Lesson+Plan+1+&+Introduction

United States Involvement in World War II    A Unit by Cheryl Aylward, Adam Collins Nassima Elfatihi, Natalie Oransky and Karen Reiber **Introduction and Rationale ** Arguably, the Second World War stands as one of the most historically significant events of the twentieth century. For the countries involved in this international conflict, the war brought many changes and set them on a decidedly different historical course. As one of the participating allied countries, the United States played a prominent and important role in the war. The intention of this unit is to examine the role of the United States in this war as well as to consider the larger question of why the country decided to enter the fight against the Axis powers. In conducting an examination of World War II in this fashion, students will be provided with a unique American perspective on the conflict and more active engagement in the material, allowing them to develop the essential skill of critical thinking. This unit is intended for eighth grade students and will last for approximately two weeks. **Rationale: **This lesson will activate students’ prior knowledge about World War II and build background knowledge which will be used in the rest of the unit. **Objectives: ** Students will: **Day One **: [60 minutes] In small groups students will:  · view a clip of //Saving Private Ryan//, (Spielberg, 1998)  · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">read a personal history of a Holocaust survivor, (the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, April, 2010) <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">examine leaflets dropped on Japanese cities warning about impending bombing (Iblblio, 2010). <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">listen to a radio report about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and examine a casualty list (Internet Archive, 2010; Pearl Harbor, 2010). <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">read the instructions to Japanese-Americans concerning evacuation to internment camps and view a list of internment camp locations (San Francisco State University, 2010; San Francisco Museum, 2010). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">After experiencing these documents in small groups, the teacher will lead a class brainstorm what they know about United States involvement in World War II and list questions that they may have. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Day Two: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">[60 minutes] **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Assessment **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">:
 * Lesson I (2 class periods)** ** World War II: What Happened When? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Activate background knowledge about World War II
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">identify significant dates and events of World War II
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">distinguish key dates and events that mark the United States involvement in the world conflict
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Students will be divided into groups of 4-5 to construct a timeline of key dates and events in World War II.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">One group will be responsible for covering the key dates and events for the year 1939, another group will be responsible for covering the key dates and events for the year 1940, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In addition to their text, students will use the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (April, 2010) timeline and the Teaching American History (2006-208) interactive timeline as an information sources.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Each group will produce, on poster paper that has a line drawn on it, the necessary data for their particular year.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The class will construct its own timeline that will be displayed in the room as a reference guide for future lessons on WW II
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Once all sections are completed, each group will orally present their year of the timeline to the class.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Teacher will summarize the data presented on the timeline
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Teacher will circulate while students are working in groups to assess work habits and ability to function collaboratively.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Timelines will be submitted for a completion check.