Cultural Standard B: “A culturally-responsive curriculum recognizes cultural knowledge as part of a living and constantly adapting system that is grounded in the past, but continues to grow through the present and into the future.”
My lesson plan contains, but is not limited to, subsection 2 underneath standard B. The number is requiring that students understand cultural systems as they are molded by external forces that are out of their control.
Through my lesson plan about internment camps of the Aleut and Japanese-Americans during WWII, there is mention of trans-generational trauma. The impact of outside forces not only affect the people going through the forced circumstances, but it inflicts trauma on future generations. The trauma, shock, and relocation all impact the culture.
The goal of this lesson is to show a cause and effect of the Aleut and Japanese-American culture. By showing the before and during camp photos and stories, students will identify and recognize the outside influences on the culture. By showing the after photos and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, students will be able to link the cause to the affect and can form theories about the possible impacts.
Standard D also ties in with expanding knowledge through concepts the students already encountered. Fort Richardson is a well known facility in anchorage, so if students already know the structure or location, adding to the fact that it was partially an internment camp will help the student retain the knowledge. Beyond that, it is common knowledge at a certain age that Jewish persons were persecuted by Germans during WWII. Most people know about the concentration and internment camps in Germany and surrounding areas. By taking that information and dates, just apply similar scenarios to the Japanese-Americans during the execution of Order 9066 or the Aleut into southeast Alaska. The circumstances and reasons were different, but the idea of trauma can engage the knowledge about all cultures that endured camps.
I like that you provided multiple opportunities for students to evidence their knowledge, even acknowledging that tests are a strength and a preferred option for some students.
Your directions are clear and I feel that you’ve “bitten-off” an appropriately manageable amount of content for each class! HERE HERE!
Hey! Great lesson. Mine was focused on WWII as well and I would LOVE in a larger unit to incorporate what you have here. So important. I would do your lesson next (or before) in a WWII unit. 🙂 I like how well organized and readable your lesson plan template was. It is much more clear than mine! I also like how many different types of mini lessons you have within the plan.
I also really like that you include the Japanese camps within this unit. I think many teachers in South-central- including the Japanese Immersion School- would be interested in any information you have. This was something I new nothing about -or was taught about- growing up in Anchorage.
I would write more, but I had to close out your PDF to write this comment– and am afraid of clicking on it again and losing all that I have written. So for now, GREAT job!
I love the period of history you choose to focus and how you choose ask the students to focus on their perspective of a time span. I recently thought about how my perspective of time has changed as I’ve gotten older partially as my duration on earth as altered the ratio of time from historic events in the last century. More time as elapsed since I was born than time that transpired between a moment in history and my birth. It’s a little convoluted self centered thought process in my example, but it draws my understanding of history closer to my experience and it begins to feel much more tangible. Anyway I could keep rambling on, but thanks for getting me thinking about these things.
So, I was wondering (showing my non-Alaskan ignorance one more time), were the Aleuts who were interred suspected of being pro-Japanese? I had been thinking of that during Michelle’s presentation, but never really was able to ask.
no, they were relocated to avoid casualties. The problem was, the United States didn’t put as much money as they should’ve into the relocation camps. Natives of Alaska were treated as less then human, even after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights came out. It wasn’t until the Anti-Descrimination laws of, I believe, around the 1980’s.