Grades/Level: Middle School (6–8)
Subjects: Visual Arts, English–Language Arts, History–Social Science
Time Required: 3–5–Part Lesson
3 class periods, plus independent research
Author: J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Permissions:
The lesson plan and downloadable materials on this page are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Lesson Overview

Students will read primary source documents about the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and will examine various versions of a photograph by Dorothea Lange and explore how cropping can evoke different effects.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:
• examine various versions of a photograph and explore possibilities in cropping and composition;
• read primary sources documenting life in Japanese American internment camps;
• discuss how World War II caused Japanese Americans to be relocated to internment camps;
• crop a primary source photograph so that it tells a different story than the original.

Materials

• Reproduction of Pledge of Allegiance, Rafael Weill Elementary School, San Francisco by Dorothea Lange
• Reproduction of Display of Flag and Japanese Family Photographs by Dorothea Lange
• Background Information and Questions for Teaching about the photographs (click on the thumbnails of the photographs below)
• "20 Views of the Manzanar War Relocation Authority Center" slideshow. Download the PowerPoint file by clicking its title on this page of the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco's Web site.
• Copies of the article "S.F. Clear of All But 6 Sick Japs", published in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 21, 1942, and available on the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco Web site
• Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002) (optional)
• Student Handout: Cropping and Composition
• 3 x 5 inch index cards with a small rectangular hole (about 1/2 x 1 inch) cut out of the top center of each card
• Grease pen or marker

Lesson Steps

Download the complete lesson by clicking on the "download this lesson" icon above.

Glossary Terms:
Words in bold on these pages and in the lesson are defined in the glossary for this curriculum (see "For the Classroom" links above).

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Grades 6–8

WRITING
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.


For more national and California state standards for this curriculum, refer to the charts found in the links at the top right of this page.