According to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 7, 1941, would live in infamy. He was right, considering that in 1994, the U.S. Congress designated December 7 each year as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. But what is Pearl Harbor Day? How do we recognize it in our country and our classrooms? Do your students know its significance?

We’ve collected articles, resources, and lessons to help you discuss this historical event in your social studies and ELA classes, building past-to-present connections and background knowledge for your students.

• Teach about the significance of Pearl Harbor Day in social studies
• Explore different perspectives on Pearl Harbor Day in ELA

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[Teach about the significance of Pearl Harbor Day in social studies](id-ss)

The attack on Pearl Harbor was just one event in the larger context of World War II. Help your students understand the significance of this event in America and how it affected the war at large with social studies resources:

Look back at December 7, 1941

For the first two years of World War II, the United States remained neutral. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor forced the country to join the war. Students can learn more about the events that took place on that day by exploring resources like:

• An explainer article that looks at the events of the Pearl Harbor attack.
• A news article about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who became the first leader of his country to visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in 2017.
• Interviews with four survivors of the Pearl Harbor Attack on the USS Arizona about their experiences in 1941 and their plans to reunite in the future.

Review a timeline of events before and after Pearl Harbor

Though the attack on Pearl Harbor surprised U.S. military members and government leaders, it may seem less surprising now, years later, when we examine the greater context of World War II. Have students explore events leading up to Pearl Harbor and its aftermath with resources like:

• An article that explains the events in the United States that led to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. government’s decision to enter World War II.
• The full text of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to Congress and the nation following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Interviews with Americans across the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor, sharing their thoughts on the event and what the U.S. should have done next.

Decide if the attack on Pearl Harbor unified America

Use Pearl Harbor Day to introduce a focused inquiry lesson into your social studies classroom. Have students analyze the compelling question: “Did the attack on Pearl Harbor unify America?” They can review different perspectives on the issue, like:

• Reactions to American involvement
• Justification for American involvement
• African American perspectives on U.S. involvement
• Informed action

To finish the lesson, students can complete a summative performance task, writing a letter to President Roosevelt to explain their opinions on American involvement in the war before and after Pearl Harbor.

Discover the origins of World War II

By December 1941, World War II had already been happening in Europe for two years. Help students build background knowledge on the events that led to the start of World War II, like:

• The rise of fascism
• The start of the Holocaust
• American Isolationism at the start of World War II

Build background knowledge about World War II

Using various resources and information can make it easier to understand the full story of any historical event. You can use our World War II Background text set to fill in the gaps for students using:

• Infographics that look at data like military production by the numbers and civilian deaths during the war.
• Biographies of world leaders during this era, like Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.
• Articles that examine key issues during World War II, such as why Hitler’s plan ultimately failed.

Teach students how World War II ended—and what came after

After the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States was involved in World War II for almost four years. Their involvement and the entire war ended on September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered. Help students better understand how this conflict concluded:

• Read the full text of President Harry S. Truman’s speech to the American public after the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
• Explore how the United States and Japan became allies following World War II.
• Hear stories about World War II veterans who shared their experiences as prisoners of war in Japan.

[Explore different perspectives on Pearl Harbor Day in ELA](id-ela)

There are always multiple points of view or narratives for any historical event. Help students explore some of these varied perspectives for Pearl Harbor Day with fiction and nonfiction ELA activities:

Analyze President Roosevelt’s address to the nation

After significant events, world leaders have the responsibility to address their nation about what took place and the path forward. Help students understand this specific type of communication by analyzing President Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor address:

• Have students read the text of President Roosevelt’s address.
• Watch the video of the speech, which was broadcast on a Paramount newsreel.
• Have students use the comparing media graphic organizer to analyze how two different delivery methods for the speech convey Roosevelt’s message and meaning.

Dig deeper into the aftermath of Pearl Harbor

The U.S. involvement in World War II changed drastically after Pearl Harbor. Help students understand these changes and why they happened by reviewing resources like:

• An article that explored Japan’s motives for carrying out the Pearl Harbor attack.
• Primary sources that looked at how the U.S. justified joining World War II after Pearl Harbor.
• An article that looked more deeply into the causes and outcomes of the Pacific battles of World War II.

Understand Japan’s occupation of the Philippines during World War II

During Japan’s conquest of the Pacific, the country’s military didn’t just attack Pearl Harbor. They also occupied the Philippine Islands. Use a paired text analysis to explore this occupation through fiction and nonfiction texts:

• Assign the fiction story “The Jade Elephant” by Selina Libi Bjorlie about a Chinese-Filipino family’s experience of fleeing their village during the Japanese occupation.
• Have students read a nonfiction article about the geography, people, culture, and more hallmarks of the Philippines.
• Use a Venn Diagram to compare how Filipino culture, land, and attitudes are described in the two texts.

Discover what lessons you can learn from Japanese American internment

Following the Pearl Harbor attacks, Asian Americans, specifically Japanese Americans, faced racism and discrimination from various sources. One of the harshest and most apparent forms of discrimination came from sending Japanese Americans to internment camps in the West. 

Have students think critically about this time in American history by reviewing:

• Events of World War II
• Causes of Japanese American Internment and Imprisonment
• Effects of Japanese American Internment and Experiences at Manzanar

Read poems about war

Authors often use poetry to express their views and emotions in a way they can’t do using other forms of media or communication. Students can explore examples of war-themed poetry with selections like:

• “Dulce et Decorum est” by Wilfred Owen
• “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman
• “Before the Battle” by Siegfried Sassoon
• “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• “To The Colored Soldiers” by Irvin W. Underhill

Explore books about Japanese American internment

Need help choosing your next whole class reading assignment? Consider using one of these book studies that deal with the topic of Japanese American internment during World War II:

“Farewell to Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D. Houston

“Farewell to Manzanar” is Jeanne Wakatsuki’s memoir of her childhood, starting with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and up to her family’s release from the Manzanar Japanese internment camp in California. Help students build background knowledge to understand the context of the memoir with resources like:

• An interactive video that looks at life in Japanese prison camps in the United States.
• An article that discusses events leading up to and following the Japanese-American internment at Manzanar Camp.
• A photo collection that depicts life for Japanese Americans during World War II.

“They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott

Actor and activist George Takei spent part of his childhood in Japanese internment camps during the war. His graphic novel memoir “They Called Us Enemy” examines his experiences growing up in that environment. Students can better understand Takei’s perspective by reviewing resources like:

• An interview with Takei, where he discusses his motivation for writing the memoir and adds more color to the stories he tells within it.
• Reading the full text of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes’ letter to President Roosevelt supporting Japanese internment.
• A past-to-present connection that looked at the experiences of Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it was similar to their experiences during World War II.

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