RISING OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Grades:              

Junior High and High School (6–12)

Subjects:           

Language Arts, Visual Arts, History, Social Science, Humanities

Time Required:

3-4 class periods plus independent research (based on 50min class periods)

Author:               

Rebecca Irby Executive Director PEAC Institute

(Adapted from the J. Paul Getty Museum Education Department: http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/index.html )

Lesson Overview

Students will write narratives from the perspective of atomic bomb survivors depicted in rare photographs and multimedia biographical information. Then they will create a piece of creative expression (Shadow Art) depicting a moment from their narratives.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Discuss visual media and write a descriptive narrative using sensory details.
• Identify the events leading up to the atomic bombings and speculate what life was like directly following the bombings and what life is like now.
• Write journal entries from the perspective of a survivor.
• Create a piece of creative expression (Shadow Art).

Media Assets: http://education.peacinstitute.org/

• Media clips
• Pictures from the United States Strategic Bombing Survey, Physical Damage Division 

Materials

• Media clips & photographs
• 5 x 8-inch cards
• Examples of art created by past participants
• Student handouts:
  • Photographic & film details
  • Artist statement
  • Character list from Hiroshima, by John Hersey
• Hiroshima by John Hersey (The New Yorker, August 31, 1946) (optional)

Lesson Steps - Day 1

1. Show the film clips and display the photographs included with this lesson plan. Have students take the time to look closely at the photographs then ask them the following questions:
   • What do you see?
   • What do you notice about these people? What else?
   • What are these people wearing/not wearing?
   • What else do you notice?
   • Look closely at the background. What can you identify?
   • What is on the ground? How do you know this?
2. Distribute 5 x 8-inch cards and ask students to write a paragraph that describes the film and photographs which includes a minimum of five sensory details. Instruct students to consider what they could see, hear, smell, taste, or touch if they were in the photographs. Next have students select a single figure from the film or photographs. Pass out the handout Photographic & Film Details. Instruct students to look closely at all the details about the person they chose to focus on, and then answer the questions in the handout. Discuss responses as a class.
3. Instruct students to identify the events leading up to the atomic bombings. The following web resources might be helpful: "HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI REMEMBERED” on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered website (http://www.hiroshima-remembered.com)
4. Distribute the character list from John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Explain that these people, like most of the stories of what happened directly following the atomic bombing, were almost invisible in U.S. history. Additionally, you could have students orally recite one of the character synopses. You may want to take a look at “Hiroshima” on The New Yorker‘s Website (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima).
5. Have students select one person for the videos, photographs, or book and write five (5) to ten (10) journal entries from the perspective of that individual. Explain that they will create journals in a biographical narrative format. Further explain that all information surrounding the bombing was censored by both the US & Japanese governments.
   • Possible journal topics could include the following:
     • Type of work they did before the bomb
     • Details about their family
     • The day the bomb was dropped
     • Their day to day life after the bomb
     • A dramatic moment
     • How they felt 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years after
   • Remind students to include many sensory details in their writings. The journal entries should span the years of the individual‘s life from right before/right after the bomb to now. Students can conduct research with Web resources like “Hiroshima” on The New Yorker‘s Website) (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima)..
6. Tell students to select a moment from their journals and create a piece of Shadow Art that illustrates the moment. Show students an example of such artwork from the past workshops: (https://youtu.be/yLtD06_hjWA).

HOMEWORK CORNER | Have students finish their journal entries and begin to think about what kind of Shadow Art they will engage in.

Creative Expression - Day 2

Materials

Paper, crayons, markers, watercolors, paint, contemporary magazines, scissors, and provided images.

1. Show students examples from the Dada Collage’s & Alex Webb’s photographs. (See the image bank and descriptions of the Dada movement and Alex Webb’s You can also show some examples of other student’s work, https://youtu.be/yLtD06_hjWA.
2. Ask the students what they believe the artist was trying to say through their art. Have them break into groups and discuss.
3. Tell students to select a dramatic moment in their journals or a reaction to the survivors’ story from which they will create their collage.
4. Have the students choose 3 to 5 words or symbols from the word bank and 3 to 5 images for their collages. (Students are welcome to add their own images or )
5. Have the students begin manipulating the images by cutting them and rearranging them. Ask them to find two different ways of arranging them. Have the students think about the meaning they want to portray and how to combine the images, words, and color to get their point across.
6. *Bonus - Ask the students if they can make the opposite meaning with the same images and words.
7. Before the students finalize their collages, by gluing them down, have them pair up and ask the following questions:
   • What feelings or emotions come up when you look at the collage?
   • Where do your eyes go?
   • What do you focus on?
8. Have the students finalize their collages by gluing down the images and words. Have them add color to make their statements stronger.
9. Here are some questions you can ask for a final discussion:
   • What are shadow people?
   • Are their any shadow people in your life?
   • What current events are happening now that involve shadow people?
   • If you were a world leader what would you change now that you have learned more about what happened in Hiroshima & Nagasaki?
   • Are there things in your schools that you don’t like?
   • How can you change them?
   • Was dropping the bomb an extreme form of bullying?

HOMEWORK CORNER | Final journal entry: Imagine you are one of the US leaders or bombardiers, what would you say to the character you chose?

Suggestion:

Read an excerpt about shadow people from John Hersey’s Hiroshima while they are creating as an added value to the art-making process.

From p. 72 of Hiroshima by John Hersey released in 1989-

“The scientists noticed that the flash of the bomb had discolored concrete to a light reddish tint, had scaled off the surface of granite, and had scorched other types of building material, and that consequently the bomb had in some places, left prints of the shadows that had been cast by its light . The experts found, for instance, a permanent shadow thrown on the roof of the Chamber of Commerce Building (220 yards from the rough center) by the structure’s rectangular tower; several others in the lookout post on top of the Hypothec Bank (2,050 yards); another in the tower of the Chugoku Electric Supply Building (800 yards); another projected by the handle of a gas pump (2,630 yards); and several on granite tomb stones in the Gokoku Shrine (385 yards). By triangulating these and other shadows with the objects that formed them, the scientists determined that the exact center was a spot a hundred and fifty yards south of the torii and a few yards southeast of the pile of ruins that had once been the Shima Hospital. (A few vague human silhouettes were found, and these gave rise to stories that eventually included fancy and precise details. One story told how a painter on a ladder was monumentalized in a kind of bas-relief on the stone facade of a bank building on which he was at work, in the act of dipping his paint brush into his paint can; another, how a man and his cart on the bridge near the Museum of Science and Industry, almost under the center of the explosion, were cast down in an embossed shadow which made it clear that the man was about to whip his hours.)”   

Conclusion

At the end of the class ask students to share their Shadow Art, what the experience has meant to them and what it makes them feel. Ask the students what Shadow Art means to them?

Encourage students to upload pictures of their Shadow Art to http://education.peacinstitute.org/shadow_art to share what they made with an international audience and have the opportunity to Apply to PEAC’s 2020 75th Memorial Hiroshima Tour.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on their participation in group discussions and their ability to provide five to 10 journal entries with sensory details from the perspective of the individual they selected. Students’ Shadow Art should reflect a moment from their journal entries. Here is a link to the rubric that will help you assess the journal entries. All resources can also be found on the Handout page: http://education.peacinstitute.org/handouts.

Media Assets

Film Clips:

Photographs:

Day 1 - Lesson Steps

1. Show the film clips and display the photographs included with this lesson plan. Have students take the time to look closely at the photographs then ask them the following questions:

• What do you see?  
• What do you notice about these people? What else?
• What are these people wearing/not wearing?
• What else do you notice?
• Look closely at the background. What can you identify?
• What is on the ground? How do you know this?

2. Distribute 5 x 8-inch cards and ask students to write a paragraph that describes the film and photographs which includes a minimum of five sensory details. Instruct students to consider what they could see, hear, smell, taste, or touch if they were in the photographs. Next have students select a single figure from the film or photographs. Pass out the handout Photographic & Film Details. Instruct students to look closely at all the details about the person they chose to focus on, and then answer the questions in the handout. Discuss responses as a class.

3. Instruct students to identify the events leading up to the atomic bombings. The following Web resources might be helpful:

• "HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI REMEMBERED” on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered website (http://www.hiroshima-remembered.com/)

4. Distribute the character list from John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Explain that these people, like most of the stories of what happened directly following the atomic bombing, were almost invisible in U.S. history. Additionally, you could have students orally recite one of the character synopses. You may want to take a look at “Hiroshima” on The New Yorker‘s Web site (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima). 

5. Have students select one person for the videos or photographs and write five to 10 journal entries from the perspective of that individual. Explain that they will create journals in a biographical narrative format. Further explain that all information surrounding the bombing was censored by both the US & Japanese governments.

Possible journal topics could include the following: 

• Type of work they did before the bomb
• Details about their family
• The day the bomb was dropped 
• What day to day life after the bomb
• A dramatic moment 
• How they felt 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years after

Remind students to include many sensory details in their writings. The journal entries should span the years of the individual‘s life from right before/right after the bomb to now. Students can conduct research with Web resources like “Hiroshima” on The New Yorker‘s Web site (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima).

6. Tell students to select a dramatic moment from their journals and develop a piece of creative expression that illustrates the moment. Show students an example of such artwork from the pass Shadow People Project workshops: (https://youtu.be/yLtD06_hjWA). 

Homework Day 1
Have students finish their journal entries and begin to think about what kind of Shadow Art they will engage in.

Day 2: Creative Expression

1. Show students examples of artwork from the Shadow People Project workshop in Hiroshima that included 6 US youth working alongside 16 Japanese youth to make art about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DOnhraEe4).
2. Tell students to select a dramatic moment in their journals or a reaction to the survivors’ story from which they will create a work of Shadow Art. This can be a two or three-dimensional work of art, multimedia, digital, dance, music, poetry, collages or any form of expression. 
3. Discuss what materials will be available for students to utilize for the art making session and encourage people to draw inspiration from their life experience and bring any personal elements from home to include into their story telling.
4. Share images from, the archive of the Hiroshima Peace Museum as an example of artifacts of that moment that could be represented through art making. Everyday objects can make for great art.
5. Share the Artist Statement Handout and as they write prompt them with this statement “Creativity lies in all of us. When a challenge arises in life it is through creative problem solving that we create a solution out of a difficult situation.”.
6. Have the students break into groups and share their statements with one another. Walk around while they are sharing and encourage them to give each other suggestions and feedback.

Day 3: Shadow Art

Materials:

Paper, crayons, markers, watercolors, paint, contemporary magazines, scissors and provided images by Cannon Hersey.

Art-making Steps:

Students make work as a response following their artist statements.

Students are encouraged to create their own Shadow Art. However, we understand not all students feel creative so here is an example of a way they can create an art piece through collage and collaboration:

Collage

• Share with the students 4 images: “Gembaku Dome under construction,” “Survivor Tree,” “World Peace Cathedral Angel” and “Peace Child”.
• Ask them what they think the artist was trying to express? Click here to see a description of each image or the Handout Page: http://education.peacinstitute.org/handouts
• Brainstorm words or universal symbols like +, - and =, that can be used to as layers of the collage.
• Talk to the students about making a frame for a photograph that relates to the artwork from found material, magazine clippings or clothing. 
• Encourage the inclusion of words or poems to add layers of expression.
• Discuss art as layering of history for them to think of the perspective from which they are making the art. Ask if they are looking at making art through the perspective of the survivor or through the perspective of their current reality.

Suggestion: 

Read excerpt about shadow people from John Hersey’s Hiroshima while they are creating as added value to art-making process.

From p. 72 of Hiroshima by John Hersey released in 1989-

“The scientists noticed that the flash of the bomb had discolored concrete to a light reddish tint, had scaled off the surface of granite, and had scorched other types of building material, and that consequently the bomb had in some places, left prints of the shadows that had been cast by its light . The experts found, for instance, a permanent shadow thrown on the roof of the Chamber of Commerce Building (220 yards from the rough center) by the structure’s rectangular tower; several others in the lookout post on top of the Hypothec Bank (2,050 yards); another in the tower of the Chugoku Electric Supply Building (800 yards); another projected by the handle of a gas pump (2,630 yards); and several on granite tomb stones in the Gokoku Shrine (385 yards). By triangulating these and other shadows with the objects that formed them, the scientists determined that the exact center was a spot a hundred and fifty yards south of the torii and a few yards southeast of the pile of ruins that had once been the Shima Hospital. (A few vague human silhouettes were found, and these gave rise to stories that eventually included fancy and precise details. One story told how a painter on a ladder was monumentalized in a kind of bas-relief on the stone facade of a bank building on which he was at work, in the act of dipping his paint brush into his paint can; another, how a man and his cart on the bridge near the Museum of Science and Industry, almost under the center of the explosion, were cast down in an embossed shadow which made it clear that the man was about to whip his hours.)”    

 Conclusion

At the end of the class ask students to share their Shadow Art, what the experience has meant to them and what it makes them feel. Ask the students what Shadow Art means to them?

Encourage students to upload pictures of their art once they finish to http://education.peacinstitute.org/workshop to share what they made with an international audience and have the opportunity to win a scholarship to the 2nd International Youth Leaders Workshop. 

 Assessment

Students will be assessed on their participation in group discussions and their ability to provide five to 10 journal entries with sensory details from the perspective of the individual they selected. Students’ Shadow Art should reflect a moment from their journal entries. Here is a link to the rubric that will help you assess the journal entries. All resources can also be found in the Handout page: http://education.peacinstitute.org/handouts

COMMON CORE EDUCATION STANDARDS ADDRESSED    

Standards for English Language Arts 

SPEAKING AND LISTENING 

Comprehension and Collaboration  

(Grade 6-8)
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. 

RESEARCH 

Research to Build and Present Knowledge 

(Grade 6-8)
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

(Grade 6-8)
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. 

RESEARCH 

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

WRITING 

Production and Distribution of Writing

(Grade 6-8)
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

(Grade 6-12)

3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

11. Develop personal, cultural, textual, and thematic connections within and across genres as they respond to texts through written, digital, and oral presentations, employing a variety of media and genres.

READING 

Comprehension and Drawing Reactions and/or Conclusions

(Grade 6-12)

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. 11. Respond to literature by employing knowledge of literary language, textual features, and forms to read and comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of American and world cultures. 

 Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies Science, and Technical Subjects 

READING 

(Grades 6–8) 

8. Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Grades 11–12) 

7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem. 

WRITING

(Grades 6-12)

2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. 

Standards for Visual and Performing Arts 

Grades 9–12 (Proficient)

2.0 Creative Expression

2.6 Create a two or three-dimensional work of art that addresses a social issue. 

Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

HS Advanced 

1.1.III Visualize and hypothesize to generate plans for ideas and directions for creating art and design that can affect social change. 

Standards for Media Arts

Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

HS Proficient 

1.1.I Use identified generative methods to formulate multiple ideas, develop artistic goals, and problem solve in media arts creation processes. 

HS Accomplished 

1.1.II Strategically utilize generative methods to formulate multiple ideas, refine artistic goals, and increase the originality of approaches in media arts creation processes. 

HS Advanced 

1.1.III Integrate aesthetic principles with a variety of generative methods to fluently form original ideas, solutions, and innovations in media arts creation processes.

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Lesson Plan