Lesson 18: Seen and Unseen, Discussion, Part 1

Turn and Talk

Have students take out their copies of Seen and Unseen, along with their primary sources from the previous lesson:

• Lesson 18 Homework: Students wrote in their Homework Journals about the information they wanted to share in the upcoming discussion and the connections they could draw to Seen and Unseen.

Instruct students to spend one to two minutes sharing what they wrote in their Homework Journals. What did they each think was important? Then instruct them to answer the following question using the turn-and-talk routine in order to prepare for today’s discussion.

• Ask: How does Seen and Unseen help you respond to the Essential Question: “How do historical records—texts, images, and testimony—shape what is remembered about the past?”

  • Seen and Unseen shows how three different photographers tried to capture what was happening during the incarceration of Japanese Americans. Each photographer had their own perspective and limitations—in terms of what they were allowed to photograph, what kind of resources they had, or what their goals were in photographing the Manzanar internment camp. Together, they helped us remember a wide range of stories about the people at that camp. However, there are other incarceration sites that were less well-documented, and even at Manzanar many people did not have their personal stories included in the photos.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: In today’s group discussion, keep in mind the Essential Question. In order to answer it, we will start by looking at different details from the text in order to determine what is "seen and unseen” in the documentary evidence.

Lead students in determining norms that today’s group discussion will follow by reflecting on their own experiences of effective, respectful conversations. Explain as needed that norms are goals or expectations that we will do our best to meet. Write each norm on the board for students to see during the discussion. 

• Say: To have a successful discussion, it’s important to have clear norms about listening. Imagine you are having a conversation and you can tell the other person is really listening to what you have to say. What does that look and sound like? 

  • eyes on speaker, quiet body, taking turns, waiting for a pause before responding

• Say: Let’s sum this up in a clear statement so it’s easy to remember: We listen without interrupting. 

• Say: Our second norm should be about using evidence. In our writing in this unit, we have used evidence to support our claims. In this discussion, we will do the same. 

• Ask: What kinds of evidence have we explored in this unit, in Seen and Unseen as well as other texts and media?

  • a photograph, a written quotation, an official notice or document, a statement made in an interview

• Say: Let’s write the norm: We base our comments on evidence. This can be textual or visual evidence. When you speak, try to say where in the text you are getting your evidence from. You can use a page number, a section, or a title like “One Nation Indivisible.” 

• Say: Finally, let’s set a norm about how we respond to one another. In a strong discussion, we respond to ideas, not to people. This is especially important when we disagree.

• Ask: What are respectful ways to disagree or build on someone’s thinking? 

  • “I agree because . . . ,” “I want to add . . . ,” “I see it differently because . . . ,” and “Can you clarify . . . ?” 

• Say: Let’s write the norm: We respond to ideas rather than individuals. We don’t label someone’s comment as “wrong”; we explain our thinking and evidence. 

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Let’s keep these norms in mind as we discuss what we’ve read and understood in this unit so far. We’ll practice them as I lead us in a short example conversation, and we’ll use them independently in a longer discussion after that.

Part A: Model Discussion (RI.7.9, SL.7.1.a-d) (5 minutes)

Provide students with the Accountable Talk Sentence Stems and Reflect and Respond graphic organizers to help them formulate their thoughts during the discussion. 

Briefly explain the Reflect-and-Respond Dialogue protocol. 

• Say: Our discussion today will follow a model called Reflect-and-Respond. The point of this model is for us to reflect on the text and respond to one another’s observations. This way, we work together to understand the text instead of just sharing separate opinions. Here’s how the process works: 

1. Select a quote, caption, panel moment, or idea from one of the texts that captured your attention. 

2. Share it with a partner or group and briefly explain why it stood out. 

3. Respond to each other’s reflections by building on an idea, asking a clarifying question, or offering another interpretation. 

4. Then, return to the text to get a deeper understanding: “What evidence supports that?” “What detail might change how we see it?’” 

   • Say: In our discussion today, you will work in groups of four, and each round will follow the same pattern: 

5. I will ask and post the question. 

6. You will get one to two minutes to reread, find evidence, and jot ideas. 

7. One student begins as the presenter. 

8. Each student has one minute to speak. 

9. The final student has 30 seconds to synthesize the group’s thinking, naming one point of agreement and one new insight. 

   • Say: To make sure everyone gets a chance to lead, the first and final speaker will rotate each round. That way, each person will lead once and end once. 

Modeling a Discussion Round 

Choose three students to join you in modeling a discussion round. Post the example question on the board: “How do Dorothea Lange’s photographs and the rules she had to follow affect what we can see and what remains hidden about life under incarceration?” Give students in the model group a minute to find one detail from a photo or text to support their responses before starting the model discussion. 

• Have Student 1 start as the presenter. 

  • Lange’s photos from before incarceration show how dramatically life changed. I am thinking of the “One Nation Indivisible” photos from “Exposing Injustice,” which showed Japanese American kids in a regular public school right before they were sent to the camps.

• Have Student 2 respond: 

  • I agree, and her photos from Tanforan, like the ones on p. 37 of Seen and Unseen, show how those children were moved to cramped barracks in the middle of nowhere.

• Have Student 3 respond:  

  • That’s true, but Lange also had subjects she wasn’t allowed to photograph, like the guard towers and barbed wire. Those aspects of the camps would have remained hidden if others such as Toyo Miyatake hadn’t taken pictures of them.

• Playing the role as the final speaker, model how to synthesize the group’s thinking: 

  • Say: Hearing your points helps me understand that because she took photos before and during incarceration, Lange was able to capture a dramatic change for the worse in the lives of the prisoners. But she couldn’t capture some of the harshest aspects of camp life because she was watched by guards. 

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Part B: Group Discussion (RI.7.9, SL.7.1.a–d, SL.7.4) (25 minutes)

Reflect-and-Respond Dialogue

After assigning students to groups of four, launch the first discussion round by reading aloud and writing on the board the first of the discussion questions. 

• Ask: How does Toyo Miyatake’s perspective as a trusted community photographer influence the stories he documents? Whose experiences are made visible, and whose might be missing? 

Once the first round is complete, continue with the second- and third-round (and, if time permits, fourth-round) preparatory questions. 

• Ask: How does Ansel Adams’s approach compare to that of Lange and Miyatake? What does his choice of subjects reveal or hide?

• Ask: How does the information at the end of Seen and Unseen (pp. 106–123) help us understand what historians can and cannot know about life in the camps?

• Ask: How did combining evidence from multiple sources (photographs, letters, oral histories, text) shape your understanding of what was “seen and unseen” during incarceration?

For the final discussion round, have students discuss the Essential Question. 

• Ask: What is one truth about Japanese American incarceration that became more visible to you during Investigation 1, and which sources helped reveal it?

Use the Unit 2 Academic Discussion 1 Scoring Rubric to assess students’ discussion performance. 

Unit 2 Academic Discussion 1 Scoring Rubric 

Quick Write

Have students write two to three sentences in response to the following prompt:

• Ask: What is one new insight or observation you gained from today’s discussion?

  • Today’s discussion helped me understand that Toyo Miyatake’s photos recorded an important aspect of camp life because they showed how people adapted to the tough conditions of incarceration. By photographing celebrations and other personal moments, he showed that the prisoners were not just passive victims but people who actively sought to adapt to and improve their circumstances.