During this WebQuest, you will explore how racism and fear of war can lead to social injustice. You will evaluate the events that led up to the internment of Japanese-Americans in camps during World War II. In addition, you will learn information regarding the living circumstances of families who were sent to these internment camps.

Shanda A. César

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School

5^th Grade

scesar@uticaschools.org

Introduction

The year is 1942, and your best friend, and his or her family have just been sent to an internment camp in Arizona called the Gila River War Relocation Center. You have both promised to keep in tough with each other. You are determined to remain friends!

Take the time to research the living conditions of your best friend within the internment camp. In addition, learn about the laws and events that led to the relocation of Japanese-Americans. What can you do to make sure that this period in history never occurs again?

Essential Vocabulary

1. World War II: This war lasted from 1939 to 1945. It is known as the Second World War, and it involved a conflict between the Allies and the Axis Powers.

2. Allied Powers: This alliance included the following nations: France, England, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the British Empire, and the United States.

3. Axis Powers: This alliance included the following nations: Germany, Japan, and Italy.

4. Internment Camp: The act of putting people in a prison or a confined situation without a trial or conviction. Think About: Do you think this is fair?

5. Executive Order: An order that is issued by the President.

6. Social Injustice: This term refers to the unfairness of an action against a certain group of people.

Task

There are 5 sections to your task. You may work ahead if you wish, but each section is separated by Days. First, you will learn how to use the American History Public Policy Analyst (AHPPA). Read each section carefully before you complete the assignment! Good luck on your journey! Keep an open mind and try to imagine how your best friend feels living in the Gila River War Relocation Center. Your specific Tasks include using the AHPPA steps and resource links below to:

1. Writing a one-page summary of the living conditions in the internment camps (use Rubric below).

2. Writing a one-page summary in your own words of Executive Order 9066.

3. Writing a one-page letter using the rubric below.

4. Creating a flyer using the rubric below.

Process

You will be working in groups of 3 throughout this webquest. Your teacher will assign you to these groups.

Day 1-Go to the AHPPA Steps 1 and 2 and complete worksheets 1 and 2 (The Introduction and links below will help you with the worksheets). Research the living conditions in one of the Japanese Internment Camps using the 2 of the following resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_River_War_Relocation_Center

http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/camps.html

http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/health.html

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki-Book Review

Dear Miss Breed by Joanne Oppenheim

Write a summary, by opening a Microsoft word document, describing what is was like to live in a Japanese Internment Camps. Be sure to answer the following questions:

-Where did people sleep?

-What did they eat?

-Did they have any rights?

-What belongings, if any, were they allowed to bring with them from home?

Check the evaluation section to view the rubric for this assignment.

Day 2-Explore Executive Order 9066 using this link: http://www.historyonthenet.com/Lessons/worksheets/ww2/Japan_Internment_US.doc. Afterwards, test your knowledge of what you have read by taking a quiz. Click on the following link to take the quiz: http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/japaninternmentcampquickquiz.htm

Day 3-Write a friendly letter to your best friend, who is in the internment camp, responding to the events that he or she has described to you in a previous letter. Make sure to include a discussion of the following topics in your letter:

Ø What you think were the causes of the internment of Japanese-Americans? (first, complete worksheet 3)

Ø The conditions in the internment camps.

Ø How you, as an American citizen, feel about Executive Order 9066? (first, do Step 4) Talk about other injustices that may be similar today. Think about the fear that some people have about immigrants from Mexico.

Check the evaluation section to view the rubric for this assignment.

Ø Type your letter in Microsoft Word and use the format of a friendly letter found at the website below:

http://www.letterwritingguide.com/friendlyletterformat.htm

Day 4- Now, it is time to galvanize (take action) change. Create a flyer that lists the reasons why Japanese Internment Camps are unfair and go against basic human rights. You may use any of the above resources to create this flyer. In addition, you must use graphics or pictures to drive your message home. Check the evaluation section to view the rubric for this assignment.

Resources

v http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_River_War_Relocation_Center

v http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/camps.html

v http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/health.html

v Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

v Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki-Book Review-insert here

v http://www.historyonthenet.com/Lessons/worksheets/ww2/Japan_Internment_US.doc

v http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/japaninternmentcampquickquiz.htm

Dear Miss Breed by Joanne Oppenheim

Evaluation

Day 1-Rubric for your Summary

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Grammar & Spelling (Conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Sentence Structure (Sentence Fluency)	All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.	Most sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.	Most sentences are well-constructed but have a similar structure.	Sentences lack structure and appear incomplete or rambling.
Support for Topic (Content)	Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable.	Supporting details and information are relevant, but one key issue or portion of the storyline is unsupported.	Supporting details and information are relevant, but several key issues or portions of the storyline are unsupported.	Supporting details and information are typically unclear or not related to the topic.
Capitalization & Punctuation (Conventions)	Writer makes no errors in capitalization or punctuation, so the paper is exceptionally easy to read.	Writer makes 1 or 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation, but the paper is still easy to read.	Writer makes a few errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and interrupt the flow.	Writer makes several errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and greatly interrupt the flow.

Day 3-Friendly Letter

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Grammar & spelling (conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.
Salutation and Closing	Salutation and closing have no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and closing have 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and closing have 3 or more errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and/or closing are missing.
Ideas	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.	The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
Capitalization and Punctuation	Writer makes no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.
Neatness	Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride.	Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.	Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.	Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.
Content Accuracy	The letter contains at least 4 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains 2-3 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains 1 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains no accurate facts about the topic.

Day 4-Flyer

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Writing - Grammar	There are no grammatical mistakes in the brochure.	There is 1 grammatical mistakes in the brochure.	There are 2-3 grammatical mistakes in the brochure.	There are 4 or more grammatical mistakes in the brochure.
Spelling & Proofreading	No spelling errors.	1 spelling error	2-3 spelling errors	4 or more spelling errors.
Attractiveness & Organization	The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has well-organized information.	The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.
Graphics/Pictures	Graphics go extremely well with the text and there are no more than 5 graphics.	Graphics go well with the text and there are no more than 5 graphics.	Graphics go fairly well with the text, and there are 6-7 graphics.	Graphics do not go with the accompanying text and there are 8 or more graphics.
Sources	2 sources cited correctly	1 source cited correctly	2 sources cited but not correctly	1 source cited but not correctly

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have just completed the task for this WebQuest. We can print out your artifacts so you can share them with your family at home. Remember, that you are the key to social change. It is the role of the citizen to fight against social injustice. You have done a fantastic job!!!

New York State Standards

Social Studies-1-History of the United States of America

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Social Studies-5-Civics, Citizenship and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

ELA-Standard 1

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

ELA-Standard 2

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Students will read and listen to oral, written and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.

ELA-Standard 3

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues. 

ELA-Standard 4

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
Students will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.