Patterns of Injustice

1. Big question introduced: “Why should we learn about the past?” In partners or as a whole class, students discuss quotes “I am hopeful that Canadians on learning of our past will refuse to let State or individual acts of racism steal the life, property and dignity of innocent Canadians,” by Canada’s first East Asian woman judge, and “There can be no dedication to Canada’s future without a knowledge of its past,” by former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
2. Short background on Japanese Canadian history for context.
3. Injustice defined and trigger warnings given.
4. Through slideshow, the seven patterns of injustice, with primary source examples, shared with students.
5. Worksheet with checkboxes and definitions distributed. Teacher sets up seven primary source stations on desk groups. Note: there are three different documents you can use for the stations. The first two are: “POI Primary Source Stations Slides” or “POI Primary Source Stations PDF” which have the source and instructions on one page, or “Lesson One Primary Source Stations Lettersize for Printing”  which have the source and instructions on two separate page for enlarged viewing. Moving around, students visit each of seven stations, checking off the injustice (or injustices) they recognize in each station. On worksheet, on notes/evidence, they write down evidence of the pattern. Teacher circulates to help out, as needed.
6. After viewing or visiting each station, students answer the two short reflection questions at the end of their worksheet.
7. Teacher goes over each station’s injustice, either in class or afterwards. Teacher key with evidence from stations provided.
8. Note: above activity can be adjusted to fit classroom’s needs. Instead of stations, this activity could run as a teacher directed slideshow with worksheets or as a photocopied package that includes worksheet and primary sources.

Required Resources:

• Teaching Powerpoint & projector – the slideshow walks class through the lesson. Note: “answers” follow each slide.
• 1 student hand out (card set) – print out one sheet per student and get students to cut them into eight pieces. Alternative: students use individual whiteboards and pens to write out identified pattern or draw their own cards / symbols.
• Scissors for cutting out cards.

1. Review slideshow with the seven patterns restated.
2. Injustice defined and trigger warnings given.
3. Four corners ice breaking activity reviews concepts and allows students to express their opinions.
4. Every student has a set of cards with the seven patterns written on them. The teacher goes through a slideshow with content from current events or recent history (e.g., social media posts, editorial cartoons, and other primary sources). After each slide, the teacher asks students to hold up the card(s) representing the pattern(s) they see. This approach gauges understanding and allows all students to participate, including shy/uncertain students. There is one “I don’t know” card that they may use once.
5. Note: many content slides have more than one pattern. Students can choose to focus on the most obvious example or hold up different cards as an extending activity.
6. The teacher scans the class to check for understanding.
7. Using the slideshow, the teacher reveals which pattern(s) are represented for each example.
8. “Answer” slides follow each example. There are additional examples that may not be outlined on answer slides. This can open up class discussion.
9. Teacher shares final three reflection questions. They can be answered in pairs, tables, as a whole class, or written down.

Required Resources:

Teaching Powerpoint & projector – the slideshow walks class through the lesson. Note: “answers” follow each slide.

Activity board – 1 activity board per 5 students. Options: 1. Print out the large size, one per table group 2. have students draw a quartered circle on a large piece of easel paper and label each quarter “individual”, “group”, “public support”, and “political system.”

Sets of civil action cards – 1 set per table, cut up. Teacher/students will need to cut up cards in advance of activity.

“Ways to take student action” worksheet, one per student. If you want students to find examples from the internment video as well as civil actions of their own choice, have this worksheet on both sides.

Teacher key of activity board with  civil action cards put into one correct category.

1. Hook: two quotes about injustice: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” by Bishop Desmond Tutu, and “Pay it forward. If I have this knowledge, I should pass it to the next person. Hopefully, that person will pass on the same knowledge to someone else.” by Japanese Canadian community leader Art Miki. Discuss.
2. Brief summary of lesson 1 & 2.
3. Civil action vocabulary shared.
4. Four ways that people can take civil action (shared from electionscanada.ca lesson).
5. There are many ways people can make change. It might be helpful to think of four categories of civil action: (1) Participating as an individual, (2) Working together as a group, (3) Building public support, (4) Working through the political system.
6. Background video about Japanese Canadian Redress. Students find examples of each category of civil action from this video and share orally or with worksheet. Answers shared (on slide.)
7. Divide class into tables. Each table has an activity board / large chart with a circle divided into the four categories of civil action. Students are given set of JC civil action cards with examples from JC history of people/groups who worked toward redress in different ways. In groups, students sort examples into the different categories.
8. Teacher shares results with the class, either by circulating or as a class (with teacher key). There will be some action cards that fit into more than one category.
9. Students reflect: “Are there any examples that aren’t on a card that you might add? Explain”, “Which action would be the most important one in each category and why?”, “Of all the actions, which would be the most impactful and why?”
10. Student think of an issue they’d like to address. It doesn’t need to be big.
11. Distribute “Ways to take civil action” individual worksheet. Students brainstorm and write down steps they, themselves, might use to achieve change in their own world.
12. If students are “stuck,” provide the scaffolded example of renaming a local colonially-named school with a Japanese Canadian teacher’s name. Share background video then ask students about what they could could do to persuade the school board to rename the school. Write ideas on their worksheet. Note: this is an actual civil action taking place in 2026 by Kelvin Higo in Richmond, BC.
13. Final unit reflection questions. Can be addressed as a class, in small groups, or written down: “Why should we learn from the past?”, “What have we learned from this unit?” and discuss “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”—Elie Wiesel, writer, activist, Holocaust survivor