Unit Topic: World War II Subject: World History Grade: 10th Length: 6 Weeks
Background: This is a unit which focuses on World War II, a conflict which is one of the most
deadly and widespread in human history and whose effects can still be felt today. In this
unit students will trace the war from the smoldering ashes of World War I to the growing
chill of the Cold War, focusing not only on the military victories and defeats but on the
civilian costs of the war, from the Rape of Nanking, to the Holocaust and the atomic
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Unit Goals:
Students will be able to analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
Students will be able to explain and analyze the Nazi policy of racial purity and it’s
transformation into the Holocaust.
Students will be able to discuss the human costs of war, both military and civilian.
Students will be able to identify the lingering effects of World War II on the politics and
economics of the modern world.
Unit Objectives:
Content Objectives:
Students will be able to identify the Allied and Axis powers on a map and key figures on
each side of the conflict.
Students will be able to identity key scientific and technological developments of World
War II and the effects of these developments.
Students will use primary and secondary sources to analyze the human, economic and
political costs of World War II and construct an argument for which cost was the
greatest.
Students will research an aspect of World War II in depth and present that information to
the class.
Subject Matter Content Standards – California History-Social ScienceWorld History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.7 - Students analyze the
rise of totalitarian governments after World War I. 2. Trace Stalin’s rise to power in the Soviet Union and the connections between
economic policies, political policies, the absences of the free press, and systemic violations of human rights (e.g., the Terror Famine in Ukraine).
3. Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of totalitarian regimes (Fascist and Communist) in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union, noting especially their common and dissimilar traits
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
1. Compare the German, Italian, and Japanese drives for empire in the 1930s, including the 1937 Rape of Nanking, other atrocities in China, and the Stalin-Hitler Pact of 1939.
2. Understand the role of appeasement, nonintervention (isolationism), and the domestic distractions in Europe and the United States prior to the outbreak of World War II.
3. Identify and locate the Allied and Axis powers on a map and discuss the major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of conflict, key strategic decisions, and the resulting war conferences and political resolutions, with emphasis on the importance of geographic factors.
4. Describe the political, diplomatic, and military leaders during the war (e.g., Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower).
5. Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians.
6. Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Chronological and Spatial Thinking 1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past
events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned. 2. Students analyze how change happens at different rates at different times;
understand that some aspects can change while others remain the same; and understand that change is complicated and affects not only technology and politics but also values and beliefs.
3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations.
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative
interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Interpretation 1. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular
historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.
2. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect.
3. Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
4. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
English Language Development Standards:Listening & Speaking - Comprehension and Organization – Identify the main idea,
supporting details and key concepts of subject-matter content.Reading – Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text – Prepare a
brief research paper in a content area and analyze ideas from several sources to present a coherent argument or conclusion arrange in the proper format, including a bibliography.
Writing – Organization and Focus, Research and Technology – Investigate and research a topic in a content area and develop a brief essay that includes source citations.
Multidisciplinary Standards:
California Science Content Standards – Grades Nine Through Twelve – Chemistry – 11. Nuclear processes are those in which an atomic nucleus changes, including radioactive decay of naturally occurring and human-made isotopes, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion.
f. Students know how to calculate the amount of a radioactive substance remaining after an integral number of half-lives have passed.
California English-Language Arts Content Standards – Grades Nine and Ten – Writing – Students write coherent and focused essays that convey a well-defined perspective and tightly reasoned argument. The writing demonstrates students’ awareness of the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.
Research and Technology 1.3 – Use clear research questions and suitable research methods (e.g., library, electronic media, personal interview) to elicit and present evidence from primary and secondary sources.
Research and Technology 1.5 – Synthesize information from multiple sources and identify complexities and discrepancies in the information and the different perspectives found in each medium (e.g., almanacs, microfiche, news sources, in-depth field studies, speeches, journals, technical documents).
California English-Language Arts Content Standards – Grades Nine and Ten – Listening and Speaking – Students formulate adroit judgments about oral communication. They deliver focused and coherent presentations of their own that convey clear and distinct perspectives and solid reasoning. They use gestures, tone, and vocabulary tailored to the audience and purpose.
Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication 1.7 – Use props, visual aids, graphs, and electronic media to enhance the appeal and accuracy of presentations.
Ongoing Theme: An emphasis is placed on the exploration of history using film, including
archival footage, reenactments (such as in documentaries), historical films, biographical
films and more.
Ongoing Accommodations / Instructional Strategies: The following accommodations /
instructional strategies will be used throughout the unit. Further accommodations /
instruction strategies are listed in each week.
English Language Learners
Material will be made available in students’ primary language.
English Language Learners will be allowed use of translation materials/software, such as
an English-Spanish Dictionary and Google Translate.
Special Needs
Students will be provided with a printer-friendly version of all classroom presentations
(such as PowerPoint) and/or with a copy of notes taken by a designated peer.
All accommodations outlined in a student’s IEP will be honored, such as allowing
students access to a word processor for written work and allowing answers to be
given orally or dictated.
Gifted/Talented
Gifted/Talented students will be given the option of completing group work with other
Gifted/Talented students.
Gifted/Talented students will be given the option to modify the unit’s summative
assessment, the World War II Independent Research Project, by delving further
into a topic, investigate a more complex topic or investigate two or more
connected topics.
When students work in groups emphasis will be placed on individual evaluation.
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will be given opportunities for additional reading on topics presented in
class, including the opportunity to read primary and secondary sources.
Spatial
Emphasis will be placed upon including visuals such as historical photographs,
political cartoons, maps and diagrams.
Interpersonal
Students will be given multiple opportunities to work in groups and discuss new
information with their peers.
Materials List:
Computer, speakers and projector.
Beck, R. B. (2012). World History: Patterns of Interaction. Orlando, FL: Holt
McDougal, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Student Journals/Notebooks and writing materials.
Access to internet for websites/videos listed in each week’s Instructional Strategies
section.
Week One
Topic: The Rise of Totalitarianism
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to define key vocabulary, including hyperinflation, fascism and
lebensraum.
Students will be able to recognize the lingering effects of World War I upon Europe.
Students will be able to identify Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Emperor Hirohito and Joseph
Stalin.
Students will be able to locate and identify the Allied and Axis powers on a map.
Lesson Standards:
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.7 - Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after World War I.
2. Trace Stalin’s rise to power in the Soviet Union and the connections between economic policies, political policies, the absences of the free press, and systemic violations of human rights (e.g., the Terror Famine in Ukraine).
3. Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of totalitarian regimes (Fascist and Communist) in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union, noting especially their common and dissimilar traits
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
1. Compare the German, Italian, and Japanese drives for empire in the 1930s, including the 1937 Rape of Nanking, other atrocities in China, and the Stalin-Hitler Pact of 1939.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Interpretation 1. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular
historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.
English Language Development Standards - Listening & Speaking - Comprehension and Organization – Identify the main idea, supporting details and key concepts of subject-matter content.
Entry Level Assessment: In order to assess and activate prior knowledge students will
complete a K-W-L chart on World War II, writing out what they Know about the war and
what they Want to learn about the war. Throughout the unit students will refer back to the
K-W-L chart, adding new things they Want to learn and filling in what they Learned.
Week Specific Instructional Strategies:
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will complete a DBQ on Totalitarian Regimes1 where they will read and
analyze primary and secondary sources and then use the information gained
to write a short essay whose guiding question are “What was the most
significant cause of the rise of totalitarian regimes?” and “What were the
causes of the rise of totalitarianism?”
Spatial
Students will view and react to a clip from episode 3 of Axis Powers Hetalia2 which
references Germany’s debts following World War I and illustrates the
hyperinflation which arose from those debts.
Interpersonal
Students will work in groups on activities such as the K-W-L chart and when
discussing the film and visual media presented in class.
Thematic Connections: As part of the ongoing emphasis of exploration of history using film
and visual media, clips from episodes of Axis Powers Hetalia, an anime3 which features
personifications of countries engaging in allegories of historical events, will be used in class
and discussed by students. Archival footage from the period will also be used alongside
reenactments such as those found in documentaries.
Week Two
Topic: The War Begins
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to define key vocabulary, including isolationism, appeasement,
nonaggression and blitzkrieg.
Students will be able to identify Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and Francisco
Franco.
Students will be able to locate and identify Austria, Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland and
Poland on a map.
Students will be analyze the reasons behind countries involvement in World War II and the
reasons behind which side of the war those countries belonged to. 1 Found here: https://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/ucihp/resources/10th%20Add/WHPS-Totalitarians.doc 2 Found here: https://youtu.be/Cp1PYzdF1GE?t=1m21s3Anime - Japanese Cartoon.
Lesson Standards:
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
2. Understand the role of appeasement, nonintervention (isolationism), and the domestic distractions in Europe and the United States prior to the outbreak of World War II.
3. Identify and locate the Allied and Axis powers on a map and discuss the major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of conflict, key strategic decisions, and the resulting war conferences and political resolutions, with emphasis on the importance of geographic factors.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Chronological and Spatial Thinking 3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement,
including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
English Language Development Standards - Listening & Speaking - Comprehension and Organization – Identify the main idea, supporting details and key concepts of subject-matter content.
Week Specific Instructional Strategies:
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will complete a DBQ on Appeasement4 where they will read and analyze
primary and secondary sources and then use the information gained to write a
short essay whose guiding question “To what extent was appeasement a
continuation of the First World War, and to what extent was it a departure?”
and “How was appeasement a continuation of the First World War?”
Spatial
Students will be provided with a blank map of Europe5 which they will include in
their journals. Students will instructed to fill in the map by labeling
countries, diagram Germany conquests and distinguish between Allied and
Axis countries.
Students will be provided with several visuals aids which will be made available on
the course’s website, such as a map illustrating German conquests before
the start of World War II.6
Interpersonal
Students will be asked to put themselves in the shoes of those who sought to
appease the Nazis, reflecting upon the horrors of “the Great War” and the 4 Found here: https://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/ucihp/resources/10th%20Add/WHPS-Appeasement.doc 5 Such as this one: https://mrdavidmas.wikispaces.com/file/view/Europe%20blank%201939%20political.bmp/206076422/Europe%20blank%201939%20political.bmp 6 Such as this one: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/collections/nc/ww2/WWIIEurope02.png
beliefs exposed by the League of Nations and leaders such as Neville
Chamberlain by writing a brief reactionary essay.
Intrapersonal
Students will break into smaller groups to discuss the arguments for and against
appeasement with regards to Germany’s reoccupation of the Rhineland,
annexation of Austria, the Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia and finally Poland
before sharing their opinions with the class.
Thematic Connections: As part of the ongoing emphasis of exploration of history using film
and visual media, clips from The March Of Time7 episode “Inside Nazi Germany - 1938”8
will be shown in class and inform student discussion on the attempted appeasement of
Germany.
Progress Monitoring Assessment: At the end of each week students will complete a short
answer test which will focus not only on the information they have just leaned but on
connecting that information to prior learning. These tests will be open note and focus on
meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization.
Week Three
Topic: The War in Europe & North Africa
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to define key vocabulary and terms, including D-Day, Vichy France and
the Yalta Conference.
Students will be able to locate and identify key battles of the war, including the Battle of the
Bulge and the Battle of Stalingrad.
Students will discuss the human costs of the war, in particular the civilian costs associated
with actions such as the Battle of Britain, the Battle of Berlin and the USSR’s scorched
earth policy.
Lesson Standards:
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
3. Identify and locate the Allied and Axis powers on a map and discuss the major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of conflict, key strategic decisions, and the resulting war conferences and political resolutions, with emphasis on the importance of geographic factors.
7A news documentary and dramatization series show in movie theaters in the 1930s and 1940s8 Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb__OIUCaRM
4. Describe the political, diplomatic, and military leaders during the war (e.g., Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower).
6. Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Chronological and Spatial Thinking 3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement,
including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
English Language Development Standards - Listening & Speaking - Comprehension and Organization – Identify the main idea, supporting details and key concepts of subject-matter content.
Week Specific Instructional Strategies:
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will examine primary and secondary sources concerning the Moscow
War Conference, the Tehran Conference and the Yalta Conference9 and
analyze how the decisions made at these conferences benefited the countries
involved.
Spatial
Students will be provided with several visual aids, including a map illustrating the
major battles and offensives of World War II in Europe10 and a graphic
breaking down D-Day.11
9 Found here: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/wwii.asp 10 Found here: http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/wp-content/uploads/sites/106/2015/09/Map-World_War_II_in_Europe.gif11 Found Here: http://i.imgur.com/p7Gxvy1.jpg
Musical
Students will examine music from World War II12 from nationalistic songs such
as “There’ll Always Be an England” to sad nostalgic songs such as “Lili
Marlene” which was popular in both England and Germany.
Interpersonal
Students will splint into groups to research what life was like during World War II
for ordinary people in Germany, Russia, France and England and will be
responsible for sharing that information with the class.
Thematic Connections: As part of the ongoing emphasis of exploration of history using film
and visual media, clips from D-Day In Colour13 will be shown in class and inform student
discussion. Students will also view clips from the Highlander episode “The Blitz”14 and
the Doctor Who episode “The Empty Child”15 and discuss how the two shows depict the
London Blitz.
Progress Monitoring Assessment: At the end of each week students will complete a short
answer test which will focus not only on the information they have just leaned but on
connecting that information to prior learning. These tests will be open note and focus on
meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization.
Week Four
Topic: The War In The Pacific
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to define key vocabulary and terms, including kamikaze, island hopping
and the Bushido Code.
Students will compare and contrast the Pacific front of World War II with the European and
analyze the differences between the two.
Students will be able to locate and identify Japan, China, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and
Nagasaki on a map.
Students will be able to identify Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur and Emperor
Hirohito.
Lesson Standards:
12 Found here: https://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/ww2-music-uk.asp 13 Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1867871671&feature=iv&src_vid=rS24mmOtAlc&v=fhsYY7SY55Q 14 Found here: https://youtu.be/FUbPiBFJbQI 15 Found Here: https://youtu.be/OOIMlk5j0AA
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
3. Identify and locate the Allied and Axis powers on a map and discuss the major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of conflict, key strategic decisions, and the resulting war conferences and political resolutions, with emphasis on the importance of geographic factors.
4. Describe the political, diplomatic, and military leaders during the war (e.g., Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower).
6. Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Chronological and Spatial Thinking 3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human
movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
English Language Development Standards - Listening & Speaking - Comprehension and Organization – Identify the main idea, supporting details and key concepts of subject-matter content.
Week Specific Instructional Strategies:
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will complete a DBQ on the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima &
Nagasaki16 where they will read and analyze primary and secondary sources
and then use the information gained to write a short essay.
Spatial
Students will be provided with a blank map of the Pacific17 which they will include
in their journals. Students will instructed to fill in the map by labeling
countries, diagram Japan’s conquests and distinguish between Allied and
Axis countries.
Students will be provided with several visuals aids which will be made available on
the course’s website, such as a map illustrating the war in the Pacific.18
Interpersonal
As part of working on their DBQs students will break into smaller groups to
discuss the arguments for and against dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima
16 Found here: https://www.polk-fl.net/staff/teachers/tah/documents/FieldsTheBombingofHiroshimaandNagasaki.pdf 17 Such as this one: http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/579/592970/BlankMaps/World%20War%20II%20in%20the%20Pacific.gif 18 Such as this one: http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/31/32716/figures/DIVI578.jpg
and Nagasaki. A guideline of questions to consider will be given to aid
group discussion.19
Thematic Connections: As part of the ongoing emphasis of exploration of history using film
and visual media, clips from Japan’s War In Color20 will be shown in class and inform
student discussion.
Multidisciplinary Connections: Students will examine the long term effects of the dropping of
atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by examining the initial effects of radiation from
the bombs and the residual radiation at both locations.
California Science Content Standards – Grades Nine Through Twelve – Chemistry – 11. Nuclear processes are those in which an atomic nucleus changes, including radioactive decay of naturally occurring and human-made isotopes, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion.
f. Students know how to calculate the amount of a radioactive substance remaining after an integral number of half-lives have passed.
Progress Monitoring Assessment: At the end of each week students will complete a short
answer test which will focus not only on the information they have just leaned but on
connecting that information to prior learning. These tests will be open note and focus on
meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization.
Week Five
Topic: The Holocaust
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to define key vocabulary and terms, including Kristallnacht, ghetto,
Final Solution, genocide and Aryan.
Students will be able to locate and identify Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sobibor, Treblinka and
Warsaw.
Students will discuss the human costs of the war, comparing pre-war and post-war figures for
Jewish population and identifying other victims of the Holocaust, including homosexuals,
Romani and the disabled.
Lesson Standards:
World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
19 “Dropping of the Atomic Bomb” found here: http://americainww2.weebly.com/uploads/4/6/5/6/46568011/3752895_orig.jpg 20 Fond here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJLE2pnN9WY
4. Describe the political, diplomatic, and military leaders during the war (e.g., Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower).
5. Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians.
6. Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Chronological and Spatial Thinking 3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement,
including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative
interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Interpretation 1. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular
historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.
2. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect.
English Language Development Standards - Listening & Speaking - Comprehension and Organization – Identify the main idea, supporting details and key concepts of subject-matter content.
Week Specific Instructional Strategies:
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will complete a DBQ on the Holocaust21 where they will read and
analyze primary and secondary sources and then use the information gained
to answer questions about Holocaust bystanders and those who tried to resist
the Final Solution.
Logical-Mathematical
Students will examine the varying death tolls cited by academics22 and investigate
why there is such variation between different sources.
Spatial
21 Found here: http://www.hhrecny.org/clientuploads/curriculum/HHREC_Holocaust_Curriculum_Lesson6.pdf 22 Found here: http://necrometrics.com/20c5m.htm#Holocaust
Students will be provided with several visuals aids which will be made available on
the course’s website, such as a map illustrating the percentage of Jews in
Europe killed during the Holocaust23 and a map of ghettos, concentration
camps and extermination camps.24
Students will go on a virtual tour of Auschwitz25 allowing students to understand
the size and scope of one of the most infamous concentration camps.
Musical
Students will examine music related to the Holocaust26, from music used at Nazi
Party rallies to songs written in concentration and death camps.
Intrapersonal
Students will be given a Holocaust Victim Identity Card27 to follow the path of
one of the victims of the Holocaust and be able to more easily identify with
their suffering.
Thematic Connections: As part of the ongoing emphasis of exploration of history using film
and visual media, a 1945 British Pathe newsreel “Germany Atrocities – Proof”28, a clip from
the Band of Brothers episode “Why We Fight”29 and an interview with Francine
Christophe30 will be shown in class and inform student discussion.
Progress Monitoring Assessment: At the end of each week students will complete a short
answer test which will focus not only on the information they have just leaned but on
connecting that information to prior learning. These tests will be open note and focus on
meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization.
Week Six
Topic: Research Project Presentation and The Cold War Begins
Lesson Objectives:
Students will collect, evaluate and employ information from primary and secondary sources in
a research essay.
23 Found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Holocaustdeathtoll%25.png 24 Found here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/WW2-Holocaust-Europe.png 25 Found here: http://www.remember.org/auschwitz/ 26 Found here: http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/music0/ 27 Found here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holocaust-Victims-Identity-Cards-for-ELA-History-Common-Core-Aligned-953219 28 Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tGwjwK9pIM 29 Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHcJtU9dr6I 30 Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXGfngjmwLA
Students will collect, evaluate and employ information from primary and secondary sources in
a presentation to their peers.
Students will be able to recognize how World War II transitioned into and set the stage for the
Cold War.
Lesson Standards:
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Interpretation 1. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular
historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.
3. Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
4. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
English Language Development Standards- Reading – Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text – Prepare a brief research paper in a content area and analyze ideas from several sources to present a coherent argument or conclusion arrange in the proper format, including a bibliography.
English Language Development Standards - Writing – Organization and Focus, Research and Technology – Investigate and research a topic in a content area and develop a brief essay that includes source citations.
Week Specific Instructional Strategies:
Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Students will be required to have a essay component to their research project and
will have used primary and secondary sources to write said essay.
Students will complete a DBQ on the cost of World War II31 where they will read
and analyze primary and secondary sources and then use the information
gained to write a short essay whose guiding questions is “What was the
greatest cost of World War II – human cost, economic cost, or political cost?”
Spatial
Students will be required to include a visual component to their research project
presentations, such as a PowerPoint or a short YouTube video.
Interpersonal
31 Found here: https://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/ucihp/resources/10th%20grade%20curriculum/10.8_DBQ_WWII.docx
Students will be required to share their research with the class through a short
presentation of what they have learned during the course of their research
project.
Summative Assessment: World War II Independent Research Project
Students will chose one topic (Gifted/Talented students may chose more than one) to
explore through primary and secondary sources Examples of possible topics include
the Night Witches, the Monuments Men, Operation Mincemeat, the Ghost Army,
Tokyo Rose and Cryptography in World War II.
Students will research their chosen topic and create a short essay which properly cites both
primary and secondary sources.
Students will also be responsible for presenting their findings to the class either via a short
oral presentation with a PowerPoint or through a prerecorded YouTube video.
Multidisciplinary Connections:
California English-Language Arts Content Standards – Grades Nine and Ten – Writing – Students write coherent and focused essays that convey a well-defined perspective and tightly reasoned argument. The writing demonstrates students’ awareness of the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.
Research and Technology 1.3 – Use clear research questions and suitable research methods (e.g., library, electronic media, personal interview) to elicit and present evidence from primary and secondary sources.
Research and Technology 1.5 – Synthesize information from multiple sources and identify complexities and discrepancies in the information and the different perspectives found in each medium (e.g., almanacs, microfiche, news sources, in-depth field studies, speeches, journals, technical documents).
Daily Lesson Plan
Miss. Johnston-Carter Intro to the Holocaust World History 10th Grade
Goals and Objectives
Instructional Goals
Students will be able to define key vocabulary and terms, including Holocaust,
Aryan, Anti-Semitism and Pogrom.
Students will be able to explain why Jews did not leave Germany.
Students will analyze the lingering effects of the Holocaust and it’s connection to
the modern day.
Ongoing Theme: An emphasis is placed on the exploration of history using film,
including archival footage, reenactments (such as in documentaries), historical films,
biographical films and more.
Lesson Standards:World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World - 10.8 - Students
analyze the causes and consequences of World War II. 5. Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against
the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Chronological and Spatial Thinking 3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human
movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills - Historical Interpretation 1. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between
particular historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.
2. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect.
Rationale: The Holocaust, the systematic murder of approximately six million people, is one of
the worst genocides in history and is central part of understanding not just Nazi Germany
but World War II in general. It also provides a chance for examining basic moral issues and
human behavior and helps students understand what it means to be a responsible citizen
through learning about those who stood up to Hitler and did whatever they could to save as
many people as possible.
Procedure – 70 Minute Block
10 Minutes – Bell Reading – Upon entering the classroom students will retrieve their
Bell Reading (Historical Fiction, Nonfiction and/or Handouts associated with unit)
from the bookshelves in the back of the classroom and read while role is taken.
5 Minutes – Overview – Students will be “hooked” with an intro video featuring Martin
Niemöller’s poem “First They Came For The Communists”32 followed by the an
overview of the structure of the day’s lesson and outline learning objectives,
connecting the lesson with content standards.
30 Minutes – The lesson will be presented in a lecture style presentation, accompanied
by a PowerPoint presentation which provides a bullet point summery of the
information presented by the teacher, alongside photographs from the period and
other visual aids such as maps and cartoons to illustrate this information and make
content comprehensible for students. As part of the ongoing theme of the course,
film clips will also be included in the PowerPoint/Lecture, including archival
footage, reenactments (such as in documentaries), historical films, biographical films
and more.
10 Minutes – Why Didn’t The Jews Leave? – Half of the class will be given
“Documentation Required for Immigration Visas to Enter the United States” and the
other half will be given “Documentation Required for Emigration from Germany”.
Students will be given three-five minutes to review their handout and then will
partner up with a student with the opposite handout and share what they have
learned.
10 Minutes – Holocaust Victim Identity Card – Students will be randomly given a card
with only the pre-Holocaust information. Students will be given time to read the
information on their card and make predictions about what they think will happen to
the person on their card. Later on in the week each student will receive more
information about the person on their card.
5 Minutes – Homework & Packing Up – Students will be asked to read either
“Deceiving The Public”33 or “Defining the Enemy”34 from the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum for homework and write a brief journal entry (1-2
paragraphs) reacting to the information in the article they chose to read. Tomorrow at
the beginning of class students will share their reactions to the articles with the class.
32 Found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sEXWjTyAbA 33 Found here: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007822 34 Found here: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007819
Assignments and Reminders of Assignments: Students will be reminded that their
World War II Independent Research Project essays and presentations are due next
week.
Materials and Equipment Needed
Audiovisual: Computer, speakers & projector.Other:
Documentation Required for Immigration Visas to Enter the United States - https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/20020516-documentation-required-immigration-visa.pdf
Documentation Required for Emigration from Germany - https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/20020516-documentation-required-emigration-germany.pdf
Holocaust Victims Identity Cards - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holocaust-Victims-Identity-Cards-for-ELA-History-Common-Core-Aligned-953219
Accommodations:
English Language Learners:
Material will be made available in students’ primary language.
English Language Learners will be allowed use of translation materials/software,
such as an English-Spanish Dictionary and Google Translate.
Students with Special Needs:
All accommodations outlined in a student’s IEP will be honored, such as allowing
students access to a word processor for written work and allowing answers to
be given orally or dictated.
Gifted/Talented:
Gifted/Talented students will be given the option of completing group work with
other Gifted/Talented students.
Gifted/Talented students will be given the option to read both articles assigned
from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website and/or do
examine related articles and report on them to the class.
Assessment of Student Learning: Student learning will be assessed through observation of
classroom discussions, response to questions and through discussion of the assigned
homework in the following class. A more complete assessment will via a short quiz halfway
through the week and at the end of the week students will complete a short answer test
which will focus not only on the information they have just leaned but on connecting that
information to prior learning. These tests will be open note and focus on meaningful
learning as opposed to rote memorization.
Performance Assessment Rubric: World War II Independent Research Project
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