This week the third graders learned about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the orders for which were signed at the Presidio in San Francisco in 1942. In the classroom, we watched a TEDEd video that tells the story of Aki Kurose from Seattle and gives an overview of what happened to thousands of families like hers along the West Coast. We followed with an interview of a survivor of the internment camps, Shokichi Tokita, by several children, some of whom are the same age as our students.
In the kitchen we learned to make sushi hand rolls, temaki, and filled them with rice, carrots, cucumbers, braised tofu, shiso, oshinko, sunflower sprouts, green onion, furikake, and pickled ginger. Many of us had previous experiences of sushi, but very few in our community had heard of Japanese American incarceration before our class. We talked about the importance of not only appreciating a diversity of foods with origins from around the world but also the people and stories behind cultural products we love.
In the closing circle we reflected on the legacy of Japanese American incarceration and shared ways we can make others feel included.
