Before Touring

Before touring the exhibition, here are steps to prepare yourself and your class.

Step 1: Preview the Exhibition’s Content

We created the AIAA Content Preview for Educators to give you an overview of the content included in the exhibition. If you want to explore the content in more detail, we recommend going through the digital version, which follows the six sections of the exhibition: Introduction, Immigration & Citizenship, Othering, Loyalty & Resistance, Resilience & Solidarity, and the Conclusion.

Step 2: Reflect on Your Relationship to This History

• What do you know about the Japanese American incarceration during WWII?
  It may be helpful to refresh your knowledge and understanding of the history of the WWII Japanese American Incarceration to guide your students better and answer their questions before, during, and after their experience of the “AM I AN AMERICAN OR AM I NOT?” exhibition.  Densho’s “Introduction to WWII Incarceration” page offers videos and essays you can review.  
• How and when did you learn about it? 
  In recent decades, the terminology used to discuss this history has changed.  Led by members of the Japanese American community and historians, there has been a movement to replace euphemisms designed to obfuscate the reality of what happened with more precise terms designed to provide clarity.  (For instance, the term incarceration is now recommended instead of internment.)  Review the Japanese American Citizens’ League’s Power of Words Handbook to learn more about the recommended terminology.
• How are you connected to the historical moments captured in the exhibition?
  When teaching about painful moments from our past, it is highly recommended that teachers identify their relationships to the moments in history they explore with their students. Whether the histories of Japanese American Incarceration and other events included in the exhibition feel close or distant to you, surfacing those relationships can help frame your teaching plan and respond effectively to the range of reactions your students may have.

Step 3: Consider Your Students

• What do your students already know about the WWII Japanese American Incarceration?
What is their relationship to historical and contemporary events included in the exhibition?
  Depending on your students' prior learning and course of study they may already know a lot, very little, or nothing at all about the history explored in the exhibition. Consider taking a few moments to review the Content Preview for Educators to get a sense of the range of the exhibition’s themes and topics.   Note what may feel familiar to your students and what may be surprising. Also note any topics or themes that you can connect to other learning experiences your students have had, as well as those for which your students might need additional context and support to learn about.
• What experiences and knowledge do your students bring with them as they engage with this history?  
  Some aspects of the WWII Japanese American Incarceration history may feel personal and emotional to students, depending on their lived experience. The exhibition also draws parallels between this history and other historical and contemporary events and poses provocative questions that may affect students strongly. In addition to reviewing the Content Preview for Educators, we expect that you will adapt the resources in this guide to support your students’ intellectual and emotional needs.

Step 4: Engage Your Students

Choose from one or more of the activities outlined below to use with your students before touring the exhibition (in-person or online).

• Classroom Activity 1: Activating Prior Knowledge and Building Context 
  (grades 7-12 with adaptations for grades 4-6)
  Learn what your students already know about the topic and their connections and associations with this history regardless of their knowledge.
• Classroom Activity 2: Close Viewing to Introduce the Exhibition 
  (grades 4-12)
  Introduce students to the theme of belonging and exclusion in the United States through a guided analysis of a photograph by Dorthea Lange.
• Classroom Activity 3: Annotate the Exhibition Outline 
  (grades 9-12)
  Give students an overview of the historical content and themes explored in “AM I AN AMERICAN OR AM I NOT?” and a chance to anticipate how the exhibition may inspire feelings of empathy and engage their thinking about fairness and justice. 
• Classroom Activity 4: Exploring Universal Themes 
  (grades 9-12 with adaptations for grades 4-8)
  Allow students to discuss their first thoughts about the universal themes in history, civics, and human relationships explored in the exhibition. 
• Classroom Activity 5: Euphemisms and the Power of Language 
  (grades 9-12 with adaptations for grades 4-8)
  Explore how the language government officials and historians used in the past obscured the realities of U.S. government actions and Japanese American experiences during the period of incarceration.