Journey+to+Topaz

=Teaching //Journey to Topaz//=

From the back cover: "On a cool December evening in 1941, eleven-year-old Yuki Sakane and her family gather for dinner when they hear the alarming news: Pearl Harbor has been bombed and America is going to war. Yuki's peaceful world is instantly shattered. Without explanation, Father is suddenly taken away by the FBI, and Yuki, her mother, and older brother, Ken, are uprooted from the home they love and relocated the horse stalls of Tanforan Racetrack. Along with thousands of Topaz, a bleak and dusty prison camp in the isolated deserts of Utah. Yuki struggles to remain brave as life in the camp brings daily hardships. She makes friends with another girl, Emi, and Emi's grandparents, and together they face harsh dust storms and poor living conditions, and also experience both true friendship and heart-wrenching tragedy. //Journey to Topaz// explores the consequences of prejudice and the capacities of the human spirit..."

Though English classrooms have the ability to run the gambit in topic material, certain issues arise when teaching books based on historical events. Without having an understanding of the issues facing the world during WWII, students may not understand why residents of the United States of Japanese descent were forced into "relocation centers," more commonly known today as internment camps. Also, since in the novel the bombing of Pearl Harbor was not described in detail, students may not even be aware of the catalyst for this story. Without an understanding of the events of WWII, Japan's involvement in the war, and the United States' reaction to attack, students may not understand the course of events and prejudices within the novel.
 * Challenge #1: History and WWII**

To help students create a frame of reference for students, in regards to WWII, it may be helpful to implement some of the following ideas into the classroom:
 * **Webquest:** A webquest can give students access to an abundance of information regarding WWII. These activities are also helpful because they can be used to direct students toward specific information. In this case, students would need to focus on what happened during Pearl Harbor, why Japan joined the war, and what action was taken by the United States.
 * **Sound Clips:** In //Journey to Topaz//, the Sakane family hears tell of the attack on Pearl Harbor over the radio. Sound clips of actual news reports will help students understand how confusing the time period was, and the panic that overtook the nation.
 * **Historical Text Set:** Providing students with a text set that details the history of WWII. Students would be able to discover information on why Japan joined the war, what actually happened at Pearl Harbor, and what kind of damage was done through exploration and inquiry.
 * **Documentary:** Multiple documentaries exist on WWII and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Using a non-print media to provide historical information to students may help engage those students who traditionally struggle with print media.

It is likely that many questions surrounding relocation centers will arise while reading this novel, as well as while exploring information about WWII. Students may not understand what the purpose of such centers was, and why they were inland. The purpose of these centers poses an exceptional struggle, considering that forced evacuation seems senseless, especially to students in this time period. Other issues might stem from the Tanforan Racetrack relocation center and the fact that it was still in the Bay area of California, rather than inland. Students may also question the validity of the Japanese evacuation, especially in consideration of the rights of Japanese American citizens, and will want to know why the US allowed gross infringement on constitutional rights.
 * Challenge #2: What's a Relocation Center?**

Helping students to understand the purpose of relocation centers will be difficult, and will require examining the fears of society after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Students will also need to learn about relocation centers and life in them. To help students gain comprehension, teachers can use the following ideas:
 * **Photo Text Set:** Text sets can be crafted and used in a number of ways. By creating a set of books that describes the relocation centers through photographs, students get a visual idea of what they look like. Heavily steep this set in photographs of the Topaz relocation center to help students better visualize the setting within the novel.
 * **Propaganda Research:** Fear of more attacks by the Japanese prompted the evacuations of people of Japanese descent. As a result, propaganda against these people, citizens and attackers alike, was widely produced. As disturbing as some of this propaganda may be for students, it provides insight into the fear that much of the United States was feeling at the time. This can help students to understand why the push for evacuation was so strong.
 * **Constitutional Rights:** Students can explore what rights of Japanese American citizens were violated during the evacuation and relocation. After their inquiry, students can debate whether or not they believe that the threat of attack justified the loss of rights for citizens. This will help illustrate how different perspectives struggled to be heard during the war.

[|Topaz: Japanese Relocation Photos] [|Tule Lake: Japanese Relocation Photos] [|Ansel Adams' Photographs of Japanese-American Relocation Centers] [|Suffering Under a Great Injustice: Connecting Ideas in the classroom to Ansel Adams' Photos] [|Internment of San Francisco Japanese: News Articles] [|The Japanese American Internment: Individual Reflections] [|Japanese Internment Propaganda] [|A Challenge to Democracy: A propaganda film about Japanese Internment] [|Citizenship Denied: An Integrated Unit on Japanese Internment]
 * Resources:**