PEARL HARBOR CHILDREN STUDY GUIDE
prepared by Cathy Kaemmerlen
SS5H4, SS5Ha, SSh4b, SS5H4b, ELAGSE5RL2, ELAGSE5SL1, TAES5.8b, TAES5.11
Program Description
PEARL HARBOR CHILDREN is a 55 minute play featuring three accounts of December 7, 1941 about the activities leading up to and following the surprise attack of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. Told by three young girls: one young American girl, (Sarah Walker) living on O’ahu, whose father is a civilian dock worker; another (Miyoko Fuchida),the daughter of Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese flight commander for the Pearl Harbor attack;and the third (Yuriko Ito), a fictional nisei, Japanese-American daughter of a Japanese fisherman, living in Hawaii with his Japanese picture bride and daughter, who is interned as a prisoner-of-war. The three stories intertwine as we learn the facts about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and its consequences. Healing stories conclude the play. There are musical transitions using authentic music from the period.
Artist Bio
Cathy Kaemmerlen, author, actress, historical interpreter, playwright, and storyteller, is known for her variety of characters, one-woman shows, and for bringing history to life. A performer and “creator of shows” since she can remember, she has toured in schools coast to coast, since receiving a BA in English/elementary education from UNC-Charlotte, and a MFA in dance performance/choreography/theatre at the University of Wisconsin. She tours some 20 current shows which she wrote, through the Georgia and South Carolina Touring Arts Rosters, Fulton County Teaching Museums, G.E.T. Programs in the Schools, and through her own production company, Tattlingtales Productions. She is the author of four books and many plays, including one commissioned by the DeKalb Historical Society. Most recently she was commissioned by the Plains Chautauqua Society to write and appear in the one-woman show: The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail.
Background on Art Form
Telling stories is an oral tradition, dating back to when mankind first developed a language or form of communication. Storytelling is a universal way of passing down information to be saved and remembered for generations to come. It is an interactive art form in which the storytellers’ passion for the story, material, and information, is passed on to the audience, who sorts through, interprets, stores, and synthesizes what is heard.
Prepare:
Teachers, please read this to your students.
Today we are going to have a program by actress storyteller Cathy Kaemmerlen in which she portrays three young girls who were affected by the events of December 7, 1941, when the Japanese conducted their surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. Our presenter will portray Sarah Walker, an American living in Honolulu who was an eyewitness to the attack; Yuriko Ito, also living in Hawaii, but as a nisei, a second generation Japanese American; and Miyako Fuchida, from Japan, whose father was instrumental in planning and carrying out the surprise attack. Through three different sets of eyes, we’ll get a more complete picture or what happened as that “day of infamy” enfolds for us. We’ll also hear some healing stories at the conclusion.
Warm Up Questions to set the stage for engaging students:
.What were the historic events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
.What would it feel like to be part of this event as a Japanese bomber, American civilian, American naval officer, Admiral Kimmel, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto?
.Why did the Japanese attack us?
.Can you think of a similar day of infamy in your lifetime?
.Can you remember what you were doing, thinking, feeling on this day?
.Do you keep a diary of important events in your life?
Vocabulary to look at before and after:
Isei-first generation Japanese-American
Nisei-second generation Japanese-American, now considered naturalized citizens
Aloha (Hawaiian word for hello)
Mahalo (Hawaiian word for thank you)
Samurai warrior: ancient Japanese military class who protected the emperor
Miae: a Japanese arrangement between two families, usually to arrange a marriage
Blitzkrieg: fighting technique used by the Germans which meant thunder and lightning strikes
Shintoism: old traditional Japanese religion, love of the Emperor, believed to be descended from Divinity
Buddhism: new Japanese religion based upon the teachings of Buddha
Tora, tora, tora: Japanese for surprise; in reference to Pearl Harbor it meant the element of surprise against the Americans worked
Banzai: Japanese for: and we’re off!
Strafing bullets: bullets from an attacking plane meant to start a fire on impact
Shrapnel: pieces of metal from an exploding bomb
Warm Up Questions for meeting the Georgia Performance Standards for “Listening/Speaking/Viewing”:
.Describe the perfect audience.
.What are some of our class rules for being good listeners?
.How do we show someone we appreciate their visit to our school or classroom?
.How does being part of an audience help make you a good citizen?
.What are some examples of bad audience behavior or attitudes?
.How does a negative audience member effect your enjoyment of a show or performance?
.How would this make the performer feel?
.How do we want the performer to feel when they leave our school or classroom?
Reflect:
-Role play: Japanese and American diplomats breaking off diplomatic relationships
-Role play: an American espionage agent, gathering the facts, and trying to warn the US of the attack
-Write a newspaper or radio report as if you are a witness to the attack.
-Discuss the treatment of Japanese Americans after the attack. Was this a fair thing to do or an act of prejudice?
-Listen to music from WW11
-Discuss what the attack on Pearl Harbor did to the American morale
-Make coupon books; as a class try rationing; make aluminum foil balls; recycle. Talk about what shortages war creates on our supplies and come up with creative solutions to the shortages.
–Reenact the handshaking ceremony on the USS Missouri on December 6, 2000 when the bitterness ended and enemies became friends
Resources:
-Visit the web site: https://tattlingtales.comindex.php?customernumber=12217819773755&pr=Study_Guides
ZLATA’S DIARY: A CHILD’S LIFE IN SARAJEVO by Zlata Filipovic
PEARL HARBOR WARRIORS: THE BUGLER,THE PILOT, THE FRIENDSHIP by Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson
THE JAPANESE: LOOK INTO THE PAST by Clare Dorian
GOD’S SAMURAI: LEAD PILOT AT PEARL HARBOR by Gordon W. Prange
PEARL HARBOR CHILD: A CHILD’S VIEW OF PEARL HARBOR FROM ATTACK TO PEACE by Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson
DUTY by Bob Greene
DEC. 7, 1941: THE DAY THE JAPANESE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR by Gordon W. Prange (third part of a trilogy)
AIR RAID-PEARL HARBOR! By Theodore Taylor
THE KIKUCHI DIARY by Charles Kikuchi
From the DEAR AMERICA SERIES: EARLY SUNDAY MORNING: THE PEARL HARBOR DIARY OF AMBER BILLOWS by Barry Denenberg
THE ETERNAL SPRING OF MR. ITO by Shirley Garrigue
OUR BURDEN OF SHAME by Susan Sinnott
SADAKO AND THE THOUSAND PAPER CRANES
UNDER THE BLOOD RED SUN by Graham Salisbury
ALL THE CHILDREN WENT AWAY by Shelia Garrigue
THE INVISIBLE THREAD by Yoshiko Uchida
A FAMILY GATHERING by David G. McCullough
MY DADDY WAS A SOLDIER: A WORLD WAR 11 STORY by Deborah Kogan Ray
THE CHILDREN OF BATTLESHIP ROW by Joan Zuber Earle
THE BRACELET by Yoshiko Uchida
Words to the song “Remember Pearl Harbor” (words by Don Reid and music by Sammy Kaye)
History—in every century
Records an act that lives forevermore.
We’ll recall-as in to line we fall,
The thing that happened on Hawaii’s shore.
Let’s REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR-
As we go to meet the foe-
Let’s REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
As we did the Alamo.
We will always remember-
How they died for liberty,
Let’s REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
And go on to victory.