Pearl Harbor and September 11

In my Junior-level US History class, we have been discussing WWII. Every year I struggle with reaching the modern day, as things happen and we don't always get to discuss all of the topics that we should. This year I decided to help my students to synthesize a connection between the attack on Pearl Harbor and the attacks on September 11, purely in the way that it affected Americans and their perceptions on other people.

On the first day, we discussed--very briefly--what occurred at Pearl Harbor, which led to--among other things--Japanese internment. I wanted to focus on the perspective of the Japanese Americans that were held in internment camps before we took a look at the American point of view and American reasoning, as exposure to that perspective could have closed their minds to other points of view.

First, I compiled 14 primary sources that depicted Japanese internment in both negative and positive lights. I found as many local sources as I could, which was possible even in our area of rural Wisconsin. My students were tasked with taking a look at the primary sources and determining what the sources told them about Japanese internment. We then discussed the sources and the impact that Japanese internment had on Japanese Americans, as well as the impact that the primary sources would have had on a Japanese American who lived through internment.

The next day, we took a look at video footage of both the aftermath of Pearl Harbor as well as video news footage of the attacks on September 11. I also showed two History.com videos that do a great job of showing a timeline of what happened on September 11. We then watched, and compared, FDR's speech on December 8, 1941 to George W. Bush's speech on September 11, 2001. We discussed the words they used, the emotion they expressed, and how the viewers might have felt watching the speeches.

After we viewed the videos, I told my personal story of what I remembered from September 11. As a fifth grader, I remember not understanding what was happening. I understood that planes were crashing and buildings were falling down, and that was really it. I then explained how over time I have gained a more sophisticated understanding, and the events of that day greatly affect me, especially knowing how many innocent lives were lost.

I then assigned my students a short assignment. They had to find one image from Pearl Harbor and one from September 11, and then explain how the image would affect the emotions of an American living through the event. They could choose to focus on any group of Americans, including Japanese Americans or Muslim Americans. They also had to ask someone for their personal history of what they remember happening on September 11.

After all of this, I felt like we needed one more way for students to explore how imagery could affect one's emotions, and how symbolism was incredibly important in memorializing tragic events. We looked through pictures of various Pearl Harbor and September 11 memorials, discussing the symbolism that was present in each one. I showed them that every little piece of each memorial was planned that way for a reason. I then tasked my students with creating a memorial of their own. They were able to depict whichever event they wanted in whatever medium they preferred.

Some students built 3D models, painted on canvas, drew posters, and created online graphic designs, but most of all, I saw that they took the project seriously and put intense thought into their memorials. They understood the impact of these incredible disasters and truly wanted to memorialize the memory of those who were affected by the attacks.

These few lessons only lasted a couple of days, but my students gained an appreciation for historical events that I hope will affect how they understand other important events. Events are not simply stuck in the past; they greatly impacted people, and I am glad that my students were able to understand that in such a mature fashion.

Here is what we worked on... I have to put this together in a HyperDoc to make it easier to navigate!

Day 1: 

• Learning Target:
• Compare and contrast the attack on Pearl Harbor with the attacks on September 11.
• Activities:
• Watch videos (live coverage)
• Pearl Harbor Coverage
• 9/11 Timeline - New York
• 9/11 - United 93 and Pentagon
• Speech analysis while watching videos (Who is the speaker, and when are they speaking? What is the main message of the speech? What tone does the speaker use? Choose two powerful words from the speech and explain why the speaker used those words.)
• FDR's "Day of Infamy" Speech
• George W. Bush's Speech on 9/11
• Image analysis (Pearl Harbor and September 11 - Google Slideshow Assignment) - due tomorrow
• Example 1
• Example 2

Day 2:

• Learning Targets:
• Compare and contrast the attack on Pearl Harbor with the attacks on September 11.
• Understand and exhibit the importance of symbolism, specifically in memorials
• Activities:
• Discuss memorials (symbolism, effect on viewers, etc.)
• Find links for students to explore - What meaning did they find in the memorials? Choose a symbol you found to share with the class.
• Design a memorial
• Your task is to design a memorial that commemorates either the events of the attack on Pearl Harbor or the attacks on September 11.
• Your memorial may be a building, statue, mural, banner, or any other type of visual memorial. You can create your memorial in any medium you choose: online, on paper, 3D, etc.
• You must include at least three symbols in your memorial.
• In an accompanying description, you must describe the meaning of your three (or more) symbols.
• Your memorial will be worth 10 project points. It is due on Tuesday, May 8.

There were some very thoughtful memorials. I wish I had taken pictures of some of them!