Welcome to the FACE TO FACE lesson plans. These lessons compare the treatment and internment of Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor during WWII with the treatment of Arab and Muslim Americans after the tragedies of September 11. Students can explore these civil liberties issues through discussion, through becoming “the enemy,” and through artistic expression.

These lessons are directed toward grades 6 through 12, for use in the following subject areas: Civics, Historical Understanding, U.S. History, Language Arts, Thinking and Reasoning, Visual Arts, and Working with Others.

1. Defining the Enemy: Aftermath of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor and September 11
   Sixty years have passed since the Japanese internments of World War II, but have things really changed? This lesson explores the role of the government and media in determining the public's reaction to a perceived “enemy,” and what it means to be an American with the face of the enemy.
   
   
2. Rounding-up of “The Enemy”: Civil Liberties and National Security
   In this lesson, students receive Class ID cards, and experience being treated as “the enemy” while considering the issues of civil liberty versus national security. How do we handle a “terrorist” threat, aware of the need not to repeat the problems of the past while still maintaining national security and preserving civil liberties?
   
   
3. Open Mic
   Students can unleash their creativity to express their understanding and feelings about the human impact that government policies and societal reaction has had on individuals and communities who were targeted as “The Enemy” during WWII (with the internment experience of Japanese Americans) and post September 11 (with the curtailment of civil liberties and hate crimes, particularly against Muslim/Arab/South Asian Americans), in a coffeehouse or “poetry slam” format.

1. Fact Sheet 1: Quotations from Media and Politicians After the Attack On Pearl Harbor
   
   
2. Fact Sheet 2: Quotes by Politicians and Media After September 11
   
   
3. Fact Sheet 3: Chronology of Domestic Hate Crimes and Responses

1. Japanese American Web Resources
   
   
2. Arab and Muslim American Web Resources
   
   

Read transcripts of all the stories and listen to Quicktime versions of audio clips presented in the site. Launch Story Transcripts

Chizu Iiyama is a retired teacher, former chair of the department of early childhood education at Contra Costa College, and former vice president of the National Japanese American Historical Society. Ms. Iiyama co-authored the publications, Teacher's Guide: The Bill of Rights and Japanese American World War II Experience and Teacher's Guide: Making Peace: The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She co-chaired the exhibit, “Japanese American Women,” which traveled throughout the country under the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibits. She currently serves as a Board member and writer for Nikkei Heritage, a publication of the National Japanese American Historical Society.

Grace Shimizu is a founding member and director of the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project (JPOHP) and founding member of the Campaign For Justice: Redress NOW For Japanese Latin Americans! (CFJ). Ms. Shimizu continues to serve as the Project Coordinator of the ground-breaking traveling exhibition, “The Enemy Alien Files: Hidden Stories of World War II.”