​rethink.

 

Lesson Overview:

 

Summary:

 

In this lesson, students will learn about the living conditions in the internment camps. A read-aloud of A Place Where Sunflowers Grow will provide children with a child’s perspective on life in the Japanese internment camps. The child, Mari, adjusts to life in the internment camps by using art as an outlet to express her fear, sadness, frustration, and confusion. A class discussion will encourage students to consider how art provided children in internment camps with hope and solace. The discussion will focus on the thoughts, feelings, and questions that Mari expressed through her artwork. Students will pretend to be a child in an internment camp and will create pieces of art that represent their thoughts and emotions. The artwork will incorporate various materials such as watercolor paints, crayons, and colored pencils, reflecting the artwork that the children in the internment camps created. Students will share their pieces of art with the class, describing how the pieces represent the feelings of the children they pretended to be.

 

Learning Objectives:

 

Students will:

 

• Gain an understanding of what life was like in the Japanese internment camps

• Take on the perspective of a child in an internment camp

• Create a piece of art that embodies the feelings and thoughts of a child in an internment camp

• Share the piece of art with the class and explain how the artwork reflects the perspective of a child in an internment camp

 

 

Teaching Methods:

 

• Read-aloud of A Place Where Sunflowers Grow

• Class discussion about the living conditions in internment camps

• Class discussion about how art offered Mari moments of peace, enjoyment, and self-expression

• Art project: creating a piece of art the reflects the thoughts and feelings of a child in an internment camp

• Sharing/Reflection

 

Assessment Type:

 

• Informal Assessment (based on quality of art projects and students’ reflections)

 

 

Preparation:

 

Materials:

 

• A Place Where Sunflowers Grow

• 11” x 17” paper

• Watercolor paints

• Crayons

• Colored pencils

 

Prior Knowledge:

 

• General knowledge of the existence of Japanese internment camps (Lesson 1)

 

 

Instruction:

 

Engage

 

1. Read-aloud of A Place Where Sunflowers GrowTell students that you are going to read a book about what it was like to live in the Japanese internment camps. Before reading, ask questions about the cover of the book, such as “Looking at the cover of this book, what do you think living in an internment camp is like?”, “How do you think the little girl on the cover feels?”, and “What do you think about the background of the cover?” This will instill a sense of curiosity in students, as it will get children thinking about the content they will learn during the read-aloud of A Place Where Sunflowers Grow. After students share their thoughts and predictions, read the book to the class.

 

Build Knowledge

 

1. Discussing what life was like in the internment campsAfter reading A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, prompt discussion about how the book portrays the living conditions of the internment camps. Ask students questions such as “What does an internment camp look like?”, “What does an internment camp sound like?” and “What was it like to live in an internment camp?” to help students build an understanding of what daily life was like in the internment camps for the Japanese Americans. Since the book is rich with sensory imagery, students will draw from the details in the book to construct their answers. Guide children into talking about the watchtowers, military police, mess hall, rations of food, latrines, barracks, and the art school.

 

1. Lead discussion on Mari’s thoughts and feelingsAsk students to describe how Mari felt about living in the internment camp. Ask questions such as “What emotions did Mari show in the book?” and “Why did she feel this way?” Guide the students into a discussion about how Mari expressed her thoughts and feelings in her artwork. Ask the class, “How did art school affect Mari’s thoughts and emotions?” and “How did Mari express her feelings in her drawings?” Ask children to provide examples of pieces of art that reflected Mari’s thoughts. If students need help recalling examples, show them the illustrations of Mari’s drawings of her backyard at her old house and her family’s new home in the barracks. Ask students what these drawings tell us about how Mari was feeling. Guide the class into discussion about the importance of art in the internment camps. Ask children, “What was the purpose of art for the Japanese Americans in the internment camps?”

 

Apply

 

1. Introduce the art projectExplain to the students that they will be taking on the perspective of a child in a Japanese internment camp. Tell students that they will be creating a piece of art that reflects the thoughts and feelings of this child. Encourage the children to pretend to be this child while they complete their projects.  Tell children to use their creativity to express these thoughts and feelings. Children can use shapes, symbols, colors, words, and anything they feel will effectively portray their thoughts and opinions. Explain that each student will be asked to describe the child his or her art project is based on and share how his or her art project represents the thoughts and feelings of this child.

2. Distribute materials and begin the projectHand out the 11” x 17” paper, watercolor paints, colored pencils, and crayons. Students will use these materials to create their pieces of art with a child’s perspective in mind. As children are working, walk around the room and help children as needed. If students need help coming up with ideas or adopting the viewpoint of a child in an internment camp, ask the students questions to guide them. Ask questions such as, “How old are you?”, “Do you have any siblings?”, “What does the internment camp look like?”, and “What do you do in the internment camp?” Gradually move children toward answering questions about their thoughts and feelings regarding life in an internment camp.

 

Reflect

 

• As students complete their art projects, remind them to think about how they will explain their art projects to the class. Once all of the students have completed their artwork, tell students that they will share their artwork and describe how their artwork reflects the perspective of a child in an internment camp. Each student should tell the class about the child they based their artwork on and explain how they represented this child’s thoughts and feelings in their project. Have students share one at a time.

 

Assess

 

• Children will be assessed on the thoughtfulness and creativity of their art projects. The teacher will base the assessment on the effort the child puts into the art project and the child’s explanation of his or her artwork.

 

 

Standards:

 

9.1.3.E: Demonstrate the ability to define objects, express emotions, illustrate an action or relate an experience through creation of works in the arts.

 

9.2.3.E: Analyze how historical events and culture impact forms, techniques and purposes of works in the arts

 

9.4.3.D: Recognize that choices made by artists regarding subject matter and themes communicate ideas through works in the arts and humanities

 

R3.A.1.3.1: Make inferences and/or draw conclusions based on information from the text.