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A WebQuest for 8th Grade Social Studies

Designed by

Logan Krisllokrisl@simla.colostate.edu

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

World War II Letters

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[Teacher Page] Introduction

World War II affected everyone in America from 1941-1945. Young men and women both had to take up exciting new tasks in helping America’s war effort. For young men, the standard of the day was to enlist in the armed forces and go fight the “evil axis” abroad. Young women however were needed to support our troops from home by working the factories and making supplies for the soldiers overseas. With long distances between soldiers and their families, the only way to keep in touch was by writing letters.

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The TaskYou will be taking the role of a young American during WWII. You must write three letters back home or to one of the troops across seas, depending on whether you are a soldier or a worker. Feel free to make this as unique as you like; are you poor or rich? Are you Jewish and how does seeing their treatment in Europe make you feel? Are you a Japanese-American and how are you being treated? Are you a nurse overseas? One letter should be written at the beginning of the war, one during the middle of the war, and one at the end of the war. Things your letter should include:•A photograph of “your friends” (A picture of people in the situation you are in. Ex: a group of soldiers sailing off or a group of women working in the factory).•Include specific events or places

1)If you are a soldier, talk about specific battles or locations where you are. What’s happened? What’s next?2)If you are at home, talk about specific things happening at home. Labor problems? Things you have been doing such as movies, music, dances?

•Include emotions that you would be feeling at this time. Are you excited, tired, relieved, stressed, happy, etc. Explain why you are feeling that way.

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[Teacher Page] The ProcessNow it is time to start recreating what Americans

were experiencing during WWII. Here is a step by step program as to how you should put these together.

1.) Decide what your first letter will be about.- Remember to include emotions along with your

facts- It should be at some point early in the war also

2.) Find a picture that represents what is happening in your letter

3.) Decide what your second letter will be about, remembering that it should be in the middle of the war

4.) Find a new picture that represents what is happening in your letter.

5.) Decide what your last letter will be about remembering to write it at the end of the war

6.) Find one last picture to represent what is happening in your letter.

7.) Write your letters (1/2 page to 1 page in length) and attach corresponding pictures.

** Feel free to use other creative commons websites to help you find pictures if you need them**

If your ready to start checking out the archives, click here

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[Teacher Page] The Process (Cont.)Soldiers:

In order for you to really understand what life was like in war, you must first have some background information. It is important to understand key ideas, battles, and emotions during the war. Remember that you must write a letter in 3 different stages of the war. Use these websites to help you develop an accurate portrayal of what it was like to be fighting overseas.

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/dakota/worldwarII/worldwarIIinterviews.htm-This provides first hand interviews from people who lived during WWII.

http://www.wwiihistoryclass.com/html/transcripts.html-This provides links to different interviews conducted

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm-This has some basic facts and links to good pictures

http://www.historycentral.com/ww2/44.html-This has some good battle information

http://www.worldwar2history.info/-This has lots of information on famous battles.

Staying Home:It is important to understand pop-culture and news that happened during the

early 1940’s in order to be able to write a letter describing what was going on at home. Use the websites to help you understand what life was like in America in the 1940’s.

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/dakota/worldwarII/worldwarIIinterviews.htm-This provides first hand interviews from people who lived during WWII.

http://www.wwiihistoryclass.com/html/transcripts.html-This provides links to different interviews conducted.

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html-This talks about 1940’s culture and has links to other sites. Make sure it falls within

1941-1945 though.http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC051918/index.htm

-More good links and information about everyday life.http://www.teacheroz.com/WWIIHomefront.htm

-Links to many good sources on life for women during wartime.

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[Teacher Page] Evaluation

Rubric Made Using:

RubiStar ( http://rubistar.4teachers.org )

Letter-Writing : WebQuest

Teacher Name: Mr. Krisl

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1Content Accuracy The letter contains at least 7

accurate facts about the topic.The letter contains 6-5 accurate facts about the topic.

The letter contains 4-3accurate facts about the topic.

The letter contains less than 3 accurate facts about the topic.

Grammar & spelling (conventions) Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.

Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.

Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling

Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.

Photo Content There is a photo with each letter that is relevant and relates to your letter content

Photo is present with letter but not relevant

Not all photos are present with letters

No photos

Ideas Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.

Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organziation could have been better.

Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.

The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.

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[Teacher Page] Conclusion

Congratulations! You have made it through the war! America couldn’t have done it without you. And I’m sure your loved ones appreciated all the work you put into your letters. These letters serve as valuable mementos and memories from this difficult time in history.

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A special thanks to all the people who contributed pictures to this webquest!

Iwo Jima statue (introduction) by .imelda http://www.flickr.com/photos/imelda/321786201/Flag background Picture (introduction) by jcolman http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcolman/441030585/Letters (Task) by Pamela McCreight

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pamela-mccreight/325538203/VJ-day kiss (Conclusion) by TopTechWriter.US

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toptechwriter/33532658/

If you are more interested in WebQuests, check out The WePage and The WebQuest Slideshare Group for more information.

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A WebQuest for xth Grade (Put Subject Here)

Designed by

Put Your Name HerePut Your E-mail Address Here

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

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Put the Title of the Lesson Here (Teacher)

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This lesson was developed during a ED381 class at Colorado State University by a junior social studies education major.

This lesson is a way to teach kids about the personal side of World War II. So often, only the facts are covered in regular curriculum. By doing this webquest, students will have to try and relate to what people must have been feeling when going through these experiences. They are forced to research personal accounts from people who lived it, along with basic historical facts. Students must also include a picture to have a visual representation of what life was like.

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This lesson if designed for 8th grade social studies classes but also includes language arts skills considering students must write letters. Any middle school or even high school level class could adopt this assignment and increase or decrease the amount and specificity of the writing.

Learners should know the basic elements of what life would be like during war time and the emotions that would be affiliated with it. Students should also have a basic knowledge of how to do internet research and apply what they have found to developing their own ideas.

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Social Studies Standards Addressed

-(Colorado State Standard 1.1) Students know the general chronological order of events and people in history.

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Other Key Ideas gained from this: - Students will learn how to relate historical sources to themselves and create real people out of history. They will be able to create realistic recreations of how events impacted the lives of people who lived through them - Students will learn how different resources (interviews, fact-based documents, pictures) can show you different things and help gain new perspectives.

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The Process (Teacher)

This lesson would take in my estimation 3-4 days so it is a major project. Students on the first day would do research and decide what they are going to say. On the second and third days, they should write their stories and incorporate their pictures with them. Some students will undoubtedly need another day to tie everything up. Any teacher should be able to pull this off fairly easy. Your biggest task will just be keeping students on track and classroom management.If you don’t have access to a computer lab, the assignment could be scaled down as to where a teacher can gather multiple articles or interviews about experiences during WWII and have students write one letter as if they were in WWII themselves.

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A list of necessities for this WebQuest to work:-Access to a student computer lab-Students with this WebQuest put on their computers some way

whether it is by email, flash drive, or whatever way your school prefers.-Access to a printer to be able to print off three pictures/student.

(Black and white ink will work great)

Here Are A List of Websites Students Can Use:

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/dakota/worldwarII/worldwarIIinterviews.htmhttp://www.wwiihistoryclass.com/html/transcripts.htmlhttp://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htmhttp://www.historycentral.com/ww2/44.htmlhttp://www.worldwar2history.info/http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/dakota/worldwarII/worldwarIIinterviews.htmhttp://www.wwiihistoryclass.com/html/transcripts.htmlhttp://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.htmlhttp://www.tqnyc.org/NYC051918/index.htmhttp://www.teacheroz.com/WWIIHomefront.htmhttp://www.flickr.com/search/advanced/

One teacher should be all that is necessary, just to supervise the instruction.

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You will know that this WebQuest is a success if your students are able to complete all three letters. The letters should also have significant historical events included in them but most importantly include human emotions tied to the events. Students should have a better understanding of what it would have been like to be alive in this time period. Here is my rubric used.

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Rubric Made Using:

RubiStar ( http://rubistar.4teachers.org )

Letter-Writing : WebQuest

Teacher Name: Mr. Krisl

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1Content Accuracy The letter contains at least

7 accurate facts about the topic.

The letter contains 6-5 accurate facts about the topic.

The letter contains 4-3accurate facts about the topic.

The letter contains less than 3 accurate facts about the topic.

Grammar & spelling (conventions)

Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.

Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.

Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling

Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.

Photo Content There is a photo with each letter that is relevant and relates to your letter content

Photo is present with letter but not relevant

Not all photos are present with letters

No photos

Ideas Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.

Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organziation could have been better.

Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.

The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.

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Introduction: - It would be appropriate to add any personal stories (maybe grandparents/parents) and how you can relate to this. Little time should be spent on this section from a facilitator perspective.

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Task: - During the task section, make sure to read over the directions, highlighting that students must have 3 letters and pictures. - This is where a majority of questions will probably start. Take time to answer questions and make sure that everyone understands what they are supposed to do.

Process: - Anticipate more questions during this phase. Make sure to direct students towards the prompts next to each link. This will help them know where to go to find specifics. Before setting them off to work, make sure that they see the rubric page. This will help them know what they should be doing with their work. Once they start, make sure to help guide them if they get lost.

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This WebQuest would be beneficial to any teacher that is interested in showing a different side to World War II than the textbooks can provide. It is important our students develop a full understanding of one of the most influential events in history. By allowing kids to dive into the emotional aspect of this war, they learn more than the battles or treaties and can relate to the people living during this time.

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