Lesson

Packet

Developed for the Oregon
Cultural Heritage
Commission

by
Peter Pappas
School of Education
University of Portland
Portland Oregon





Contents:
Lesson plan
Student guide
Selection of photographs by Russell Lee
Selection of photographs from other sources
Selection of historic documents




This project was funded, in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program and the Idaho Humanities Council, a state-based program of
the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed
in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the
Interior or the Idaho Humanities Council.

Uprooted Lesson Plan
Teachers Guide

Developed by Peter Pappas for the Oregon

Cultural Heritage Commission


Essential question: How reliable
are documentary photographs
as a historic source?







Lesson Goals:
1. Demonstrate Common Core close reading of source material. Move students through three
steps of close reading - what does the source material say, how does it say it, what does it
mean to me?
2. Foster student and teacher skills in historic thinking - evaluating photographs and other
visual sources.
3. Invite students to consider their role as documentarians - photographing / curating their
world.




Materials needed:
1. Photographs and documents found in this lesson packet.
Note: A selection of photographs by Russell Lee in PDF format are included in this lesson
packet. The packet also includes photographs by other photographers as PDFs. These and
additional photographs are included in the Photographic Archive in PowerPoint format.
Instead of printing out the photographs, teachers might choose to project them via
PowerPoint.
2. Historical background material on Russell Lee and the farm labor camps from the exhibit
website and video.
Note: depending on student background knowledge about Japanese forced removal and
incarceration during World War II, teacher may wish to use the video to introduce or
conclude the lesson.
3. Post-it notes or index cards
4. Optional poster paper and markers.

Lesson Steps:
1. Looking at images
Teacher introduces the lesson with a few photographs from Instagram, Facebook, or some other
social media source. (As alternative use news or advertisements). It is best to select images
that have themes that will be easily recognized by students - for example leisure, celebration,
patriotism, etc.

Teacher directs the students to focus on people, objects, and activities. Teacher guides students
in large group discussion of what the photos tell you about the subjects and the people who took
the photographs - as students make observations, teacher replies with What do you see that
makes you say that? This gives students some experience in going back to source material to
cite specic evidence to support assertions.

Teacher guides a summary discussion on how we use photos to communicate ideas and what
we can learn about the motivation of the photographer and their message with a closer look at
their images.


2. What does source material say? (Students rst literal read of the photos and captions.)
Teacher then uses provided historical background material to introduce Lee and his
photographs of the farm labor camps. Give each student a few of Lees photos. Ask students to
work alone and make a list of the people, objects, and activities they nd in photographs and
captions. Do not interpret, simply catalog. Put each detail on a post-it or index card. Be sure to
put only one observation on each post-it.

3. How does source material say it?
Working in groups of three students, share your observational post-its with your team. Teacher
asks students to see if they can nd some similarities among your post-its, then physically group
the post-its on the table. Finally, see if you can give your clusters of post-it some appropriate
titles. (Students should be looking for summary patterns.)

Option for weaker students: If students need support, teacher can direct the students to group
post-its into at least three clusters - living conditions, working conditions, relationship between
Japanese Americans and their white neighbors.

Option to extend the activity: As a group, design a poster that summarizes what you observed in
the photos and captions.

After small group work, ask each student group to report out to full class. Teacher should always
ask student to support their assertions with details from the image. What do you see that
makes you say that?

Teacher leads the full class in a discussion: Was Lee simply taking photographs to document his
visit to the camps or was he trying to say something more with the photos and captions. (Did
Lee have a goal, point of view or purpose?)



4. How does source material connect to me?
Students could go back to their small groups or continue to work as whole class. Distribute
historic content to serve as comparison to Lees work.
How do Lees photographs connect with other historic sources? Compare in three domains -
living, working, relationships between Japanese Americans and their white neighbors. Does
the other historic material support Lees photos or do different historic sources tell different
stories about the farm labor camps? Who created the other historic sources and how might
that impact the way in which the camps were depicted?
How do Lees photographs reect their historic time period? How do I view these photographs
seven decades later? (Could add discussion of changing technology of photography, ubiquity
of cameras, and ability to readily share over social media)
How might each of these three groups view the photographs: Japanese Americans
incarcerated in Minidoka, Idaho farmer in need of labor, an American with a son ghting the
Japanese in the Pacic Theater.

Segue to discussion of how they use photography to document their lives by returning to the
introductory discussion in Step 1.


5. Assessment: Students self assess by summarizing three things they have learned about the
value of photographs as a historic source. Represent in one of three ways
Quick write - In ve minutes minute write down what you have learned. Work on getting ideas
on paper, not on writing style
Design a diagram or graphic that represents what you have learned.
Discuss with a partner and agree on three elements


Extension Activity: Ask students to select photographs to tell a story to future about the life of
a teenager in 2010s. Students could use their own photos or select photos from social media
sources.





Common Core Skills

Key Ideas and Details / What does source material say?

Grades 6-8
6-8.1 Cite specic textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an
accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

Grades 9-10
9-10.1.Cite specic textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
9-10.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an
accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.


Craft and Structure / How does source material say it?

Grades 6-8
6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an authors point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded
language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Grades 9-10
9-10.6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar
topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.


Integration of Knowledge and Ideas / How does source material connect to me?

Grades 6-8
6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with
other information in print and digital texts.
6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

Grades 9-10
9-10.9. Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary
sources.











How reliable are documentary
photographs as a historic source?




1. Looking at images
There are many photographs that you see every day - some you share with friends on social
media like Instagram or Facebook. Others you see in art, advertisements, or news.
A. What do you see in the photographs - what people, objects, and activities?
B. How we use photographs to communicate ideas?



2. What does source material say?
Look closely at these historic photographs taken by Russell Lee. Working by yourself, make a
list of the people, objects, and activities you see in the photographs and captions. Put each
detail on a post-it or index card. Be sure to put only one observation on each post-it.



3. How does source material say it?
Working in groups of three students, share your observational post-its with your team. Did you
see the same things? Arrange your post-its into groups on the table. Finally, see if you can give
your clusters of post-its a title that summarizes whats in the group.



4. How does source material connect to me? Look at the other historic material supplied by
your teacher.
A. How do Lees photographs compare with other historic sources? Does the other historic
material support Lees photos or do different historic sources tell different stories about the
farm labor camps? Who created the other historic sources and how might that impact the
way in which the camps were depicted?
B. How do Lees photographs reect their historic time period? How do you view these
photographs seven decades later?
C. How might each of these three groups view the photographs: Japanese Americans
incarcerated in Minidoka, Idaho farmer in need of labor, an American with a son ghting the
Japanese in the Pacic Theater.