Wartime Memories

Table of Contents

About the Writer About the Book Before Reading the Book (Motivating Activities) Discussion Starters Writing Prompts Words to Know/Vocabulary Places to Know/History & Social Science Characterization/Literary Concept Essay Topics Assessment Options Related Topics/Additional Resources Standards Correlations

ASSESSMENT OPTIONS

Perhaps the most important goal of assessment is to inform instruction. As you monitor the degree to which your students understand and engage with the novel, you will naturally modify your instructional plan. The frequency and balance of class and small-group discussion, the time allowed for activities, and the extent to which direct teaching of reading skills and strategies, literary elements, or vocabulary can all be planned on the basis of your ongoing assessment of your students' needs.

Several forms of assessment are particularly appropriate for work with the novel:

Anecdotal records that reflect both the degree and the quality of students' participation in class and small-group discussions and activities will help you target areas in which coaching or intervention is appropriate. Because communication skills are such an integral part of working with the novel in a classroom setting, it is appropriate to evaluate the process of making meaning in this social context.

Observing yourself with dialogue journals and letters
You may want to exchange notes with students instead of, or in addition to, encouraging them to keep reader's logs. A powerful advantage of this strategy is that at the same time you have the opportunity to evaluate students' responses; you can make a significant difference in the quality of the response. When students are aware that their comments are valued (and addressed to a real audience - an audience that writes back), they often wake up to the significance of what they are reading and begin to make stronger connections between the text and their own lives.

Agreeing on criteria for evaluation
If evaluation is to be fair, it must be predictable. As students propose and plan an activity or project, collaborate with them to set up the criteria by which their work will be evaluated, and be consistent in applying only those criteria.

Encouraging self-evaluation and goal setting
When students are partners with you in creating criteria for evaluation, they can apply those criteria to their own work. You might ask them to rate themselves on a simple scale of 1, 2, or 3 for each of the criteria and to arrive at an overall score. Students can then set goals based on self-evaluation.

Peer evaluation
Students can participate in evaluating one another's demonstrations and presentations, basing their evaluations upon a previously established set of standards. Modeling a peer-evaluation session will help students learn this method, and a chart or checklist can guide peer discussion. Encourage students to be objective, sensitive, courteous, and constructive in their comments.

RELATED TOPICS/ADDITIONAL RESOURCES/LESSON PLANS:

• Web Quest: Japanese Internment
  http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/japaneseinternment/wq.html
   
• Return to the Valley
  http://www.returntothevalley.org/
  A documentary by KTEH about Japanese-Americans who went to relocation camps and their return to the San Jose area after the war.
   
• Life Interrupted
  http://www.lifeinterrupted.org/
  A project sponsored by a Teaching American History Grant from the Department of Education. Focuses on the experiences of Japanese-Americans in Jerome, Arkansas. SCCOE has elementary and high school materials created by scholars and teachers involved in the project. These materials may be checked out from David Walters, History/Social Science Coordinator (Email david_walters@sccoe.org or phone (408) 453-6859).
   
• Japanese Relocation and Internment During World War II
  http://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/military/japanese-internment.html
  The National Archives and Records Administration has material including primary resources such as photos, executive orders and other historical documents. This page is a link page in the National Archive portal. One link of special interest relative to When the Emperor Was Divine is the link to the San Francisco Museum at http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/evactxt.html.
  
  Additional Lesson Plans: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation/activities.html
   
• Japanese American Museum San Jose
  http://www.jamsj.org/
  The Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) preserves and disseminates the culture and history of Japanese Americans, with a special focus on the Santa Clara Valley.

Related Lesson Plans

STANDARDS CORRELATION

The following is a list of some of the English-Language Arts Content Standards for grades 9 and 10, which could be addressed through the activities in this guide:

Reading 1.1 - Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words and understand word derivations.

Reading 2.5 - Extend ideas presented in primary or secondary sources through original analysis, evaluation, and elaboration.

Reading 3.3 - Analyze interactions between main and subordinate characters in a literary text and explain the way those interactions affect plot...

Reading 3.4 - Determine characters’ traits by what the characters say about themselves in narration, dialogue, dramatic monologue, and soliloquy.

Reading 3.12 - Analyze the way in which a work of literature is related to the themes and issues of its historical period.

Writing 1.1 - Establish a controlling impression or coherent thesis that conveys a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject and maintain a consistent tone and focus throughout the piece of writing.

Writing 2.2 - Writes responses to literature

1. Demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the significant ideas of a work of literature
2. Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text or other works.

Presented by:
Campbell - Cupertino - Gilroy - Los Altos - Milpitas - Morgan Hill - Saratoga - Woodland
With Special Thanks To:
City of San Jose Silicon Valley Library System Friends of Cupertino Library	George E. Ewan Family Foundation Friends of the Los Gatos Public Library Friends of the Milpitas Community Library	Friends of the Library of Los Altos & Community Mountain View Library Foundation Friends of the Campbell Library
	Friends of the Morgan Hill Library Friends of the Gilroy Library Friends of Saratoga Libraries