Investigating Japanese American Internment

Students often reach middle, or even high school without having much, or any knowledge of the Japanese Internment camps. In my personal teaching experience my 8th grade Language Arts class is often the first exposure students have to these historical events. When teaching Japanese internment I often connect it to our unit on literature dealing with World War II. Although I teach Language Arts, not Social Studies, this literature unit requires quite a bit of historical context in order for the students to connect with the pieces of literature. In the past, my students have made comparisons to concentration camps in Europe, to Japanese internment camps across the United States. While such connections can be useful, I have found that this leads to the minimizing of the Japanese American experience. I hope to provide resources that will better educate students about this time period in our history.