Download Curriculum on our LiveBinders Site
PASSWORD FOR DOWNLOAD: art
“This human world goes up and down, and history tells you that some power holds…. Like after the war, peace will come. You must endure winter to have spring. I always think poetically… Just change your life’s angle and you’ll see different scenes.”
-Hisako Hibi, artist in Tanforan/Topaz concentration camp,
Oral History excerpt, National Japanese American Historical Society, 1987
Blog Post Synopsis of Programming
Using award-winning place-based historic inquiry and specially crafted art box kits, school classroom teachers in grade levels 3-6 will explore the significance of art and writing to people of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
Join your colleagues for an open-ended inquiry and hands-on art activities that promote self-actualization. We ask, “What does the art and literature produced by Japanese Americans during their incarceration reveal about the impact of this experience on their lives as individuals and family members? What is the legacy of these experiences?”
Teachers will receive 4-5 history lessons and camp art boxes. The boxes contain eight art lessons about the power of art during the incarceration and how they can apply to today. Materials for 30 students.
Free Workshop with Available Stipend for qualified teachers. $150.
Workshop Times and Dates
- San Francisco, CA – Saturday, April 22, 2023 from 8:30AM – 4:00PM
- San Bruno – Sunday, April 30, 2023 from 8:30AM – 4:00PM
- Fresno – Tuesday, June 20, 2023 from 8:30AM – 4:00PM
- Special online history workshop and demonstration by artist Na Omi Shintanti. Workshop includes asynchronous
art work. Priority given to teachers outside of San Francisco, Watsonville and Fresno. – June 22, 2023 from 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM - Watsonville, CA – Tuesday, June 27, 2023 from 8:30AM – 4:30PM
- Virtual Condensed Curriculum Review – Thursday, June 29, 2023 from 4:00PM – 5:15PM
Limited Space! Apply Now
Taught by Educational Experts in Japanese American History
DR. GRACE MORIZAWA is the Education Coordinator for the NJAHS. Previously she was an elementary school teacher in Oakland and principal of Lake Elementary School in San Pablo, CA. Morizawa is a Sansei, third generation Japanese American. Her parents were incarcerated in Heart Mountain. Grace is a teacher consultant with the Bay Area Writing Project. She has a BA in English from Pacific University, an MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State, and a doctorate from the Leadership in Education and Equity Program at University of California, Berkeley.
NA OMI JUDY SHINTANI, MA, is an artist, art instructor, and a curator. She is the curator of the “Tanforan Incarceration, Resilience behind Barbed Wire” permanent exhibition in the San Bruno BART station. She is a faculty member of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, teaching art appreciation and creative self-expression. Shintani taught elementary art with the La Honda and Pescadero Elementary GATE Art Program, and Coastside Children’s Program in Half Moon Bay. Her art focused on the Japanese American incarceration has been shown at NJAHS Peace Gallery and the MIS Historic Learning Center, Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, Presidio Officers’ Club, San Jose Japanese American Museum, Monterey Museum of Art, Fresno State University, University of San Francisco, Santa Fe Art Institute. She is the Lead Art Instructor applying her classroom experience in the development of hands-on classroom activities.
DR. STAN PESICK taught 11th grade United States history in the Oakland Unified School District for eighteen years. From 2008-2012 he coordinated the Oakland Unified History/Social Studies Department. Pesick has worked with the Bay Area Writing Project as a teacher consultant since 1989. He has worked as a curriculum consultant to the NJAHS since 2014. Pesick is currently working with National Writing Project, University of California, Berkeley, to develop materials and methods focused on helping students write more effectively for political and civic purposes. He has a Ph.D. from Stanford University.
LYNN FONFA brings over thirty-five years of experience in the field of education. She recently retired from her position as Education Specialist for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Since 1995, she directed the K through 12 programs for one of the largest urban national parks. She earned a Master’s Degree in Education, specializing in Environmental Education/Curriculum Design, and a Master’s Degree in Public History, specializing in United States history and historic preservation. Previous to the NPS, Fonfa worked as an archivist, educator, and development associate with several prestigious historical associations, including the California Historical Society and the Western Jewish Historical Center of the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley.
ROSALYN TONAI is the executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society, Inc. She was the project director and co-curator of the exhibition Strength & Diversity, Japanese American Women, 1885 to 1990, a groundbreaking award-winning museum exhibition co-produced by the National Japanese American Historical Society and the Oakland Museum of California. Tonai has co-edited four teacher’s/classroom guides, The Bill of Rights: the Japanese Americans and the World War II Experience, Honor Bound, the Story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Making Peace and Classroom Activities Guide: Diamonds in the Rough, Japanese Americans in Baseball. She is a graduate of the Getty Museum Management Institute and the Coro Foundation Asian Pacific leadership program. Ms. Tonai has an M.P.A. from the Nonprofit Management Institute, University of San Francisco’s College of Professional Studies, and a B.A. Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.
Workshops Tailored for California Region
– Stipend of $150 per workshop. Attendance limited to one workshop –
Life’s Angles: Camp Art Boxes is a place-based curriculum workshop. Subject matter is being customized to address the unique teaching opportunities in California.
Participant Stipend: $150
Sponsors: The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the California State Library.
Matching Funding: The Chizu and Ernest Iiyama Memorial Fund
