Outline of World War II Unit Plan for Social Studies

Lesson 1: Introduction to WWII: Prologue to the War Objectives

Students will be able to identify several causes of WWII

Students will be able to identify, explain, and/or define how the following contributed to the beginning of WWII: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Hideki Tōjō, the Nazi Party, the Treaty of Versailles, Fascism, and Economic depression.

Materials The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color. (2003). PBS DVD video. Part 1: “Infamy” (approx. 60 mins.). Procedure (Overview) Students will watch Part 1 from the film The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color. Part 1, “Infamy” provides an overview of the causes of the War and covers important events, people, and ideas from the years 1919—1942. The documentary will help build students’ background knowledge for the upcoming lessons on various aspects of the War. A skeletal notes worksheet will be used with the video to help focus the class on important content.

Lesson 2: Causes of World War II Objectives

Students will be able to identify several causes of WWII by examining primary source documents (political cartoons).

Students will be able to identify and differentiate between long-term causes of the war, intermediate-term causes of the war, and short-term causes of the war.

Materials Political cartoons from Minear (1999). Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel. New York: The New Press. Analysis chart—one for each student. Procedure (Overview) Students will examine and connect several political cartoons to causes of World War II. Initially students will work in pairs to consider symbolism of the cartoons. Ideas about long-, intermediate-, and short-term causes of the War will be filled in on the analysis chart. Whole-class discussion & lecture will follow. Key content and vocabulary will include: appeasement; fascism; Wilson’s 14 points; the League of Nations; reparations; and the Versailles Treaty.

Lesson 3: The War in Europe Objectives

Students will identify the geographic areas that comprised the European theater. They will understand the role of European theater within the greater context of World War II.

Students will be able to explain how Hitler’s decision to invade Russia affected the war in Europe.

Materials Political cartoons from Minear (1999). Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel. New York: The New Press. Skeletal notes sheet—one for each student. Computers with internet access—one for each pair of students. Interactive Map of World War II The European Theater: http://www.cyberlearning-world.com/lessons/ushistory/ww2/europeantheater.htm Procedure (Overview) This lesson will cover war operations in Europe. Discussion of political cartoon will be used to set the stage for Hitler’s decision to invade Russia and the subsequent effects on Europe. Students will work in partners to study, read, and take notes about an interactive online map of the European Theater. A skeletal note (i.e. fill in the blank) sheet will be assigned to each pair. The teacher will assign partners for students according to reading ability—more competent readers will be paired with readers who need help. Teacher can circulate classroom during reading and assist partners when necessary. Key content for follow-up class discussion:

Hitler’s decision to invade Russia

The success of the Allies in the Atlantic

The use of sonar to detect German submarines

The North African Campaign (Operation Torch)

Attempts to drive Germany out of France (Operation Overlord)

Lesson 4: The Normandy Invasion—Different Leaders, Different Genres Objectives

Students will understand how Normandy invasion was a combined effort by several nations.

Students will be able to explain the events surrounding the D-Day invasion by taking on differing points of view.

NYS Standards

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

o Key Idea 4

Standard 2: World History

o Key Ideas 1, 2, 3, 4

Materials Computers with internet access—one for each student. Internet sites:

Normandy 1944: Imagining D-Day http://www.britannica.com/dday

The National D-Day Memorial Foundation http://www.dday.org/

The History Guy: World War 2: Invasion of Normandy (1944) http://www.historyguy.com/normandy_links.html

Books:

Hakim, J. (1993). A history of US: War, peace, and all that jazz. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 36: Going for D-Day, pp. 157-161.

O’Neill, W. L. (1999). World War II: A Student Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Drez, R. J. (1996). Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.

Procedure

Students will be assigned Ch. 36 from Hakim (1993) as reading homework to prepare for this lesson. Begin with whole-group discussion of contents of this chapter. The teacher will create a semantic web to show connections between people, places, and events surrounding the D-Day invasion and help students build background knowledge for upcoming writing assignments.

Remind students that in both social studies and English classes they have probably come across two kinds of writing about history. Expository writing: writing that has a purpose of explaining and interpreting the facts. Historical fiction: begins with facts but then may create details about people, times, and places. Writers of historical fiction often invent what real-life historical figures say and think.

In today’s lesson students will have a chance to write both kinds of texts about history. They will then to offer their opinions about how the two kinds of writing compare and

contrast. The topic of their research will be historical leaders who contributed to the Normandy Invasion.

Begin the project by introducing students to several leaders involved with the Normandy Invasion. Students will spend most of this period researching and writing about that figure. Some of the key leaders involved in that conflict include U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, German Commander Erwin Rommel, and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Using printed sources and internet sites listed below, students will seek out biographic information on the leader they select. They should attempt to answer the following questions about the person being studied:

o What were the contributions of their chosen leader to the war as a whole? o What are the leader’s most significant biographical details? o In what ways did the leader indirectly or directly bring about the Normandy

invasion? o Where, physically, was this leader on June 6, 1944? o What, if any, documentation do we have about how this leader reacted to the

invasion?

Students will use their research to write a short, objective expository piece about their chosen leader and the Normandy invasion. Share and discuss writing pieces whole group or in small groups.

Then ask students to begin working on another piece of writing, this time creative writing—namely, writing that involves the invention of or elaboration on historical facts. Students will write a journal entry in which they show what the leader they chose thought, did, and felt at the end of the day, D-Day, when the British, Canadians, and Americans invaded Normandy. Their entries will be fictional but they should be based on the facts of D-Day and what students know from their earlier research.

Finally, ask students to discuss their two writing experiences—the expository and the creative. Which did they find easier, and why? Which did they find more challenging, and why?

Accommodations & Differentiation

Navigating, reading, and researching the above websites could be challenging for struggling readers. The teacher could modify the reading and research task by assigning partners for students according to reading ability—more competent readers could be paired with readers who need help. Teacher can circulate classroom during reading and assist partners when necessary.

Biography graphic organizers could be used to help students organize information during online research and prepare the information for presentation in expository writing pieces.

The teacher can present article from http://www.dday.org/index.php?page=overlord to students as exemplars of expository writing. Students can attempt to model their writing pieces on the examples from this webpage with guidance from the teacher.

Information from the National D-Day Memorial Foundation can be used to build students’ background knowledge about the Normandy Invasion in general.

Assessment Students’ writing will be evaluated using the following three-point rubric:

3: Substantial facts in both pieces of writing with significant, obvious invention in the journal piece; very clear organization in the expository writing; error-free grammar, usage, and mechanics.

2: some facts in both pieces of writing with some obvious invention in the journal piece; moderately clear organization in the expository writing; some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.

1: Inadequate facts in either or both pieces of writing with insignificant invention in the journal piece; poor organization in the expository writing; many errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics. Students can contribute to the assessment rubric by determining how many facts should be required and what would constitute a well-organized presentation.

Lesson 5: End of the War in Europe Objectives

Students will understand the importance of the Normandy invasion to the overall war strategy of the Allies. Students will explain the overall Allied strategy for 1944-1945, and to assess how successful it was. Students will assess the effectiveness of the strategic bombing campaign against German cities.

Students will identify on a map locations that were important to the war in northern Europe. They will identify and explain the significance of the most important military engagements.

Materials Online interactive historical map of Northern Europe: http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/neh/interactives/wwii/lesson3/ Scavenger hunt sheet for each student to use with the above map. United States Strategic Bombing Survey Summary Report—primary source document available at: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar//AAF/USSBS/ETO-Summary.html Procedure (Overview) This lesson will explore how the Allies were able to defeat and occupy Germany in the years 1944—1945. The teacher will use the interactive map of Northern Europe to demonstrate how the Allied offensive developed. Students can complete scavenger hunt sheets with partners to reinforce content. Students will analyze primary sources to construct an understanding of the Allies’ strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Students will read a portion of the summary report of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey for the European Theater. They will work in groups to read an assigned section and answer corresponding DBQ questions, as follows: Group 1: Overall Strategies Group 2: Effects on German Cities Group 3: Effects on the German Ball Bearing and Steel Industries Group 4: Effects on the German Oil Industry and Railroads Group 5: Effects on the German Air Force Groups will use the answers they come up with to briefly present that information to the class.

Lesson 6: Examining the Holocaust through Literature Objectives

Teacher and students will use High 5 reading comprehension strategies (Dymock & Nicholson, 2010) to increase understanding of Elie Wiesel’s Night and other readings related to the Holocaust. High 5 strategies include: building background knowledge; visualizing; questioning; analyzing text structure; and summarizing.

Students will be able to read aloud and summarize information presented in assigned readings about the Holocaust. They will collaborate with fellow student to create a summary of the assigned reading.

NYS Standards

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

o Key Idea 4

Standard 2: World History

o Key Ideas 1, 2

Materials Hakim, J. (1993). A history of US: War, peace, and all that jazz. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 26: A Final Solution, pp. 110-117. Selections from Elie Wiesel’s book Night for each pair of students. “First they came” Poem (untitled), attributed to Reverend Martin Niemoeller, for each pair of students. PowerPoint presentation—overview of the Holocaust Professional Resource: Dymock, S., & Nicholson, T. (2010). “High 5!) strategies to enhance comprehension of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 166—178. Procedure

Students will be assigned Ch. 26 from Hakim (1993) as reading homework to prepare for this lesson. Begin with whole-group discussion of contents of this chapter. Continue with introduction of the Holocaust with lecture and PowerPoint presentation. This presentation will help activate background knowledge—first part of the High 5 reading strategy.

Hand out a copy of the excerpts from Elie Wiesel’s Night and the Martin Niemoeller poem to each student. Use the poem to model and demonstrate the partner reading activity (below).

Students will partner read selections from Night. Teacher assigns partners for students according to reading ability—more competent readers will be paired with readers who might need help. Before reading, discuss with them the meanings of certain terms that may be unfamiliar: betrothal, billeted, expulsion, pillage, Gestapo, hermetically sealed, abominable, truncheons, dysentery, crematory, the SS. This will also help build background.

Begin the partner reading procedure. During reading, students will work on reading strategies: Questioning, Visualizing, and Examining Text Structures. Students will sticky-note-read the selections, stopping to discuss and record their questions at the end of each section, or words/phrases that helped them form clear mental pictures, or anything they notice about the type of text structure Wiesel uses. Students will take turns reading one section at a time from the assigned article. When the reader completes his/her section, the listener provides an oral summary of the paragraph that needs to be “approved” by the reader. If the summary is not clear or accurate, the pair goes back to the text and rereads silently to add what is necessary. The two then switch roles.

When the pair is done with the readings they should write a collaborative summary of the entire selection from the text. The teacher can have the students read their summaries aloud. Their questions about the text, words/phrases that helped them visualize, and notes about the text structure can be shared during whole group discussion once all partners have finished the assigned reading. Summaries could also be collected and evaluated for a grade.

Students’ tickets out the door for this lesson could be completed in pairs or independently. Students will use internet sources to help construct summaries for one question from the table below.

Question Internet Resource

Who is Elie Wiesel? Provide a brief biographical summary.

Elie Wiesel Bio http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/HOLO/ELIEBIO.HTM

Where in Europe did these events occur? Label and briefly annotate a map of Europe.

Concentration and Death Camps

http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blmap.htm

Read through personal accounts of the Holocaust. Provide both a brief summary and your personal response.

Holocaust Personal Histories http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/

Accommodations & Differentiation

Navigating, reading, and researching the above websites could be challenging for struggling readers. The teacher could modify the reading and research task by having students continue to work with partners. Partners will be assigned according to reading ability—more competent readers could be paired with readers who need help. Teacher can circulate classroom during reading and assist partners when necessary.

For students who have difficulty with reading strategies, the teacher could work on additional modeling and direct instruction for the partner reading activity in small groups or pairs.

The teacher is free to modify the readings to suit the needs of his/her students. Selections could be differentiated by making them longer or shorter according to students’ reading abilities.

Assessment Students’ writing will be evaluated using the following three-point rubric:

3: Substantial facts in both pieces of writing with significant, obvious invention in the journal piece; very clear organization in the expository writing; error-free grammar, usage, and mechanics.

2: some facts in both pieces of writing with some obvious invention in the journal piece; moderately clear organization in the expository writing; some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.

1: Inadequate facts in either or both pieces of writing with insignificant invention in the journal piece; poor organization in the expository writing; many errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics. Students can contribute to the assessment rubric by determining how many facts should be required and what would constitute a well-organized presentation.

Lesson 7: War in the Pacific Objectives

Students will be able to identify and describe major battles that occurred in the Pacific. Students will be able to locate these on a map.

Students will articulate the overall Japanese strategy during World War II and their motivation to fight, and to assess how successful it was. Students will also understand the resistance the Allied forces faced.

Materials Online interactive historical map of Pacific Theater: http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/neh/interactives/wwii/lesson1/

Handouts for each student, according to the group they are assigned to—Battle of the Coral Seas, Battle of Midway, and Battle of Guadalcanal. Chart for taking notes. Procedure (Overview) The topic of this lesson is the Pacific Theater. Fighting in the Pacific will be introduced with a brief lecture and discussion using the interactive map. Content will include:

What was the overall Japanese strategy?

Why was it adopted?

Which strategic goals were met, and which were not?

Students will then be assigned to groups and will complete a jigsaw activity covering three major battles: Battle of the Coral Seas, Battle of the Midway, and Battle of Guadalcanal, along with the strategies employed by each side following the battle. Students can use handouts provided by the teacher as well as internet links from the interactive map. They will become experts in their respective fields and will share their knowledge with peers after their research is complete. A three-column chart will be used for note-taking during this lesson.

Lesson 8: Atomic Warfare and Japan’s Surrender Objectives

Students will be able to explain the pros and cons of using nuclear weapons during World War II.

Students will understand the short-term consequences and long-term implications of nuclear warfare.

Students will analyze persuasive writing structure and begin formulating opinions regarding the United States’s use of nuclear weapons against Japan.

NYS Standards

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

o Key Ideas 2, 4

Standard 2: World History

o Key Ideas 1, 2, 4

Materials Hakim, J. (1993). A history of US: War, peace, and all that jazz. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 42: A Little Boy, pp. 178-181. Garner, Joe. (2008). We interrupt this broadcast with 3 CSs: The events that stopped our lives…from the Hindenburg explosion to the Virginia Tech shooting. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. Use tracks from CD 1 about Hiroshima. Note-taking worksheet to use while listening to the above CD. Computers with internet access for each student, and projector or interactive whiteboard for teacher. Translation of leaflet dropped on Japan, August 6, 1945: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?documentdate=1945-08-06&documentid=6-2&studycollectionid=abomb&pagenumber=1 Pages from President Truman’s diary, July 17, 18, and 25, 1945. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/fulltext.php?fulltextid=15 TIME magazine: Least Abhorrent Choice article, Feb. 3, 1947 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886289-1,00.html Gar Alperovitz, Commondreams.org article: Hiroshima After Sixty Years: The Debate Continues, Aug., 3, 2005 http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0803-26.htm Persuasive Writing Handout & Persuasive Writing Handout 2 for each student Procedure

Students will be assigned Ch. 42 from Hakim (1993) as reading homework to prepare for this lesson. Begin with whole-group discussion of contents of this chapter.

Ask students whether they believe atomic weapons have benefited the world or not. This will be a free writing exercise to get the students interested in the day's topic. Allow the students to write in their journals or notebooks for approximately 5-10 minutes. When this time expires, ask students to share their journals with a neighbor or partner, and then volunteer their journals to read aloud or state the main points.

Continue by passing out the notes sheet for “We Interrupt This Broadcast”. Listen to compact disc 1, tracks 7 and 8: “Atomic Bomb Destroys Hiroshima” and “Japan Surrenders: WWII Ends”. Stop after each track and allow students to first compare answers with each other, and then discuss ideas with the whole group.

Using computer with projector or interactive whiteboard, examine primary source documents related to the bombing of Japan and discuss. For example:

o Translation of leaflet dropped on Japan, August 6, 1945. o Pages from President Truman’s diary, July 17, 18, and 25, 1945.

Independent reading & research activity: ask students to read Commondreams.org article or TIME article about use of atomic bombs during World War II. Students should read to find out:

o What is the author’s point of view? How can you tell? o What facts and evidence does the author use to support his stance? o What counter-arguments might be given in response to his statements?

Graphic organizers will be used to record information (students will have a choice of which graphic organizer to use).

Whole-class discussion re: using atomic bombs. Should the bombs have been used? What were the benefits? What were the long-term consequences? Ask students to begin to formulate their own opinions.

Accommodations & Differentiation

The teacher will build students’ background knowledge for this topic with We interrupt this broadcast CDs. Documents from the Truman library will also help build knowledge around Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

Persuasive writing graphic organizers could be used to help students organize information during online research and familiarize students with salient aspects of persuasive writing.

Assessment Students will be assessed for their work in this lesson at the conclusion lesson 10, our culminating debate. Other options for formal and informal assessment for this lesson include:

o The teacher will informally asses students’ comprehension of lesson content during class discussion.

o The teacher can informally assess students’ journal entries from the beginning of class and use them as benchmark writing pieces. These can be compared to persuasive writing pieces students will complete during lesson 10.

o Notes sheets can be collected and screened or informally observed during the lesson.

Lesson 9: The American Homefront Objectives

Students will be able to identify the roles of people on the home front, especially women, African Americans, and Japanese Americans.

Students will understand why, how, and where internment camps were created.

Students will be able to explain the effects of World War II on the United States economy.

Materials Samples of WWII propaganda posters—one for each pair of students Skeletal notes sheets for each student Large construction paper for poster assignment for each student Procedure (Overview)

Ask students to review the term propaganda from English class. Do think-pair-share to review the concept.

Students will break up into pairs of twos. Each group will receive an example of a war propaganda poster. The students should write down some characteristics of the poster and should also try to figure out what the poster is trying to express. After ten or fifteen minutes, the partners can share what they have found with the whole group. Then as a class, we will come up with our own definition of propaganda.

Whole class discussion and lecture about the following topics: rationing, internment camps, and women using direct instruction. Skeletal notes will be used to focus students’ attention on important points. The class will also discuss feelings towards Japanese Americans, African Americans, and women, as well as their roles at home in the U. S. during the war.

o Key content for discussion: Cost-Plus System; "Double V" Campaign; Internment Camps; Japanese American Citizens League; Rosie the Riveter; WAC: Women's Army Corps

Students will be given an assignment to create a propaganda poster of their own. The theme could be World War II related, or it could relate to a contemporary issue.

Lesson 10: The Atomic Bomb Debate Objectives • Students will formulate an opinion either in favor or against the use of the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. They will support their arguments with reasons, evidence, and facts from lesson 8 as well as research they conduct during this lesson. Materials

Radio broadcast by Truman on August 9, 1945 accessed on the National Archives’ Heroes and Villains website at http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/heroesvillains/g5/cs2/g5cs2s1.htm

President Truman diary entry handout

ALSOS Digital Library for Nuclear Issues http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=issues/Decision+to+Use+the+Atomic+Bomb

Procedure (Overview)

As a bell ringer activity, begin class by having students listen to the radio broadcast of President Truman announcing that the US has dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Ask the class to review the reasons Truman gives for using the atomic bomb against the Japanese. Explain that this lesson focuses on the debate whether the use of this weapon was necessary.

Pass out the handout, President Truman Diary Entry, to the class and ask students to read it independently. How did Truman feel about using the bomb? How can you tell? Was this the right decision? Students will then be given time in class to choose a side in this debate, accumulate research, and summarize their opinions.

As part of the final assessment for this unit, each student should compose a letter to President Truman either praising or condemning his decision to use the atomic bomb, basing his or her opinion on classroom discussion and information gathered from the classroom activity. Students should consider the world view of the Japanese (they thought of themselves as samurai, or warriors), the Americans’ perspective, and the pros and cons of using nuclear weapons overall. As students do their research, tell them that the debate question is difficult and has no clear-cut answers. Remind them to read all material critically and thoughtfully.

After students have completed their research, hold a whole-group debate. Each side should have an opening argument and should be prepared to ask the opponents questions, and give a rebuttal at the end.

Discuss with students their thoughts about the event. Was dropping the bomb the best solution? If so, why? How do you feel about the fallout the Japanese suffered after the bombs were dropped? Do the ends of the war justify the means?

Evaluation/Assessment: Students’ persuasive writing pieces will be evaluated using the persuasive writing rubric.