Module 3 Lesson 3 | Comparative Analysis Learning Stations Assignment

Japanese Internment Camps Learning Stations Activity

Instructions:
1.​ Explore each station by accessing the Module 3 Lesson 3 | Learning Station Activity.
2.​ For each station, watch videos or read texts and respond to the corresponding questions.
3.​ Once all stations are completed, answer the analysis questions to showcase your understanding of
comparing and contrasting the internment experiences of Japanese Americans on the West Coast and
in Hawaiʻi.

Station 1: Background
Watch the introductory videos and record your responses of what you know, wonder, and learn.

Question Response

Know: What do you know about Japanese -​ The camps were not comfortable
Internments Camps? List at least 3 things (lifestyle, -​ There was a camp in California called
you want to know. Manzanar
-​ The camps enforced after the bombing of
Pearl harbor
-​ Put into action by Executive Order 9066

Wonder: What do you wonder or want to know about -​ I would like to know where the biggest camp
Japanese Internments Camps? was.
-​ How did they take showers?
-​ Were they even allowed to take showers?

Learn: What did you learn about Japanese -​ There were too many Japanese people living
Internments Camps near military places, so they required all
Japanese within coastal areas to move
-​ I learned that internment camps weren’t the
1st and only step. I learned that it was only
the Japanese living near aircraft and the
coast. These people were taken to racetracks
and fairgrounds where the military provided
them with housing and lots of nourishing food
for all.
-​ Church services were held there, and they
issued their own newspaper and organized
schooling for their children.
-​ After being in the temporary racetrack sites,
they were transported to new camps where
they could work and have more space to live.
-​ They even had physicians to help prevent
epidemics.
-​ They were controlled by the army, but inside
the community, the Japanese were the ones
making the day-to-day decisions.
-​ Many who lived away from coastal areas
were allowed to work for places where help
was badly needed.
 -​ 10 permanent camps housed 120,000
JApanese Americans.
-​ ⅔ of these people were American-born
citizens
-​ The internment camps were located in the
desert in isolation with difficult living
conditions.
-​ 33,000 Japanese Americans served the US
during WW2/

Station 2: First Person Interviewere

Watch the first person interviews and record your responses to the questions.

Question Response

What can you learn about what internment was like I learned that it was a tragic period of time. Bob
for these people and their families? Fuchogami said that his camp was the smallest, with
7,500 people living there. They weren’t informed
where they were going and how long they were
going to be gone. In the camp, they had to do the
pledge of allegiance.

There were many sand storms, and sand would get

everywhere in the living quarters. People who didn’t
swear allegiance to the military were called potential
enemies and were jailed on the grounds. IF people
got too close to the fence and looked suspicious,
they were shot.

How did it affect their lives? Bob Fuchigami stated in the video that they lost their
freedom and gave up on America. Hiroshi Kashiwagi
said the same as well; they had been mistreated,
and it did not align with the constitution.

What is the legacy of internment for them and the Bob Fuchiyami said that 000 was important because
nation, today? it was a part of their history. They have to remember
that what happened to them could happen again to
anyone, and they have to be vigilant and protest for
what is right.

Station 3: Personal Histories

Choose 2-3 personal stories. Record your observations about living conditions, cultural impact & community
resilience, legal & political context, and personal stories & individual experiences.

Personal History of __(Name)__ Observations

Person #1:

Person #2:

Person #3:
 Station 4: Photographs
Choose THREE photos to analyze using I see, I think, and I wonder.

I see
●​ Analyze the image, what do you see? Photo #1:
Image 1: I see cute innocent children pledging
allegiance to America. Some of them look really
happy while others look quite sad.

Image 2: In this photo, I see a cute little girl with

packed-up belongings.

Image 3: In this picture, I see young girls walking in a

desert with books in their hands. They look quite
happy.

Photo #2:

Photo #3:
 I think Photo #1:
●​ What do you think this image is about? What
is significant? What does it mean?
Image 1: From reading the caption, this is an Image
of young children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I
think that this photo tells us the story of how these
kids had to behave. It is telling us as the viewer that
kids may go through hardships but still find joy in life.

Photo #2:
Image 2: Without reading the caption, I think this is a
photo of a Young Japanese girl who doesn’t know
what to expect. She kind of looks concerned. I think
the story this photograph was trying to tell was the
uncertainty of packing up and leaving your home with
your young family.

Photo #3:
Image 3: I think this is a photo of young high-school
aged girls coming home from schooling in the
camps. I think the photographer is trying to tell the
viewer that the Japanese were able to find joy in life
even though they had to go through major changes.
I wonder Photo #1:
●​ What additional information would you like to
know about this image?
Image 1: I would like to know what these children
were thinking when they recited the Pledge of
Allegiance. Were they thinking about how they were
not getting “ liberty and justice for all”? Were they old
enough to understand what was going on and how
these camps were violating the words they spoke out
loud?

Image 2: I would like to know how old this girl is and Photo #2:
what her thoughts were when she saw all her family’s
belongings packed up. What was she thinking? Was
she scared?

Image 3: I would like to know how these girls felt

about going to school in the camp. Were they
learning a lot? How did they get their textbooks and Photo #3:
school supplies?
 Station 5: Interactive Online Exhibit
Explore the online exhibit and respond to the questions to demonstrate your understanding.

Question Response

What objects, photographs, videos, labels, or other -​ I got to see what their living quarters were like
materials are in the Amache: Japanese Internment in in Amache. It was different than I imagined. I
Colorado Online Exhibit? List what you observe. thought they would be sleeping on
mattresses on the floor, but their conditions
were better than I thought they would be.
They still had to live in super small, tight
spaces.
-​ I learned that they had to eat in the crowded
dining halls.

What details contribute to your understanding of their -​ The virtual simulation of the interns’ living
experiences based on what you observed? space really helped me understand what the
Japanese had to go through. I learned a lot
from the photos and videos in that section of
the online exhibit.

What information does the exhibit provide about the They relocated the Japanese to Amache because of
reasons for the internment of Japanese Americans at order 9066. I found this information on the “Japanese
Amache? Internment” tab and clicked on the photo of the store,
which took me to a pamphlet.​
Additionally, how does it explore the impact of
internment on both individuals and the wider On the last tab, I found that after the war ended,
community during this historical period? there was a Japanese American girl tha even though
they went to school behind barbed wire, she still
found hope in American values.as for the impact on
the community, I found that the camps impacted their
accessibility to freedom, income, and property.

Analysis Questions
Answer the analysis questions to demonstrate your understanding of comparing and contrasting the
internment of Japanese Americans on the West Coast with those in Hawaiʻi.

In both places, the Japanese faced discrimination

and prejudice due to their heritage. The Japanese
living in the West Coast lost property and rights, and
What similarities are evident in the West Coast and
so did some of the Japanese in Hawaii. Lastly,
Hawaiʻi experiences?
another similarity I found was that the Japanese on
the West Coast and those living in Hawaii both
demonstrated resilience in their times of hardship.

The internment camps in Hawaii were different

because of the cultural and economic context. In
Hawaii, the caps were selective, meaning they
How do the cultural differences in Hawaiʻi impact the
focused on community rather than big relocation.
internment experience?
The camps in Hawaii were selective because the
Japanese played a huge economic role in Hawaii’s
culture. If all the Japanese in Hawaii were
 encamped, then Hawaii’s economy would crash, and
the US and Hawaii didn't want that to happen.

One unique legal challenge in Hawaii was that

Hawaii was under martial law, which allowed the
Japanese in Hawaii to have a different enterment life
Were there legal challenges unique to either region? than the laws required on the mainland. A legal
challenge unique to the camps on the mainland was
that the camps were a violation of their constitutional
rights, as stated in the 14th amendment,

Some individuals on the West Coast responded by

protesting and arguing that it was unjust and based
on racial prejudice. Some tried to make the best out
of what they were given, and some volunteered to
serve in the US military. At the same time, others
remained silent and endured the hardships of the
camps.
How did individuals on the West Coast and in Hawaiʻi
respond to internment?
In Hawaii, things were very similar. Some responded
with protest as well, while some decided to serve in
the military. There were also those who looked for
legal resources to challenge the internment, and
there were those who endured the camps and
preserved their cultural practices amid their
hardships.

The viewpoints of the Japanese in both Hawaii and

on the West Coast differed because of what the
individuals valued. Depending on who they were as a
person, they chose to act differently/. Some people
are brave and bold, and others are quiet but strong.
Explain why the viewpoints differ In situations like this, you can choose to fight for
what is right or accept the circumstances you face.
And that is what is shown when studying this topic.
Everyone was resilient in this tragic period, and it is
an honor to see that some tried to protest for their
rights.