Route 66 and the Japanese American Experience during World War II

Overview: For many, Route 66 represented the freedom of movement. Some drove along the highway searching for a better life out west. Others traveled looking for adventure or to explore the small towns along the route. During World War Two, the highway transported soldiers, weapons, and supplies, but it was also used to forcibly transport civilians away from their homes in the Western states. In 1943, the United States began a policy of forced evacuation and incarceration of Japanese Americans. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children were displaced and sent to camps, some of which were along Route 66. In this lesson plan, students will examine primary sources, listen to oral histories, and watch personal stories of Japanese families affected by the policy of Japanese incarceration during World War Two. There are also two assessment options with rubrics; an art project and an academic writing assignment.. Grades 9-12.

All materials available in Google Drive and PDF formats.

Materials

  • Presentation for Lesson Plan

  • Primary Source Analysis Activity

  • Secondary Source Reading: Japanese Incarceration on Route 66

  • Jigsaw Group Activity: Perspectives in Print 

  • Videos: Personal Narratives of Incarceration

  • Group Work: Propaganda vs. Reality

  • Assessments: Art as Resistance and an Analytical Essay


    Alignment with Standards

    ELA Common Core Standards: 

    • SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

    • SL.9-10.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

    • SL.9-10.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

    • SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

    • W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

    • W.9-10..5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

    • L.9-10.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. 

    • 9-10.L.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. 

    • 9-10.RH.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

    • 9-10.RH.2: Determine the central ideas or key  information in a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

    • 9-10.RH.9: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

    C3 Framework for Social Studies: 

    • D2.His.3.9-12: Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context. 

    • D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

    • D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

    • D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.