of view reference sheet
Dialogue journaling specific to themes
Levels of Questioning
Three-Index-Card Discussion (modified)
Connecting poetry to text
Four by Four graphic organizer
Narrative writing-“A Time I Was Treated Unfairly”
26
28
29
30
32
34
35
Closing Acts
Two Voice Poem
Analyzing the literary analysis essay
Literary Analysis Essay
Literary Analysis Criteria Sheet
Persuasive Essay on Reparations
Write a letter for Civil Liberties Action
39
40
41
42
43
45
Resources
Web Sites and Films
Field Trips
47
48
2
Rationale
Evacuation Order 19
“The sign had appeared overnight.”
This warning signal heralds the beginning of our haunting literary journey into Julie
Otsuka’s novel, When the Emperor was Divine. This novel is a powerful story of the plight of
Japanese Americans during the 1940s in World War II America. Much to their surprise and
disbelief, thousands of Japanese Americans were deprived of their civil liberties, their personal
freedoms and properties, and displaced to internment camps throughout the Western United
States.
Otsuka’s story recounts stories of this tragedy through five personal point of view
perspectives. Our literacy group wanted to share powerful strategies of this poignant 144-page
story by first providing a philosophical overview about what guided our investigation. The four
Enduring Understandings illuminated by the text, Understanding by Personal Design are:
• Civil liberties are fragile and can be taken away at any time.
• Through storytelling one can better understand cultural identity and the individual
experience of historical texts.
• Writers use point of view and figurative language as essential tools in engaging readers
emotionally.
• Sense of place, setting, and home are evoked through the descriptions of the
experiences of the Japanese American characters.
With these philosophical statements in hand, we formed the curriculum-based essential
questions that would shape our choices for the curriculum strategies.
The essential questions are as follows:
• What are civil liberties, and why do we defend them?
• What does the experience of war do to people and their values?
• What is home, and how do people adapt to change?
• How do writers use details to evoke emotions?
Our methodological vision in place, we reviewed our final destination—the culminating
assignment of the literary analysis that would be the conclusion of our collaborative sojourn.
The junior literary analysis allows the student to choose a theme from the American Experience
(immigrants, race and social justice, and cultural identity) and compose an analytical essay
through the point of view of a character in the story. Specific historical and literary evidence will
be used to support the point that the student had used in the common assignment.
The strategies that lead to this common assignment have been divided into the familiar
opening, main stage, and closing acts. Some notable ideas from each category include a
picture carousel, web scavenger hunt, and relic bag strategy in the opening act. We want to get
to the heart of the story in the Main Act section and so we provide lessons on POV, dialogue
journal, index card discussion, and graphic organizers.
We also offer other closing activities including two-voice poems, a letter of civil rights,
and a persuasive essay about issues of reparation. These have been chosen and developed to
scaffold and support the much-anticipated literary analysis. The recently adopted Write Source
texts are useful in looking at thesis, the writing process and editing. In particular, the junior or
3
grade 11 Write Source texts provide useful analysis on page 279, where a response essay is
offered as a sample.
Lastly, we provide extensions—a kind of provocative encore that lists other websites,
literary texts, films, and even connections to field trips to witness our historical and sociopolitical event of notoriety.
We invite you along on our journey of infidelity to our Japanese American citizens.
Embark on literary travels as we engage and participate in social justice lessons that will
provoke, scintillate, even outrage you into acts of personal discovery. All aboard!
4
When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Novel Summary
The novel is told through limited third person point of view from multiple perspectives in five
sections.
“Evacuation Order No. 19” (3-22)
The characters of the mother, daughter, and son are introduced in this section and the story is
told through the limited point of view of the mother.
In this opening scene, the mother shares that they will be leaving their community in Berkeley
and going away. Particularly significant in this section is that the mother kills the dog on page
11. Otsuka uses specific imagery in the story including a reference to the painting, “The
Gleaners” by Millet. The section concludes with the family receiving identification numbers and
leaving on the bus.
‘The Train”
(23-48)
This section of the story chronicles the trip of the family to the internment camp.
This section is told through the POV of the girl. The trip takes place in September 1942, and
narrates the train ride of the family to the camp in Topaz, Utah. Specific references to “shades
down,” (27), and a brick flying through the window illustrate the family’s estrangement from the
community (43).
“When the Emperor Was Divine”
(49-105)
This section replicates the title of the novel and is significant as the section narrates the stay
and internment of the family and is shared through the limited POV of the son.
The harsh living conditions are revealed including the hot summers and the cold winters
and the bleakness of the Japanese-Americans’ lifestyle and imprisonment. The father
is referred to in his internment in a camp in New Mexico and his plight is shared through letters
sent to the family. There is a flashback to when the father was taken away earlier and also how
the people tried to cope with the rules that the community had imposed on them (76). The
harsh conditions of the camp are shared including when a person is shot for trying to escape the
barbed wire fence (101).
“In a Stranger’s Backyard” (106-139)
This fourth section relates the return of the family to their home after the war concludes.
Acclimation to their home, neighborhood, and their surroundings is told through an anonymous
family member in third person. Their adjustment conveys a sense of loss as they find their
home lived in, community members hostile, and the nation as a whole reeling on how to fit these
Americans back into their country. Memories of the camp haunt the family as the mother adapts
and finds work as a maid.
Significantly, the father returns home, a changed and humbled man transformed
physically and mentally by his imprisonment. This section concludes with references to nature
and rosebushes growing.
“Confession” (140-144)
This short but powerful conclusion is told from the limited POV of the father. In effect, the story
is a confession of every Japanese-American male who suffered through the loss of civil rights
during this ignominious era. The story ends with, “That’s it. I’ve said it. May I go?”- a powerful
ending to this compelling piece.
5
Calendar
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
*Picture Carousel or
*Web Scavenger
Hunt
*Complete Picture
Carousel or
*Web Scavenger
Hunt debrief
*Relic Bag
Day 6
*Map Project
Day 7
*Map Project
*Begin reading
section One
*Dialogue Journal
(begin but ongoing)
Day 8
*Role Play
*Role Play
*Begin section Two
*Discovering
cultural values
*Point of view
information
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
*Connecting poetry
to text #1
*Begin section
Three
*Discussion about a
time you were
treated unfairly
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
*Narrative WritingWrite about a time
when you were
treated unfairly
Day 16
*Connecting poetry
to text #2
*View one of the
movie resources
*Begin section Four
*View one of the
movie resources
Day 5
*Levels of
Questions activity
HW- Pre-discussion
questions for Index
card discussion
Day 20
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
*Three Index Card
Discussion
*How to Analyze a
literary analysis
essay
HW-Complete novel
*Introduce Literary
Analysis Essay
*Thesis and Topic
sentence writing
*Connecting poetry
to text #3
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
*Literary Analysis
Essay work
*Lit Analysis self
review
*Lit Analysis peer
review
*Lit analysis dueShare out sections
*Final discussion of
the novel
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
*Persuasive Essay
Discussion
*Letter on current
civil rights issue
*Draft of persuasive
essay
6
Criteria and Standards for
WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE
Teaching Outline/
Strategies
Reading
Picture carousel
Comprehension Scavenger hunt
Relic bag
And
Map project
Dialogue journal
Literary
Role play
Interpretation
Cultural Values
Point of View
Connecting poetry
Levels of questions
Three index card
discussion
Criteria
Persuasive
Writing
Writing Craft
Lessons
11.10.17 Work of U.S. lit
re to hist period
11.9.1 Predict fut
outcomes
11.9.2 Make assertions w/
evidence
11.9.3 Use textual
evidence to interp U.S. lit
11.9.4 ID themes
conveyed thru chars,
actions, images in U.S. lit
11.10.10 Tone or
meaning in poetry thru
sound & sense
11.13.1 Persuasive Wrtg
“On Reparations”
How to analyze a
literary analysis
essay
Literary
Analysis
Literacy Standards
Standard 12: Comm
supported ed ideas
11.12.1 Ideas & Content
11.12.2 Organization
11.12.3 Voice
11.12.4 Word Choice
11.12.5 Sentence
Fluency
11.12.6 Conventions
Narrative
“A Time When I
Was Treated
Unfairly”
11.13.6 Narrative Wrtg
(includes imag)
7
Opening
Acts
8
Picture Carousel
Description:
CAROUSEL is a small group activity that helps students activate prior knowledge and allows
them to discuss, elaborate, and problem-solve.
Steps:
1) The teacher compiles 8-10 photographs of Japanese- American life, World War II, and
the internment camps (see resource list for possible sources). Photos are mounted on
large sheets of butcher paper or chart pack. Below the photos the following response
categories are written on each sheet:
Observations: Describe without judgment what you see in the photos.
Connections: Do the photos remind you of anything in your life? In history?
Memories: What stories or memories emerge from the photos as you move from
picture to picture?
Questions: What do you want to know more about? What are you wondering about?
Sheets are placed on walls around the classroom. Students could also carry an 8 1/2” x
11” copy of these response prompts.
2) Students are divided into groups of 3-4 members and given a different color marker.
3) Each group stands in front of a photo sheet and brainstorms possible responses. One
member writes the groups responses on the sheet.
4) When the teacher gives the signal, each group rotates to the next station with their color
marker and does the new responses.
5) Continue rotating several times, or until all groups get to all photograph sheets.
6) Follow-up to this activity:
• Each group reviews all the comments at one of the carousel stations,
summarizes, and reports back to the class.
• Each group categorizes the responses on one sheet and responds back to the
full group.
• The whole class makes predictions about the content of the unit.
Resources and Materials:
•
•
•
Chart pack paper or butcher paper.
Multi-colored markers
8-10 photographs-Suggested images: Japanese-Americans in happy times, Pearl
Harbor attack, anti-Japanese images, evacuation signs, scenes from the camps.
Possible sources for photographs:
•
•
•
Website list for scavenger hunt, map, and carousel activity included in this packet.
Google image
Due Process: Americans of Japanese Ancestry and the United States Constitution 17871994. National Japanese American Historical Society, San Francisco, 1995
Student Handout
Name__________________________
9
Carousel Photo Exhibit
As you browse with your group, talk and write about the following:
•
Observations: Describe without judgment what you see in the photos.
•
Connections: Do the photos remind you of anything in your life? In history, math,
science, or health?
•
Memories: What story or memories emerge from the photos for you as you move from
photo to photo?
•
Questions: What do you want to no more about? What are you wondering about?
Web Scavenger Hunt
An opening activity for When the Emperor Was Divine
10
Overview: Students will search for answers to questions on the Internet and view pictures to
assist them in gaining knowledge of the time period and atmosphere prior to and during WW II
with regard to Japanese-Americans.
Materials needed:
• A computer lab with an available computer for each student (if this is difficult, you may
want to give this as a homework assignment or have students work in pairs).
• The scavenger hunt questions
Procedure:
1. Students will answer the questions provided, and any others you might want to add in
one class session (possibly a block period).
2. Students will debrief the information from the scavenger hunt by writing a short
paragraph on what they remember from the hunt (to begin the next class period).
Students will share this information the class has an understanding of all the main
historical facts from the scavenger hunt.
Web Scavenger Hunt
11
Look for answers to the following questions about the history of the Japanese-American
internment and World War II on the web.
1. When was Pearl Harbor? How did this change how Americans viewed JapaneseAmericans at that time?
2. Summarize the Executive Order No. 9066. What did this order set in motion?
3. What were the internment camps?
4. What were the conditions there?
5. What were the dates of opening and closing of the camps?
6. List the ten different camps.
7. What is a Nisei? an Issei?
8. What was the role of the Nisei in World War II?
9. After viewing a timeline of WW II, write down five important events that span the years
before, during and after the Japanese-American internment and the dates of those
events.
10. Why did you feel the particular events that you chose were important?
11. What are reparations? What did the Japanese-Americans receive as reparations? Which
president signed this order?
12. What is the location of the Topaz Internment Camp?
13. Where was the population of the camp from?
14. What did the term “No No boys” come from?
15. How many eligible males from Topaz were inducted into the armed services?
16. What was the Topaz Camp closing date?
Bring the answers to these questions to the next class session and be able to discuss them with
the group.
Web Scavenger Hunt Answers
12
1. When was Pearl Harbor? How did this change how Americans viewed Japanese
Americans at that time?
December 7, 1941/Japanese-Americans were viewed suspiciously after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor.
2. Summarize the Executive Order No. 9066. What did this order cause?
FDR authorized the Secretary of War to define military areas and protect those areas
against espionage and sabotage. This caused the Japanese-Americans to be separated
from the general population away from these military areas.
3. What were the internment camps?
The places where the Japanese-Americans were relocated and confined away from the
military areas on the West Coast.
4. What were the conditions there?
Overcrowded, poor living conditions, people lived in tarpaper shacks of simple construction
and temperatures in the desert area varied from extreme heat to extreme cold, no plumbing
or cooking
5. What were the dates of opening and closing of the camps?
March 1942-1946
6. List the ten different camps.
Amache, CO
Gila River, AR
Heart Mountain, WY
Jerome, AR
Manzanar, CA
Minidoka, ID
Poston, AZ
Rohwer, AR
Topaz, UT
Tule Lake, CA
7. What is a Nisei? an Issei?
A Nisei is an American born Japanese American while Issei were born in Japan.
8. What was the role of the Nisei in World War II?
While Nisei served as interpreters and interrogators, there were also separate battalions of
Nisei who served as soldiers. There contributions were great and their losses were high.
9. After viewing a timeline of WW II, write down five important events that span the years
before, during and after the Japanese-American internment and the dates of those
events.
(answers will vary) One timeline is at http://www.fatherryan.org/hcompsci/tl1.htm
10. Why did you feel the particular events that you chose were important?
(answers will vary)
11. What are reparations? What did the Japanese-Americans receive as reparations? Which
president signed this order?
13
In 1988, Congress passed legislation which awarded payments of $20,000 of compensation
to 60,000 people who had been interned in camps.
12. What is the location of the Topaz Internment Camp?
Located in Millard County, Utah, 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, in central Utah, 16 miles
NW of the town of Delta.
13. Where was the population of the camp from?
Japanese-Americans form the San Francisco Bay Area who had been housed at Tanforan
Race Track in San Bruno, CA. Internees spent up to six months living in horse stalls waiting
for Topaz to be completed.
14. What did the term “No No boys” come from?
From a government questionnaire about allegiance to the U.S. Those who answered no to
two questions who were military eligible, were transferred to Tule Lake facility in California.
15. How many eligible males from Topaz were inducted into the armed services?
105
16. What was the Topaz Camp closing date?
October 31, 1945
Japanese-American Internment Map Project
Description:
14
To give a visual/spatial sense to the facts of the internment, students will create simple line
maps of relevant areas of the Pacific Rim, The U.S., and the western states.
Preparation and materials:
Materials: markers, large paper (chart pack size), wall maps, world globe, general atlas,
historical atlas (WW II).
Preparation: Gather materials and bring to class. Divide students into three (3) groups and
have them choose roles. Roles: organizer, researcher, artist, scheduler.
Steps:
1) Assign one group to do a map of the Pacific Rim/ Pacific Theater. Include Japan, West
Coast of U.S. with major cities, Hawaii (Pearl Harbor), and sites of major battles in the
Pacific.
2) Assign one group to do a map of the western states of the U. S. Include major cities,
other sites with significant Japanese-American populations, temporary detention centers,
prison camps, internment camps and the exclusion zone. Also include geographical
information particularly the Sierra Nevada/Cascade mountain chain and desert areas.
3) Assign one group to do a map of the San Francisco Bay Area to Utah showing the
important sites in the book and the route the family travels from Berkeley to Topaz.
4) Led by researchers, students draw maps with using color, and historical and geographic
detail to create a visual context for the times and events of When The Emperor Was
Divine.
Possible web sites for Web Scavenger Hunt, Map Activity, Picture Carousel
Multnomah county library
http://www.multcolib.org/homework/warwldhc.html#japanam
15
Children of the Camps
http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/
From the San Francisco News
http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/evactxt.html
Article “Fences to Freedom”
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/cover/1995_Aug_9.COVER09.html
The Relocation of Japanese-Americans (Washington State)
http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/harmony/Documents/wrapam.html
Civil Rights Division Activities and Programs
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/activity.html
Article “War’s End”
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/cover/1995_Aug_16.DEPEW.html
When the Emperor was Divine
http://www.culturewars.org.uk/2003-02/divine.htm
Japanese-American Internment Camps
http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/camp.html
Topaz Camp
http://www.millardcounty.com/topazcamp.html
History of the Japanese-American Internment Camps
http://www.fatherryan.org/hcompsci/Home.htm
What You Would Hide
About Your Culture
Relic Bag Strategy
16
A variation of the Relic Bag Activity to be used before reading When The Emperor Was Divine.
The teacher chooses items from the novel that one of characters would prefer that others would
not know he/she possessed because of the implications about being of the Japanese culture.
Students may either respond verbally or record their own impressions about the implications
and why these would be hidden.
Then an additional relic bag or box would be brought out for the family of what they wanted
people to know about them.
Example:
The teacher creates a relic bag for the mother from among the following items:
1) A miniature bonsai tree
2) A bowl for eating rice
3) A bottle of plum wine
4) Silk scarf with Asian motif
5) “Hirohito” written on a small piece of paper
6) A letter from Lordsburg, New Mexico
7) An abacus
8) A Japanese doll with a kimono
9) Rice paper
The teacher then creates a second relic bag for the family from among the following
items:
1) Joe Palooka comic books
2) Picture of Jesus
3) Picture of Princess Elizabeth
4) Baseball Glove
5) White gloves
6) The Gleaners picture
7) A jump rope
8) Mary Jane shoes
9) National Geographic
10) Old Postcards
11) WW II memorabilia
12) Sign “BUY US WAR BONDS EVERY PAYDAY”
Students share in pairs and then as foursomes and refer back to their responses as
needed.
Civil Liberties Role Plays
These activities are designed to give students first hand experiences regarding the JapaneseAmerican internment and civil liberties.
Japanese-American Internment Role Play (from Linda Christensen)
17
You are a Japanese-American family. Create your family.
I.
Describe your family members and your particular relationships to each other: mother,
father, grandparents, children, aunt.
II. What is important to you? Create a ritual that demonstrates your family unity.
(Example: mealtime prayer, family meeting, “family night”…)
III. Look at the “Instructions to all persons of Japanese Ancestry”:
1. A responsible member of each family, preferably the head of the family, or the person in
whose name most of the property is held, and each individual living alone, will report to the Civil
Control Station to receive further instructions. This must be done between 8:00 A. M. and 5:00
P. M. on Monday, May 4, 1942, or between 8:00 A. M. and 5:00 P. M. on Tuesday, May 5,
1942.
2. Evacuees must carry with them on departure for the Assembly Center, the following
property:
(a) Bedding and linens (no mattress) for each member of the family;
(b) Toilet articles for each member of the family;
(c) Extra clothing for each member of the family;
(d) Sufficient knives, forks, spoons, plates, bowls and cups for each member of the family;
(e) Essential personal effects for each member of the family.
All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner
and numbered in accordance with instructions obtained at the Civil Control Station. The size
and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group.
3. No pets of any kind will be permitted.
4. No personal items and no household goods will be shipped to the Assembly Center.
5. The United States Government through its agencies will provide for the storage, at the sole
risk of the owner, of the more substantial household items, such as iceboxes, washing
machines, pianos and other heavy furniture. Cooking utensils and other small items will be
accepted for storage if crated, packed and plainly marked with the name and address of the
owner. Only one name and address will be used by a given family.
6. Each family, and individual living alone will be furnished transportation to the Assembly
Center or will be authorized to travel by private automobile in a supervised group. All
instructions pertaining to the movement will be obtained at the Civil Control Station.
IV. You have an object that is particularly special to you. Remember that you burned many
of your valued possessions; yet you kept this object. Explain its significance to your
family. Why is it important? How did it come into your family? Where will you keep it
during your internment?
V. Share your story with the class.
Site Council Role Play
In this role play students will enact a Site Council Meeting regarding a loss of student privileges.
I.
II.
Brainstorm a list of six student rights and/or privileges or use some or all of this
list: Access to electronic devices, clothing choices, open campus, equal access
to elective classes, equal treatment from teachers, equal costs for school
services.
Brainstorm a list of six subcultures at your school or use some or all of this list:
skateboarders, jocks, gays, foreign born or ESL students, “Goths” or any other
18
III.
IV.
V.
group that might be considered to be distinctly different from mainstream
students.
Use a roll of a die to select one of these subcultures and then roll the die again
to determine which right or privilege that subculture will lose.
Take volunteers or roll the die again to fill the following rolls: 2 people who are
representatives of the selected subculture, plus Site Council members which
include 1 principal, 1 “old school” community member who is a wealthy donor
to the school, 1 teacher, and 1 popularly elected student who is a member of
Site Council.
Conduct the Site Council meeting presided by the person who is designated as
the teacher. The first and only order of business is the subculture students’
request to get back the right or privilege that they’ve lost. The subculture
students will first present their request and then there will be discussion. The
meeting will end with a vote on this issue. Only site council members can vote.
Use the following role descriptions to guide your participation in this role play.
Subculture students: You are loyal to your particular group of students. Your subculture is not
at all trivial to you. It is one of the main features that define you as a person. You are unhappy
because everyone else in school gets to enjoy a privilege that your group alone is denied.
Depending on the particular characteristics of your group, you are either very assertive or very
meek about pushing your request for equality forward.
Principal: You want what’s best for all your students, but you are worried about offending your
wealthy donor. You look for a compromise.
Wealthy donor: You want the school to operate like it did when you were a student. You argue
for long held school traditions and are willing to suggest that all students should lose the
privilege that has been taken away from the subculture rather than give it back to them. You
threaten to stop donating money to the school if the school strays from its long held traditions.
Teacher: The wealthy donor has paid for your new lab equipment in the past year and you will
be requesting computer hardware in the next school year. You are inclined to reduce privileges
for all the students, not just the subculture, because you feel that the school will function more
smoothly if there is more uniformity and control.
Popularly elected student: You are worried that this debate will end up with all students losing
privileges. You’re not against the students in the subculture but you wish they would just accept
their loss, because you fear damage will be done to you and your friends.
Discovering Cultural Values
Reading Strategy to do after students read the first section of the novel
Overview: This is an activity to engage your students in the idea of values related to specific
cultures. This is in no way meant to stereotype any one group of people. Please make sure
students realize that society is made up of individuals and not all people in a society will follow
that society’s ideas. Also, remind students that “Culture is a fluid, not a static, concept. You
might want to discuss culture, in general, with students before using this activity.
Materials Needed:
• Japanese and American cultural values information
19
•
•
Graphic organizers-group/individual-Cultural values
United Streaming short video titled “Japanese-American Reaction to Internment and
Other Actions of the American Government”
Steps:
1. Put students in nine groups
2. Cut up the cultural values information sheet
3. Give each group one of the values
4. Have the group determine if their cultural value is Japanese or American, both or neither
and the main ideas of the value to share with the class.
5. Groups share out with the class and the class takes notes on the graphic organizer to
use as we continue to discuss cultural identity throughout the novel.
Cultural Values Information
Every discussion about culture should begin with the acknowledgement that culture is a fluid,
not static, concept.
Fatalism is a belief that events are determined by fate. Fatalism is a belief
that we have to accept the outcome of events, and that we cannot do
anything that will change the outcome, because events are determined by
20
something over which we have no control.
Determinism may allow that, even if our actions are caused by forces which
we cannot control, our actions can still be effective in changing the
outcome of events. On the other hand, indeterminism may allow that, even
if there are events which we cannot control, we have the freedom to
choose how to respond, without being compelled to respond in a certain
way by forces beyond our control.
Conformity means following the norms and rules of society.
Nonconformity is the idea that one generation or group will rebel against
the previous generation. It also means that an individual might go against
the expectations of society.
Collectivism is when the needs or wants of the group are placed above
individual needs. A noteworthy Japanese quote, "The nail that sticks out is
hammered down" (Russo, 2003-05) indicates how individualism is
negatively viewed in Japanese society. Japanese Americans are guided by
their heritage, or possibly parental teachings, consciously or unconsciously,
to conform to societal expectations.
Individualism is the idea that what’s best for the individual is best even if it
is not good for others. American society, on the other hand, values
individualism and uniqueness. American parents frequently want their
children to stand apart from the crowd.
Filial piety (duty) means to take care of one's parents; not be rebellious;
show love, respect and support; display courtesy; ensure male heirs,
uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise one's parents; conceal their
mistakes (though some schools advocate pointing out and correcting their
mistakes); display sorrow for their sickness and death; and carry out
sacrifices after their death.
Consensus requires serious treatment of every group member's considered
opinion. Once a decision is made it is important to trust in members'
discretion in follow-up action. In the ideal case, those who wish to take up
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some action want to hear those who oppose it, because they count on the
fact that the ensuing debate will improve the consensus. In theory, action
without resolution of considered opposition will be rare and done with
attention to minimize damage to relationships.
Majority Rule means that in cases of disagreement within a group the
choice of the majority shall be decisive. The members of the group express
their individual choices by voting for one of the alternatives concerned.
Information about Japanese culture by James D. Brightman, CRC
Group Graphic Organizer
Cultural Value_____________________________________________
Japanese, American, neither or both____________________________
Main ideas of the value
•
•
•
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•
•
•
Group Graphic Organizer
Cultural Value_____________________________________________
Japanese, American, neither or both____________________________
Main ideas of the value
•
•
•
•
•
•
Taking notes about Cultural Values
Listen and take notes on the following cultural values. Write down the main ideas and
whether you think the value is typically Japanese or American, neither or both. Remember,
“Culture is a fluid, not static, concept.”
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Cultural
Values
Filial piety
(duty)
Individualism
24
Main
Stage
Point of View
Reference sheet
Point of View definition: The position or angle from which the story is told.
First person point of view: one character is telling the story using the first person pronouns I,
me, my, mine; we, us, our, ours.
Third person point of view: a narrator outside the story is telling it using the third person
pronouns he, she, it , they etc.
Third person omniscient: Omniscient means all knowing. In this point of view the
narrator tells the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.
25
Third person limited: In this point of view the narrator’s view is limited to the thoughts
and feelings of one character.
Camera view (objective): In this point of view, the narrator records the action like a camera:
completely from his or her own point of view, without the thoughts or feelings of the characters.
Example of first person point of view:
“Startled, I glance at him through the side of my eye, then stare at my plate. For the
benefit of the man I’ve brought to Thanksgiving dinner, my father has said grace for the first
time in his life. For the moment, we let neither the 20-pound turkey in the table’s center nor the
wet-earth fragrance of matusake divert our attention. Our faces, our hands, even the steam
from the rice are suspended. I am annoyed, embarrassed, and moved by his awkward
sincerity.”
“Family Dinner” by Tina Koyama in Hear My Voice: A multicultural anthology of literature from
the United States. Laurie King ed.: Addison-Wesley. 1994
In this example, the narrator is a character in the story and she is telling the readers what she
experiences, thinks, and feels. Notice the use of the first person pronouns and how we as
readers learn her feelings of being “… annoyed, embarrassed, and moved…”
Example of third person omniscient point of view:
“He rubbed his small eyes and wiped away the bleariness, only to see his wife’s broad
body standing firmly in front of the bed in that defiant attitude. He heard her loud voice and it
seemed to be coming directly from her navel.”…..
…..”She felt overpowered by the man’s inert mass: the silent threat of those still arms,
the enormous lizard his body was.”
“Scribbles” by Pedro Juan Soto in Hear My Voice: A Multicultural Anthology of Literature from
the United States. Laurie King ed.: Addison-Wesley. 1994
In this example, the narrator is completely outside the story, not a character at all. The narrator
tells the reader the thoughts and emotions of two different characters. Notice the use of third
person pronouns. Also notice the use of words like “seemed” and “felt” that signal the feelings
of the characters.
26
Readers of When the Emperor Was Divine should notice that this story is told from the third
person limited point of view. As we move through the sections (chapters) of the book, the
focus changes among the characters and so the readers learn more of the thoughts and
feelings of that focused character at that point in the story. Readers should be aware of these
shifts in focus.
Dialogue Journal
Objective:
The objective is for students to respond to ideas in the story and make
connections in a Reader’s Response format and particularly focus on the historical themes in
the novel. These themes include the immigrant experience, race and social justice and cultural
identity.
Time: 2-3 weeks as the curriculum of the text is read, written, and understood.
Materials: Novel, journal, and writing instrument.
Activity: Students read the story and select meaningful lines and interpret these ideas from the
text. They may give an opinion, make connections, personal or literary, think of predictions, or
even ask questions.
Steps:
27
1.Explain and role model the reader’s response journal. The idea behind the journal is for
students to read and reread key passages that connect and illustrate to historical themes of the
text. Give examples from the text, When the Emperor was Divine.
Note Taking
It was a sunny day in Berkeley
in the spring of 1942 (3)
Note Making
The text begins on a positive note yet there is
a war going on Europe and Asia. This passage
goes on to say that she is wearing new glasses.
To me, this is a symbol of clarity-even hope.
Teacher reflection: In this opening response the writer is beginning to closely read and identify
the historical context of the story. There is a possible prediction of outcomes.
She had not seen her husband
This is a sad development reinforcing the historical
since his arrest last December (10). theme of loss of civil rights. The family has become
fractured.
Teacher Reflection: The writer is continuing to read, even reread closely, passages from the
text. The writer has noted lines that reinforce the historical theme of the loss of rights, an
inequity of social justice in society.
“Miss, shades down, shades down” (27). Gee, this is also a small loss of civil rights.
She can’t even look outside on the train ride.
This seems particularly poignant because I had
written earlier how her clear vision was. Now
she is not supposed to see or look outside.
Teacher reflection: The writer is continuing to make connections with loss of civil rights.
Levels of Questioning
Objective:
The objective is for students to examine levels of questions and connect to
analysis based on ideas from the text.
Time: 1-2 class periods.
Activity: Students examine questions from the text and create literal, interpretative, and
universal questions that come from the novel.
Steps:
1.Explain and role model the three kinds of questions that are based on Bloom’s taxonomy.
Literal Questions: These are questions that are who, what, where, where, and how questions
that are based on the plot and other literary aspects of the text. There is one right answer and
is directly related to the story.
28
Example: What is the name of the city that the Japanese-American family is from in the novel?
Interpretative Question: This is a higher-level kind of question that is inferential and
connected to ideas and analysis in the story. Responses to these kinds of questions are longer
and may have more than correct one response.
Example: How does the family adapt to the internment camp in Topaz, Utah?
Universal Question: Is the highest form of question and is a question that applies to you and
me, societal or universal. This is a question that may be philosophical and is arrived at after
one understands the story.
Example: How does an oppressed group stay resilient and bounce back from adversity?
Once the levels of questions have been demonstrated and modeled divide the class and text up
and have students create levels of questions. A frequently asked question is, do we need to
know the answer? The response is that in order to create a question one must know the
response.
Application: The idea behind this reading lesson is for students to discuss and understand the
text. Also, students might make the correlation that the literal question connects to the
introduction of a written analysis, the interpretive to the body and main section of the writing and
lastly the universal questions connect to the concluding ideas in a written piece.
Three-Index-Card Discussion
A variation of an activity from the 2nd edition of the Reading and Writing Strategies
Description: This is a potentially year-long discussion strategy that encourages rich and
democratic discourse. Less formal than a Socratic Seminar and yet similar to it, the The ThreeIndex-Card Discussion can reveal many of the deep values and truths students embrace.
Another benefit fo this strategy is that all students speak three times; thus, a balance is
achieved between the quieter, more reticent talkers and those who are more willing and/or
verbose. If this discussion strategy is implemented with student-driven discussion norms in
September, and reviewed periodically, stronger group discussions will develop as the year
progresses.
Materials:
• Multiple packs of 3X5 index cards (I like the colored ones!)
• Pre-discussion questions.
Steps:
1. Give the students a list of general questions based on the themes of the cultural identity,
immigrant experience, and race and social justice.
29
2. Have the students answer the questions for homework or in a class period before the
discussion.
3. Put students into a circle (or circle within a circle if space is tight, shifting the inner and
outer circles about halfway through the discussion).
4. Give all students three 3X5 index cards and tell them to write their names on the cards.
5. Have the students review the questions they answered the night before or class before.
6. After 5-10 minutes of reviewing, the teacher can begin the discussion by asking one of
the pre-discussion questions.
7. As students respond, they throw their card in the center of the circle while the teacher
takes notes on the discussion that helps students direct comments around the circle and
not just to the teacher.
8. Students can only speak three times, once for each of their cards. If time is limited and
all students did not get a chance to speak. Have them write a statement that did not
come up in the discussion on their remaining card/cards.
9. Have students debrief in a paragraph about how they feel the discussion went. Was
everyone’s opinion heard? Valued? What more should have been said? Was there too
much input from some and not enough from others? Be specific in your response.
At the end of the discussion, while the students are writing their response paragraphs, I collect
the cards off the floor. They get some of the points for the discussion. They get the other points
from the response paragraph and those who did not have time to share, get points for their
‘silent discussion’ on the card/s they had left.
Pre-discussion questions to use with Index card discussion
Cultural identity
What do you consider your culture to be?
Is culture an important consideration as related to your personal identity? Why or why not?
Do you think it is important to understand others’ cultures? Why or why not?
Immigrant experience
How does it feel to be ‘new’ to something? Explain.
30
Have you ever felt like a stranger? If yes, explain the situation; if not, how have you treated new
students to the class or the school?
Have you ever traveled to a country where you did not speak the language? How did that make
you feel? How did you adjust?
Race and Social Justice
Do you feel that people are treated differently because of the color of their skin or their
nationality? Why or why not?
What does the term social justice mean to you? Explain.
Why are these two ideas together here?
Connecting Poetry to Text
Objective: Offer poetry as a powerful genre for students to make connections thematically to
sections of the novel. Also, students will analyze poetry through the accompanying, How to
Analyze a Poem handout.
Materials: The text, When the Emperor was Divine, selected poems from Hear My Voice edited
by Laurie King, and selected poems from Legends from Camp written by Lawson Fusao Inada.
Time: Poems are read and interpreted as the sections of the novel are read.
“Evacuation Order No.19” (3-22)
Poem: “In Response to Executive Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report
to Relocation Centers” written by Dwight Okita on pages 5-6 in Hear My Voice.
“The Train” (23-48)
Poem(s):” Concentration Constellation” written by Lawson Fusao Inada on pages 213-214, in
Hear My Voice and page 27, in Legends from Camp.
“Instructions to All Persons” pages 5-6, in Legends from Camp.
“When the Emperor was Divine” (49-105)
Poems: “Legends from Camp” pages 7-8, “Looking Back at Camp,” pages 29-30; both poems in
Legends from Camp.
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“In a Stranger’s Backyard” ((106-135)
Poems: “To Get to Fresno” pages 36-42, “Memory,” pages 50-51, from Legends from Camp.
“Confession” (140-144)
Poems: “Poems in Stone” pages 151-153, “On Being Asian American,” page 169, from Legends
from Camp.
Activity: Students read the poems and respond to the How to Analyze a Poem handout (see
accompanying handout)
How to Analyze a Poem
1. After you read the poem several times, start with the literal meaning of the words.
Who is speaking? To whom? What is the situation or setting? Who are the people
involved? What events take place? Look up any unfamiliar words in the dictionary.
2. Pay attention to the title. Does it give you a hint or clue about the deeper meaning of
the poem?
3. Look at the form of the poem-its shape on the page. Is it fairly structured, with uniform
stanzas (stanzas are to poems what paragraphs are to prose) and lines or is it written
more freely, with irregular lines?
4. Listen to the sound of the poem. Is there a regular rhyme pattern? What about the
rhythm: are the words choppy, or does the poem flow in long phrases? How does the
sound of the poem affect its meaning?
5. Pay special attention to metaphors and similes. If the poem has compared two unlike
things, explain why he/she thinks they are similar.
6. Consider the tone and mood of the poem. Which words in the poem carry the strongest
emotional connotations? Think beyond general categories of happy and sad. Is the
mood angry, playful, lonely, joyful, desperate? Some combination of conflicting
emotions?
32
7. Remember that the poet may leave some aspects of his/her story unexplained. It is not
the necessary to fill in all the gaps in a poem. The poet probably included these
ambiguities on purpose. See if you can figure out why.
8. You can conclude your analysis with your interpretation of the author’s main point. Why
did he/she write this? What is he/she trying to say?
Name__________________
Four by Four Graphic Organizer
Use the reverse side of this handout, fold into fourths, and complete four activities, one
in each folded box. Once completed, use the handout as a supportive scaffolding piece
to help you on the literary analysis essay.
1. Review the book and find an episode where there is an instance of struggle over cultural
identity. Label the box including the page number and complete a quote/note that
supports this choice.
2. Review the text and find an episode where characters have an issue with race and
social justice. Label the box including the page number and draw a symbol that
illustrates that subject.
3. Review the text. Select a favorite passage and compose a funnel (page, paragraph,
sentence, word) and write your response. Title the box with the page number and write
the page, sentence, and underline the word.
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4. Compose a ten-line free verse poem where you write about your own dreams. Include
imagery and at least one metaphor and one simile.
Lesson Plan for a Narrative
“A Time I Was Treated Unfairly”
Description/Rationale:
When reading a work of fiction like When the Emperor Was Divine, a reader often recalls
incidents in his/her own life where the situation, events, or emotions were similar to those in the
book. This allows the reader to more fully connect with the text to empathize with and
understand the actions and motivations of the characters in the story. In this lesson, to better
connect with the characters in When the Emperor Was Divine students will recall and write
about a time when they were on the receiving end of injustice. It may not be a major systemic
injustice like the effects of Executive Order 9066. It may just be feeling the scorn of the mean
girls in the cafeteria or the casual brutality of jocks in the hallway, but the sting of rejection,
being told we are less than or that we are “the other”, is familiar to us all.
Procedures:
•
The teacher can introduce the concept by telling a story from her own life. As stated above
we all have these stories and sometimes in the telling the emotions conjured can be as fresh
as yesterday. Students often respond well to open sharing of an adult’s formative
experiences.
•
Students can brainstorm individually using the attached organizer to recall injustices from
different sources.
34
•
Group brainstorm: to stimulate more ideas students can share quick summaries or examples
of unfair incidents while the teacher or a student records a descriptive phrase on the
blackboard or the overhead projector.
•
Elements of Fiction: The teacher can introduce or reinforce these elements of fiction that
enliven storytelling.
1. Dialogue: Give the characters in the story unique voices and use dialogue to
move the story along rather than just tell about events.
2. Blocking: Where are the characters and what are they doing while they are
speaking.
3. Interior Monologue: What are the characters thoughts and feelings while the
dialogue and action are happening?
4. Setting Description: Use many 5 sense details to make the place and time
seem real.
5. Character Description: Bodies, faces, clothes, actions, habits, backgrounds
6. Figurative Language-metaphors and similes: These are familiar in poetry but
can also strengthen narrative and essay writing.
7. Flashback: This is not necessary in every piece, but can help give background
on a character.
8. Scene and Summary: Much personal narrative is summary- rendering a quick
sketch of what has happened. However by going back to supply more detail you
can create a scene-trigger that “mental movie’ in the readers head. Show don’t
tell.
•
Guided Visualization: Have students relax with heads down and eyes closed in a quiet
darkened classroom. In a soft voice the teacher invites the students to picture the event in
their mind’s eye, to create movies in their heads. Say things like: “Imagine the room where
this happened. What is the light like? What color are the walls? What do you hear? What
did someone say?” The idea is to bring up as many sights, sounds, smells, and tastes as
possible to give the event vivid detail.
Drafting : Students should come out of the visualization ready to write. Write quickly and
steadily with little attention to spelling and other mechanics at this point. Write as if telling a
story to a friend.
Revision: Students reread the piece to themselves or better yet have another student or
small group read and comment. Use the Elements of Fiction as a guide. What sensory
details or clarifying points can you ADD? Are there irrelevant, off topic, or confusing parts to
CUT? Should you REORDER sections for dramatic effect or clarity? Should you REWRITE
to make a section more clear to the reader or to have a stronger effect?
Editing/Proofreading: Use computer resources, Write Source, and group knowledge to
bring together all matters of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage and
produce a publication ready paper.
•
•
•
Note: This lesson owes a debt to Linda Christensen’s Reading, Writing, and Rising Up,
especially the sections “childhood narrative” and “essay with an attitude”. Use this book as a
resource if available.
35
Brainstorm Sheet for “A Time You Were Treated Unfairly”
When were you hurt, lied to, cheated, dissed, ignored, punished, or mistreated. Think of
and write down memories of times you experienced injustice at the hands of…
Family, parents, siblings
School, teachers, administrators
36
Friends, peers, schoolmates
Government, bureaucracy, “the system”
Life, fate, God
Closing Acts
37
Two-Voice Poems
Refer to pages 105-106 in the Reading and Writing Strategies.
Objective:
The objective is for students to examine point of view and poetry by creating a
two-voice poem based on ideas from the text.
Time: 1-2 class periods.
Activity: Students examine characterization and ideas from the text and compose a two-voice
poem, lines each from the point of view of one of the characters. The characters chosen may
be rounded or significant or flat or insignificant.
Steps:
1. Choose any two characters.
For Example: from pages 120-121 in the text:
Teacher and a Japanese American student
2. Make a list of ideas for each character. You may create the ideas within the context of the
story.
For Example:
Teacher
Class
Place
Seat
Reaction
Cultural differences
Japanese American Student
Glad to be back
seat
place
friends
lessons
3. From the list, elaborate and expand on the words. Think of imaginary dialogue, imagery, and
metaphors.
Teacher
Welcome
Japanese American student
I am so excited to be back
38
We left off on page 150
Take a seat in the back
We eat sandwiches at lunchtime
Has your address changed?
Busy as a bee avoiding
The thorns.
Where are my friends?
I used to sit in the front
I’ll have to tell mother
I love the crunch of pencils
Fragrant bouquet of roses
4. Revise and publish by posting or reading aloud.
How to analyze a literary analysis essay
Analysis is breaking something into parts to understand it better.
Using “A Search for Harmony,” an analysis essay in Write Source (11) on page 279, go over
these questions to begin to discuss the parts of the essay and what is unique about them. After
reading the essay, discuss the following questions with the class while they take notes.
1. What do you notice about the title of the essay?
2. What do you notice about the title of the book as it is mentioned in the essay?
3. What is different about the title of your essay and the title of the book?
4. What are some of the things that are included in the introductory paragraph?
5. The underlined section is the writer’s thesis statement. What is the writer going to be
writing about, according to this statement?
6. Circle the topic sentence in each paragraph. What makes this the topic sentence? Write
down one or two words from that sentence that tells what will be discussed in the
paragraph.
7. Look carefully at the textual evidence. How is it used? Where is it used? What do you
notice about conventions related to using embedded quotes?
39
8. Where does the writer summarize the main action of the book?
9. What words and phrases move the essay forward? What words and phrases make us
know the essay is finished?
Literary Analysis Essay
A culminating activity for When the Emperor Was Divine
Overview: Students will write a literary analysis essay based on the following prompt:
“Choose one of the following themes from the American Experience: the immigrant experience,
race and social justice, or cultural identity in America. Write an analytical essay examining how
that theme is developed through the experiences of one of the primary characters in When the
Emperor was Divine. Refer to the social or historical context of the work, and use specific and
relevant evidence from the text to support your interpretation.”
Materials needed:
When the Emperor was Divine (primary text)
40 essays (for analytical essay information p.122-127)
Write Source Junior level (for information on analyzing a theme p. 275)
Dialogue journals and other preparatory work
Procedure:
• Brainstorm: Characters and themes. Tie a character to something you want to show
about one of the themes
• Develop a thesis statement
• Write topic sentences to go with your thesis
• Gather your information from your dialogue journals and the text to support both your
thesis and your topic sentences
• Review the analysis craft lesson
• Review the essay rubric
• Write your paper
• After writing, reread you paper aloud to yourself and have someone else read it
• Peer review
• Submit final draft (see criteria sheet)
40
Name____________
Literary Analysis Criteria Sheet
In order to receive credit your literary analysis must
include the following essay requirements. Turn this paper
in with your essay.
_____1.
An introduction with a clear thesis.
An introduction that captures the reader’s attention and that includes the author
and title of the book (titles are capitalized and underlined or italicized), as well as
a thesis statement.
Question
Anecdote
Quote
Shocking Statement/Wake-up Call
_____2.
Evidence & Analysis
Include at least three paragraphs of evidence and analysis.
Include:
Topic sentences for each paragraph
Transition Sentences
Evidence to support your thesis (properly formatted and cited)
Quotes
Embedded Quotes
Paraphrased Evidence
Analysis discussing your evidence. Discuss why it’s important, what it
says about the character, theme or other points you are making. Your
analysis should discuss how your evidence supports your thesis.
_____3.
Conclusion
Write a closing paragraph that re-emphasizes your thesis, wraps up your ideas
and goes a step further—leaving the reader with something to think about—
41
possibly posing further questions, linking the paper to broader issues, or making
a call to action.
_____4.
Revision
Use peer review with attention to adding more relevant evidence, omitting
irrelevant information, reordering for clarity, and rewriting for sentence structure.
_____5.
Publication Ready
Polish your final draft—demonstrating revision changes, tight writing, correct
grammar, punctuation, spelling, proper formatting and citations.
Persuasive Essay On Reparations
This essay takes a good deal of groundwork ahead of time. The issue of reparations brings out
passionate responses similar to a debate on affirmative action; indeed, there is a fair amount of
overlap to the two issues. Teachers undertaking this assignment should carefully monitor their
students to decide how and when to intervene should the debate start to fall into a shouting
match rather than a respectful meeting of minds.
There are two main areas to the debate on reparations: whether the U.S. should have given
reparations to Japanese-Americans, and whether the U.S. should give reparations to African
Americans. Here are some books and internet resources on reparations:
Boris I. Bittker’s Reparations: The Case for Black Reparations
Roy Brooks' Atonement and Forgiveness
brownwatch.squarespace.com/reparations-watch/2004/04/16/ogletree-says-slavereparations-go-beyond-money-movement-is-about-recognition.html
Joe Feagin’s Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations
Robert Fullinwider’s “The Case for Reparations” found on-line at
www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Summer00/case_for_reparations.htm
David Horowitz’s Uncivil Wars: The Controversy Over Reparations for Slavery
NPR: Slave Reparations (NPR takes a closer look at the slavery
reparations movement as part of its special report on the United Nations World
Conference Against Racism.)
www.npr.org/programs/specials/ racism/010827.reparations.html
PRRAC - Symposium: Reparations found at
www.prrac.org/full_text.php?%20text_id=648&item_id=6622&newsletter_id=17&header=S
ymposium:%20Reparations
Randall Robinson’s The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks
Slavery Reparations Information Center provided by Project 21 – the
black conservative network.
www.nationalcenter.org/Reparations.html
John David Smith’s “The Evil That Americans Did”. Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/9/2007,
Vol. 53 Issue 27, pB9-B9 found in
hnn.us/roundup/entries/36192.html
SPECIAL REPORT: "Reparations for Slavery" Debate
In recent times, the issue of reparations for slavery, long on the fringe of political thought,
has come increasingly to dominate mainstream discussions ...
42
www.cceia.org/resources/picks/175.html
spice.stanford.edu/catalog/civil_rights_and_japaneseamerican_internment/
Raymond Winbush’s Should America Pay?: Slavery and the Raging Debate on
Reparations
Armstrong Williams on Townhall.com
www.townhall.com/columnists/ArmstrongWilliams/2002/05/13/a_debate_on_reparations
Eric Yamamoto’s Interracial Justice: Conflict and Reconciliation in Post-Civil Rights America
Look over the above sources and select some balanced readings for your students.
Step One
Read Cleveland H.S. teacher Jim Mayer’s article in the March 2007 English
Journal titled “Persuasive Writing and the Student-Run Symposium.” Following that model you
must first select two co-facilitators. These students should be reliable people who can withhold
their opinions and who genuinely want to lead the discussion. They should initiate discussion
when necessary, ask questions, keep track of time, maintain order, and make sure that
everyone speaks. If possible, meet with the co-facilitators ahead of time to make sure they are
ready for the upcoming discussion.
All participants must read materials on reparations before the discussion. To insure that
students actually do this, require students to bring their notes on the reading to class. They
should add the following: a paragraph each about what they think are the best arguments for
and against reparations. AP Language students should also examine the rhetorical strategies in
these two arguments.
Step Two
The co-facilitators instruct students to take notes and then conduct the
discussion. It may help to physically have pro and con students move to separate sides of the
room with undecideds in the middle or follow Jim Mayer’s open rectangle configuration.
Students are free to move if they change their opinions. End the discussion with the opposing
sides summing up their views. Ask students to add an evaluation of the discussion at the end of
their notes
Step Three
Assign students to write a persuasive essay on reparations. Length of the essay
and the writing process will vary depending on the class.
43
Writing a Letter for Civil Liberties Action
The key step in writing this kind of letter is picking a cause you’re passionate about.
While looking over the Amnesty International and American Civil Liberties sites below you will
see many different cases of civil liberties abuses. Your compassion for people who have lost
their civil liberties will have more clout if you choose wisely.
Feel free to send e-mails on behalf of people who need your support, but for this
assignment you need to write a physical letter. Be sure to address the person you are writing
with a respectful and appropriate honorific. The groups listed below will guide you in this
choice. Amnesty International usually gives you a model letter to follow as an example. It’s
generally best to put your righteous indignation aside and write in a tactful manner. That
doesn’t mean that you should tone down your concern for the person on whose behalf you’re
writing. It simply means that you should write so that your reader will be moved to act in a
helpful way rather than causing him/her to become defensive. In most letters you should ask
your reader to investigate a human rights abuse and consider doing what he/she can to bring
justice to the case. One of the main values to your letter is that the reader begins to realize that
the eyes of the world are on him/her and that his/her actions regarding human rights abuses can
be hidden no longer. This is a powerful tool for change.
Taking action with Amnesty International is one of the best ways to lobby for the protection of
civil liberties. You do not have to be a member to participate in their efforts to restore rights to
people who are denied them. Follow these directions:
1. Go to amnestyusa.org and scroll down from “What you can do”.
2. Click on “Take action online”
3. From there you can select any human rights campaign that strikes you. On the day
these instructions were written one of the campaigns was titled “Take Action to Restore
Habeas Corpus, Protect People from Abuse and Arbitrary Detention”—very pertinent to
this book.
Another group which serves to protect civil liberties is aptly named the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU).
1. Go to aclu.org and click on “Action Center”
2. From there you can help with any campaign that kindles your interest. On the day these
instructions were written there was a campaign to eliminate the national ID provision in
proposed immigration legislation and another campaign regarding detention in
Guantanamo Bay prison.
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Resources
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Resources
The Asian Reporter Newspaper --- 922 N. Killingsworth St. #1-A, Portland, Oregon 97217-2220
Phone: 503-283-4440 * Fax: 503-283-4445
www.asianreporter.com/
Friends of Minidoka homepage: www.minidoka.org Look for details about the yearly civil
liberties symposium and pilgrimage commemoration at this site.
Japan-America Society of Oregon - Home
312 NW Second Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97209 Phone: 503.552.8811 Fax: 503.552.8815
email: [email protected] © 2001 Japan-America Society of Oregon Privacy.
www.jaso.org/
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center :: Japanese American History :: Home
Portland, Oregon museum and cultural center. Includes on-site exhibits about nikkei history, inschool programs, lectures, and exhibits.
www.oregonnikkei.org/
Portland Chapter Japanese American Citizens League
Portland, Oregon chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.
www.pdxjacl.org/
Yuuyake Shimbun newspaper (local newspaper serving the Japanese-American community).
Good source for upcoming events.
Films:
Snow Falling on Cedars
Farewell to Manzanar
Come See the Paradise
Beyond Barbwire
Unfinished Business
Children of the Camps-PBS documentary
Rabbit in the Moon-Emiko and Chizu Omori
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Field Trip for When the Emperor Was Divine
Contact: Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center
117 NW 2nd Ave. Portland
503-224-1428
Destinations:
Japanese/American internment/ Bill of Rights memorial
SW/NW Naito Parkway near the Burnside Bridge (the street is named after businessman and
civic leader Bill Naito who was interned at Minidoka)
Observe the stones with the Bill of Rights, names of the camps, poetry, and recollections of
internees. Come in late March to see the flowering cherry trees in full blossom.
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center
Exhibits of Japanese experience in Oregon and the internment
Nihonnmachi
The Nikkei Center offers tours of the Old Town area that was “Japantown” before WW II.
Expo Center
The Expo Center was formerly the Livestock Exposition Center and stockyard. Portland area
Japanese Americans were held here in a Temporary Relocation Center at this site. There are
markers and interpretive materials inside the Expo Center and at the Expo Center MAX stop
(Yellow Line).
Transportation:
The downtown sites are 2 blocks or less from the Chinatown/Old Town MAX stop.
The Expo Center is at the end of the Yellow MAX line.
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