Introduction| Objectives| Time Required| Grade Level| Curriculum Fit| Resources| Materials| Preparation| Procedure| Evaluation| Conclusion| Extension

Introduction

In this lesson, students will explore the major events and changes that occurred during World War II abroad and on the homefront. They will conduct interviews with local veterans or spouse of veterans who lived during WWII. In these interviews, students will focus on the events and changes surrounding WWII and the community reaction to them.

Objectives

During this lesson, students will fulfill the following objectives:

Time Required

3-4 class periods

Grade Level

6th-8th grade

Curriculum Fit

The objectives of this lesson comply with the Texas Education Agency's Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Sixth Grade Social Studies listed below:

T.E.K.S. Code

Resources

Online Off-line

Materials

Preparation

Procedure

Step A: Get the Facts
  1. Tell each student who they will be interviewing and give them their background information so that they can find information related to their interviewee's life and experiences.
  2. Guide your students in learning about how World War II began and how the United States got involved with your textbook and these websites:
  3. Review tips on conducting an oral history interview.
  4. Discuss some starting points for interviews with your students. Ask them to outline what they want to discuss and their focal point. They should also ask about individual and community reactions to the start of the war.
Step B: Collecting Oral History
  1. Let your students know when their interview will be conducted.
  2. Help your students get familiar with and test any equipment they will use during their interviews. Ask them to also fill out a tape index before they get started.
  3. Now students are ready to interview their veteran or spouse about the start of WWII. They should each explore various tpoics of the period including key battles, rationing, propaganda, Japanese Internment, and the Holocaust.
  4. Remind you class to listen carefully and think about everything the interviewee says. They need to ask plenty of secondary questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why?) to get all the details.
  5. Students should ask any questions if they aren't sure what the interviewee means or don't understand a word they use.
  6. Tell you class to be sure to thank their interviewee when they're all done.
Step C: Putting It All Together
  1. After the interview, students need to review their video or audio tapes to see what they discussed.
  2. Now ask them to summarize the content of the interview in a few (2-3) sentences.
  3. They should also try to summarize their interviewee's life in one or two paragraphs if they did not interview the same person from Lesson 1: The Road to War.
  4. Next, students should describe the setting of the interview and how well it went in one paragraph. Questions to focus on: Was your interviewee cooperative or difficult? Were they easy or hard to understand? Did they seem knowledgable about the events and remember facts, dates and names?
  5. Now ask you students to combine all of this information to create an Introduction to their interview transcript. See Dr. Marchiafava's Sample Introduction for a good example.

Evaluation

Below is a sample grading rubric for this lesson. Extra points can be rewarded to students who independently consult additional outside sources.
Score 4 Score 3 Score 2 Score 1
Complete tape index Mostly complete tape index Partially complete tape index No tape index
Highly effective introduction Effective introduction Moderately effective introduction Ineffective introduction
Complete Interview Packet Mostly complete Interview Packet partially complete Interview Packet No Interview Packet

Conclusion

After completing background research and an interview, students should be able to answer these questions:

Extension

  1. Social Studies
    • Map the major battles in the Pacific or in Europe.
    • Research about African Americans' or other minorities' participation in the Armed Forces during World War II.
  2. Writing
    • Learn more about Japanese Internment. Pretend you are a Japanese American living in one of these camps and write a jornal, poem, or short story aout your experiences. Visit Scholastic's Writing with Writers.
  3. Science
    • Explore developments in Morris Code, radar, x-rays, submarines, penicillin, cell phones, and aviation that were made during WWII.
    • Research victory gardens and plant one of your own.