See below for elementary school education recommended reading*, viewing, and activities for students in grades 3 – 5 about the “Heart Mountain Relocation Center” and Japanese American Confinement during World War II.
Tours are available for all age groups, including those younger than 3rd grade. Tour can be customized to best fit the elementary school education goals of each class. Book your field trip HERE.
Need help? Check out our suggested activities below or contact us for other curriculum suggestions.
*All of the books and movies below are available through the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation online store.
BOOKS
The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida
Emi is given a golden bracelet by a friend as she and her family are forced to leave their home. Emi loses the bracelet but learns that sometimes all you can carry are the memories in your heart.
A Boy of Heart Mountain by Barbara Bazaldua
At the onset of WWII, nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in concentration camps. Inspired by Shigeru Yabu’s youthful camp experiences, A Boy of Heart Mountain is a poignant coming-of-age story and a celebration of the human spirit under duress. An audio version also is available.
Hello Maggie by Shigeru Yabu
In this delightful children’s story, Shigeru Yabu tells how, as a young boy living in the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, he befriended a magpie, named it Maggie and trained it to talk.
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
This is a story about how baseball pulled together a community while enduring the injustice of confinement.
The Journal of Ben Uchida
In diary form, the author tells 12-year-old Ben’s story of being interned, living in a camp, and what his family goes through. This book ends with some insights into the historical events of that time and what happened to the characters after the war.
(Out of print. Check your local library)
So Far from the Sea by Eve Bunting
Laura Iwasaki is moving across the country. Before she goes, she and her family are visiting Laura’s grandfather’s grave at Manzanar for what will probably the last time. How will she say goodbye?
DVD
All We Could Carry
Students gain insight from the incarcerees’ hardships. They will experience what it was like to leave their homes, possessions, and normal daily life behind to be confined at Heart Mountain. They will explore camp life, pass-time activities, and social structure and be able to compare and contrast these experiences to their own life experiences.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
Elementary School Education
