Lesson 13: Comparing Seen and Unseen and “The ‘Loyalty Questionnaire’ of 1943 Opened a Wound That Has Yet to Heal”

Have students take out their Lesson 12 annotations on “Statement of United States Citizen of Japanese Ancestry” (the “loyalty questionnaire”) and their copies of today’s article.

Think-Pair-Share

Use this short discussion to connect students’ work with the questionnaire itself in Lesson 12 to today’s focus on long-term harm. Give students time to rehearse one idea with a partner before whole-class sharing.

Say these Directions: In Lesson 12, we studied the loyalty questionnaire and noticed how a government form forced Japanese American families to answer difficult, often painful questions about service and allegiance. Today, we are reading a new article and pp. 66–74 of Seen and Unseen to trace what happened after people answered and the impacts that continue to the present. This work helps us build evidence for our Unit Performance Task about how records shape what later generations remember.

• Ask: When a government asks a yes-or-no question about loyalty during a time of fear, what kinds of harm could that create inside families or communities?

  • A question like that could divide families and communities, because different members might answer differently for their own reasons and then get judged wrongly. One person might answer yes because they want safety, while another might answer no because they are angry about injustice. Either answer could be based on fear of what the opposite answer might bring about rather than a choice made based on deeper beliefs, but others might think that those answers told the “whole truth” about the family or community member. That kind of forced choice could create labels that last much longer than the form itself.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Now, we are ready to examine how today’s article presents the questionnaire not just as a document but as a wound that shaped families and memory over time.

Introduce New Words Using Morphology

Use morphology and syllable chunking together to help students decode, spell, and discuss the words. This structured literacy move supports students who need repeated oral rehearsal and visible word parts.

Say these Directions: Today, two words will unlock the article: loyalty and disloyalty. We are going to break them into meaningful parts, then use those parts to think about how labels can shape a person’s reputation and memory.

Target Text Language:

“The ‘Loyalty Questionnaire’ of 1943 Opened a Wound That Has Yet to Heal”

“Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America . . . ?”

Teach: Using Morphemes to Unlock Meaning

Write loyalty on the board.

• Ask: What shorter word do you see inside loyalty? What does it mean?

  • I can see loyal. It means being true to someone or something, not turning your back on them.

Say these Directions: Underline loyal in loyalty and circle -ty. Explain that loyal is an adjective to describe someone (“a loyal person”). The suffix -ty makes the noun loyalty, which indicates a quality that someone shows. Then write disloyalty next to loyalty. Circle dis-.

• Ask: The prefix dis- means “not.” What do you think disloyalty means?

  • It means “not being loyal” or “being unfaithful or untrue.”

Say the words with students as you and they identify the syllables.

Say these Directions: Say the words together and tap the syllables softly on the desk: loy-al-ty and dis-loy-al-ty.

• Ask: Why are the words loyal, loyalty, and disloyalty important for understanding our readings?

  • The questions Japanese Americans had to answer were called the “Loyalty Questionnaire.” This means that, whatever they answered, they could be labeled with the negative word disloyalty, whether or not that had any real meaning about them as people.

• Say: A label like disloyal can sound final, even when a person’s answer came from fear, confusion, anger, protest, or pain.

Stop displaying the words.

Say these Directions: : Write the words loyalty and disloyalty from memory in your Personal Dictionary.

• Display the words again.

• Say: Check your spelling. Correct anything that needs fixing.

• Say: In disloyalty, underline the base word, then circle the prefix and the suffix.

• Ask: Which part of the word helped you remember how to spell it?

  • The base word loyal helped me most because I could build both words from that part. Then I just added -ty and the prefix dis-.

Verify Meaning: Prompt students to use a dictionary or classroom reference material to confirm the meaning of each word.

• Say: Check your definition using a dictionary or other reference material. Does the definition match what you wrote? Revise as needed.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: As you read, these words will help you notice when a word becomes a label and when a label becomes part of people’s, families’, and nations’ histories.

Part A: Tracing the Wound (RI.7.6) (15 minutes)

Partner Reading & Discussion

Pair students for supported rereading. Students may annotate directly on the article or make a short list on journal paper with the headings Cause, Division, and Memory.

Say these Directions: Read “The ‘Loyalty Questionnaire’ of 1943 Opened a Wound That Has Yet to Heal” in three chunks. After each chunk, stop and mark at least one detail with C for a cause of harm, D for division inside families or communities, or M for memory that lasted over time. If writing in the article feels crowded, keep your notes as a short list on journal paper instead.

Teach: Tracking Cause, Division, and Memory in an Informational Text

• Say: When I read a title like this one, I already know the author is presenting the questionnaire as more than paperwork. At the beginning of the article, I look for the first details that explain why the author calls it a wound. Then I track what changed: Did families argue, split apart, or get labeled differently because of the questionnaire? After that, I look for evidence that the harm lasted beyond the moment of filling out the form. This helps me read for the author’s perspective, because I am noticing not just what happened but what the author wants me to remember most. If I can name cause, division, and memory, I can explain how the article shapes the topic.

Say these Directions: As you read the opening chunk, track with your finger or a straight edge of journal paper under each line if that helps you hold your place. I will read the first paragraph aloud once, and then you and your partner will continue the next section quietly together.

Pair students, and have them read the article together in sections. For the first section, have students start at the beginning and read until the heading “Tula Lake as Segregation Center.”

1. Ask: According to the article, why did the questionnaire become more than a simple form for many Japanese American families?

   • The article shows that the questionnaire was more than a form because people had to answer under forced, confusing, and frightening conditions and then live with the consequences of those answers. The author emphasizes that the form created emotional pain and social judgment, not just paperwork.

2. Ask: What dilemma, or impossible choice, does Ben Takeshita explain regarding question 27?

   • People didn’t know what it would mean to answer “yes,” and there were rumors about it that made it even harder to choose. Parents were afraid that if they answered “yes,” they might be taken from their children to go into combat, and some people even thought that the government wanted to send them into combat to get rid of them.

3. Ask: What fear does Takeshita explain about question 28?

   • Those who weren’t American citizens might feel that they had no country if they answered “no” about allegiance to Japan.

After a brief discussion, have student pairs read the Tula Lake section.

1. Ask: In the middle section that describes disagreements and labels, what lasting wound does the author want readers to notice?

   • The author wants readers to notice that the wound was not only political. It also split families and communities because people answered differently and were then judged for or separated by those answers.

Say these Directions: Partner A, summarize one detail you marked with C or D. Partner B, add one memory detail marked M. Use the phrase “This matters because” in your response.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: You are now ready to compare this article’s emphasis with how Seen and Unseen presents the same historical topic.

Part B: Two Sources, Two Emphases (RI.7.9) (15 minutes)

Whole Class Discussion

Students should use journal paper to create three quick headings: Both Sources Show, The Article Emphasizes, and Seen and Unseen Emphasizes. Students may record their comparison as notes first or rehearse it orally with a partner before writing one synthesis sentence.

Say these Directions: Open Seen and Unseen to pp. 66–74. We are now comparing two sources about the same topic: the loyalty questionnaire and its consequences. As you read, listen, and discuss, jot notes under the three headings on your journal paper. You will use your notes to write a synthesis sentence, using at least one connector such as both, however, unlike, or as a result.

Teach: Comparing How Two Sources Shape the Same Topic

• Say: When I compare sources, I am not just hunting for matching facts. I ask what each source makes most memorable. The article emphasizes the lasting wound by focusing on family division, pain, and memory across time. Seen and Unseen also shows the questionnaire’s harm, but it places that topic inside the larger history of Manzanar and helps readers see the immediate situation and labels people faced there. So a strong comparison sounds like this: Both sources show harm; however, each source highlights a different part of that harm. That is how I explain not only what the sources say but how they shape the same topic.

Provide about three minutes for students to reread pp. 66–74 of Seen and Unseen. Then have student pairs briefly discuss and write comparison notes under the three headings. After five to seven minutes, have students answer the questions in a class discussion.

1. Ask: How does the article emphasize the questionnaire’s impact differently from Seen and Unseen, pp. 66–74?

   • Both sources show that the questionnaire caused harm; however, the article emphasizes the wound that lasted across generations, while Seen and Unseen emphasizes how the questionnaire affected people inside Manzanar and how people were labeled in that moment. The article focuses on long-term effects and how division was created and maintained, while the book gives readers the historical context by talking about what people felt at the time of dealing with the issues.

2. Ask: What detail is emphasized in one source more than the other, and how does that change what readers remember?

   • The article emphasizes family division and the fact that the pain did not end when the form was turned in. Seen and Unseen emphasizes the immediate pressure and consequences inside the incarceration site. Because of that difference, readers may remember either the long emotional wound or the immediate historical situation more strongly, depending on which source they read.

Say these Directions: Use your notes and our discussion to write one sentence that synthesizes your comparison of the article and the pages from the book. Remember to use comparison, synthesis, or contrast words such as both, however, similarly, or unlike.

Provide three to five minutes for students to write. Then ask volunteers to share their sentences.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Next, you will turn your structured comparison into a short written response that names what future readers should remember.

Use the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

Both sources show that the loyalty questionnaire harmed Japanese American families; however, they make different parts of that harm most visible. The article emphasizes the wound that lasted for years by showing how the questionnaire divided families and stayed painful across generations. In Seen and Unseen, the section on the questionnaire emphasizes the immediate pressure and labels people faced at Manzanar. Together, the two sources remind readers that a single document can shape both history and memory.

Routine: Quick Write

Say these Directions: In three or four sentences, answer the question below. State one clear insight, use at least two specific details from today’s two sources, and include at least one connector such as both, however, unlike, or as a result.

• Ask: After reading both sources, what should future readers remember about the loyalty questionnaire and the wound it created?

  • Future readers should remember that the loyalty questionnaire was not just a government form. Both sources show that it forced Japanese American families to answer painful questions under unjust conditions; however, the article emphasizes how that pain lasted across generations, while Seen and Unseen helps readers understand the immediate situation inside Manzanar. As a result, readers can see that one document helped create both historical consequences and a long, contested memory.

• Say: Today, we practiced explaining how two records present the same event in different ways. That is an important skill for your Unit Performance Task, because you will need to show not only what a source says but also what it emphasizes and what its impact might be on the reader. When you can name what is emphasized, omitted, or contested, your final analysis becomes more precise and more convincing.

• Ask: Which connector, note-taking move, or vocabulary word helped you most today?

  • The connector however helped me most because it let me show that both sources are about the same questionnaire but emphasize different parts of the harm.

• Say: When you compare how sources present events and ideas, it can help you learn to question labels and read historical records more carefully in other classes and in real life.

Connection to Today’s Learning

This response gives students language and evidence they can carry into the next lesson and into the Unit Performance Task.

Instruct students to write a response in their Journal to the following prompt:

In your Journal, write one question you still have about the loyalty questionnaire’s lasting impact and one detail from today’s reading that led you to that question.