If you can’t fight … you can’t survive

Skoog SS

2012-2013

WORLD WAR II BLOG

RE-CREATING HISTORY THROUGH RESEARCH

• When someone says “Research this topic”, what is my first step?

Key skill – Do I know how to find information I need?

• Types of Sources – Very necessary and useful tools

• Primary

• Secondary

• General Historic Background

• Using Research to develop my character’s voice – getting “In Character”

• Their beliefs, passions, backgrounds, and actions

PRIMARY SOURCES

• First hand interviews, writings, recordings by the person being researched – or someone who knew them well. Information that came straight from that person.

• Artifacts like memos, autobiographies, quotes, journals, speeches, personal belongings, etc…

• Examples could include: Diaries, journals, letters, memoirs, interviews, instructions, film, photos, artwork, artifacts, etc…

• You must use 2 of these

SECONDARY SOURCES

• Secondary historical sources are written by either:

• An expert (like a professor of history) who uses a collection of primary and other secondary sources.

• Someone who lived in the time of the person/event being described. This author had very little or no contact with the person, was NOT present at the event being described, but they spoke to people who were and gathered information from the media of their time (newspapers, tv broadcasts, etc.)

• Examples: Biographies, textbooks, specialized encyclopedia collections, newspaper and magazine reports and articles.

• You must use 2 of these

GENERAL HISTORICAL BACKGROUND SOURCES

• Sources that use research from many sources. This is usually a source people go to when they are starting their research in order to find more sources on a topic.

• Ex: Wikipedia, general encyclopedias, reference reads, etc…

You will need 1 of these for your blog

REAL PERSONALITIES

• Real personalities are based on actual characters from the World War II Era

• Ex: FDR, Hitler, Ira Hayes, etc…

• Some sources are harder to find on real personalities than others, but they do exist.

• You need 2 Primary Sources, 2 Secondary Sources, and 1 GHB Source

COMPILATION PERSONALITIES

• Based upon characters that could have or did exist but might not have had a giant voice

• Average Jane’s and Joes who “lived” it.

• Citizens, regular soldiers, pilots, nurses, people in labor camps, etc…

• Students who are these characters have to find sources that could have been about this person.

• Find primary, secondary, or GHB Sources for people like them.

• Ex: Your character = Soviet Soldier in Stalingrad

• You search for sources of people in the Battle of Stalingrad and use those sources to help you build and understand your character’s experience and voice.

• Same Requirement - 2xPrimary / 2x Secondary / 1x GHB

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE BLOG?• Mr. Skoog – the Author of The Daily Mirror will post 2 kinds of news blasts each

week.

• 1. Editorials

• 2. News Updates (no bias)

Your job? Use your research to post “in character” to these editorials and news blasts. 2 Posts per week – at least 150 words per post.

The articles posted by The Daily Mirror will take us through our unit and major events of WWII

IMPORTANT – it is 100% OK to post as much as you like! Make sure you have your 2 main 150 word posts. Then, you can post any size posts outside of that.

• Debate

• Spy mission updates

• Other thoughts your character has on the Blog topics and discussion

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELTPresident of the United States of America

JOSEF STALINFascist Leader and Dictator of the Soviet Union

EVA BRAUN

Long time companion and eventually the wife of Adolf Hitler

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

• 5 Star General

• Supreme Commander of the

Allied forces in the Atlantic

• Responsible for leading the

Allies on D-Day

ANGEL OF DEATH – JOSEF MENGELE

• Mad Scientist who conducted incredibly gruesome experiments on Jews and other ethnic groups for the Nazi Regime at the Auschwitz concentration camp

• The Nazi Scientist known as the “Angel of Death” - Murdered many

ELEANOR ROOSEVELTFDR’s Wife – the First Lady of the United States

FDR’s “Eyes and Ears”- The voice of Average Jane and Average Joe

IRA HAYES

• The American Navajo “Code-Talker” fighting for the U.S. against the Japanese at Iwo Jima

• Famous for being one of the flag raisers in the legendary photo below

ALBERT EINSTEIN• Scientist in charge of introducing nuclear energy to America to create the Manhattan Project

which would lead to the Atomic Bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

HIDEKI TOJO• The military leader and leader of the people of Japan during World War II

WINSTON CHURCHILL• The leader of Britain and father of the British people.

DOUGLAS MACARTHURChief of Staff of the United States Army leading the “Island Hopping” charge against the

Japanese in the Pacific.

KEL BROWNING KANE• US Soldier and Army medic who landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy. He is fighting

his way inland one inch at a time to Berlin

BENITO MUSSOLINI• The Fascist Dictator of Italy who joins

the war with Germany

MAGGIE NIGHTINGALE – US NURSE• A United States nurse serving

at Pearl Harbor

BERNARDO CARLONI• An Italian soldier fighting the Americans in Sicily and Anzio

MITSUO FUCHIDA• Japanese commander at Pearl Harbor and in the Pacific Theater

ANNE FRANK• 13 year old Jewish girl held

girl in Nazi Concentration Camps

AMERICAN “GOLD STAR” MOTHERCHARLOTTE NIKONT

• The American mother who currently has all 4 of her sons fighting for the United States in this terrible war

• Gold Star moms are given this name due to the stars they would hang on

their windows and doors showing that their boys were fighting in the war.

CHARLES DE GAULLE• Leader of France who had to keep his troops together to regroup against the Germans

after Blitzkrieg

JONNY GREENWOOD• British RAF Pilot battling the Nazis in the Battle of Britain

ERWIN ROMMEL• Germany’s brilliant war General, Man-genius, and “Desert Fox”

KATHLEEN BROCKINGTON – BOMBED IN THE LONDON BLITZ• An innocent British citizen living through the Bombing of Britain by the Nazi Germany

HELENE DELATTRE• French Woman serving the French Underground Resistance against the Nazis in

German-Occupied France

VASSILI ZAITSEVSoviet Soldier fighting against the German Blitzkrieg in Stalingrad

MARKUS ENGEL

• German soldier working in the concentration camps.

• He is currently struggling with his job as it is causing him insomnia and tremendous spiritual guilt. He wishes to leave the German S.S.

ADOLF HITLERThe Fuhrer and Fascist Leader of Nazi Germany

TOKYO ROSE• Created Radio broadcasts

from Japan to shrivel the

morale of and scare the

US troops that were

trying to “island hop” and

invade Japan.

HOW WILL I BE GRADED?• Personality Choice Worksheet – 10 points

• Character research and analysis – 125 points

• 25 points per source

• Blog Participation

• 2 posts that answer our main news and editorials each week – 50 points per week

• Spy Missions – 30 points per mission (if you get one)

• 335-365 points possible on the blog

• Will have an expiration date – it is imperative that they are completed.

• If not completed, you will provide a 2-3 page essay response on the historical event so that you can be the informant who posts it on the blog

SPY MISSIONS

IF YOU GET A MISSION…• You will not find it, it will find you

• Generally entail objectives based around our real GTO story and Blog

• Assassination attempts

• Rescues

• Military objectives

• Delivering information as an informant

• Locating materials

IF YOU ARE ASSIGNED A MISSION…• Missions will have specific instructions

• Once assigned – you MUST do them – or the alternate assignment if you choose not to complete the mission

• Will involve specific locations indicated by posters and other operatives and teachers that will be involved

• You MUST keep it secret

• Missions ACTUALLY can put your secret identity (your character’s identity) at risk if you’re not careful – but they are fun.

• Ex: Blog entails recent information about an upcoming invasion coming from a certain country. Usually they are coded, but a witty blogger can crack it.

• 8th Graders see Kennedy or Courier strolling the halls secret agent or Rambo – style – your ID may be in a compromising state as now you may be affiliated as having a role of someone from that country!

QUESTIONS?• Due NOW – Your Personality Choice Worksheet – 10 Points