Behind The Wire Fence

Video discussion

• What happened to Japanese Americans as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor?

• How does the section of the video about internment camps (3:13 to 3:46) help you understand what life was like there? Consider the narration, visuals, and music.

• Based on the video, what is fact-checking? Why might it be “an important step in an article’s journey,” as Lewis says?

• What is surprising about the first sentence of the article? Why do you think the author started this way?

As you're reading:

• Reread the section “Attacked!” What major event happened on December 7, 1941? How did Bill react?

• According to the article, why does Bill feel a responsibility to tell the story of what happened during World War II? What does this suggest about why the author wrote this article?

Exploring Text Features:

Look at the large photo on pages 4-5. How does this photo relate to the first three sentences of the story?

How do the pictures and caption on page 6 help you understand what happened at Pearl Harbor?

Study the image and read the caption on page 9. If this information were in the story instead of in the caption, which section do you think it would belong in? Why?

Read the section “Life Goes On” and study the image on page 8. How do the photograph and its caption illustrate what the section describes? What new information do you learn from the caption?

The photos accompanying this story are all from the 1940s. What image from

a different time period would you like to see with the article? Why do you think it would be helpful?

Text Structure

1. The author uses a sequence-of-events structure in the section “Crowded, Smelly, Dusty.” Give examples of clues (words or phrases like “later on” or “in July”) that tell you this is the structure?

2. Reread the section “Heart Mountain.” Give examples of how the author uses details to help you picture the scene? Which text structure is this?

1. In your own words, describe the living conditions at Heart Mountain. Use details from the text.

2. You can infer that Bill was shocked when the U.S. government forced his family into a prison camp. Identify THREE pieces of text evidence that best support this inference from below

• a. “And there were daily embarrassments that still make Bill cringe.”

• b. “At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were about 127,000 Japanese Americans living in the United States.”

• c. “Bill and his family, like most Japanese Americans, thought of themselves as Americans.”

• d. Bill “was an American citizen. He had almost no connection to Japan.”

• e. “They had broken no laws. They had done nothing wrong.”

• f. “At Heart Mountain, Bill felt relief.”

Find the Evidence

Section

Main Idea and Support -

"Attacked"

Main Idea

“Loyal Americans”

After the Japanese attacked

Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was

outraged and declared war on

Japan.

Finish the areas below

Write the main idea:

Supporting Evidence

Give two details from this section that tell wha happened at the Pearl Harbor military base when it was attacked:

•

•

The main idea is supported by the details below. Think about what they tell you about why the government imprisoned Japanese Americans:

• After Pearl Harbor, “prejudice against Japanese

Americans exploded.”