USF's WebQuest
Title: "WW II: Examining the Perspectives of Three Different Fronts"
Author: Jefferson Douglas
Date: 3-21-05
Teacher's Page
| Unit Summary | Teacher's Resources | Day 1 Lesson | Day 2 Lesson |
| Day 3 Lesson | Day 4 Lesson | Day 5 Lesson | Day 6 and 7 Lesson |
| Conclusion | Student's WebQuest |
Dear Colleague,
The following unit on WWII is designed to show students how the war affected many parts of the world. They will be researching the amount of effort put into fighting the war, and should try to understand the hardships endured by young soldiers who fought in unfamiliar lands. This unit also seeks to help the students reconcile a number of humanitarian and moral issues that are brought up when a war is waged. It will be the main focus of my World History class' study of WWII.
Goals/Objectives:
1. Students recognize that the war was fought on many different fronts
2. Students understand fascism and the causes and effects of World War II.
3. Students compare and contrasts the similarities and differences of fighting in the European and Pacific theaters and on the home-front.
4. Students explain the mindset that led to the Holocaust.
5. Students explain the mindset that led to Japanese internment camps in the U.S.
6. Students evaluate the difficult
decisions that were made in order to defeat fascism.
NCSS Themes: Time, Continuity, and Change
Days: Eight (nine if needed), fifty minute class periods
Content: Text: "World History, The Human
Experience" - chapter 31, Internet (through the use of a web quest).
Methods: Prior knowledge accessing activity,
teacher led- in class discussion, student generated
power-point presentations, student led discussion, and debriefing activity.
WebQuest Summary:
This Webquest has been designed for a very small class (3) of gifted, yet distractible, 10th grade students. It is to be the main instructional focus of the WWII unit, and the sole means of assessment for that unit. Because of the small size of this particular class, I have decided to have the students work alone- but modifications can and should be made if a teacher wishes to have students work it in teams. Also, because of the size of this class I have combined the European/ Middle Eastern/ North African theaters into one. This webquest could be used in a larger class with manageable group sizes of four to five students by breaking up these theaters of the war.
Each student will receive (through random selection) a theater of operation for the Second World War. In this circumstance the three theaters will be Home-front, Europe/ North Africa, and Asia and the Pacific. The students will spend four class periods online researching the war's impact on that region. The student will look for details in FOUR categories that include the following: troop deployment (who went- both for the U.S. and for other allied nations- as well as casualties for the major players if applicable), why this theater of operations was important to the outcome of the war (Why U.S. soldiers were in a specific location), how new technologies affected the war's outcome in this particular arena, and an analysis of a moral issue (or humanitarian crisis) that arose out of the student's theater of operation. The students will have three class periods to organize their data into a "Power-point" presentation to share with the other students in class. Each student will have an entire class period to present their material. The student will use his or her presentation to foster a discussion. Presentations and discussions will take place for each of the assigned theaters of operation. Each student's presentation will consist of twenty five slides and each will contain a timeline, at least two maps, at least five photographs, a "mock journal entry" of a civilian, and will fulfill all five categories listed above.
Goals/Objectives:
1. Students will identify and describe a region of American operation of WWII.
2. Students will Interpret data from internet maps and charts and apply the data to their analysis of their specific theater.
3. Students will illustrate what impact the war had on civilians in the area.
4. Students will analyze why battles were fought in a certain geographic location.
5. Students will synthesize a number of facts and descriptions into a coherent presentation.
6. Students will examine a humanitarian crisis that occurred in their region, and evaluate the way this issue was handled by the U.S. government.
Days: Seven days
for actual webquest with three additional days for presentation/ discussions.
Content: Websites listed under "Teacher Resources",
as well as websites found in student searches.
Methods: Guided
internet research, analysis of maps and charts, synthesis of information,
journaling activity, creation of a student generated, authentic assessment.
Unit Information:
Unit Lesson Sequence
Day 1 Back to Top
Lesson Plan Outline
Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc) Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts
Materials
(Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)Accessing Prior Knowledge (KWL)
Ask the students what they know about WWII, write their answers down. Find out what the students want to learn about WWII. Write these down so they can see. White Board Power-point Lecture and discussion Lecture and power-point on the rise of Nazi Germany and the causes of WWII. Ask students what they think about "Why WWII happened?"
Causes_of_World_War_IIIntroduction Choose topics, give parameters, guidelines and expectations of the webquest.
Day 2 Back to Top
Lesson Plan Outline
Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc) Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts
Materials
(Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)Webquest (40 minutes) The instructor will give help with the research throughout the class period
Students will conduct their own guided research. The topic of the first day of the webquest is to be "Describe the geography of this theater of the war, explain who was fighting (or working -in case of the home-front) there, and decide why this arena is important to the outcome of the war." Students will use the suggested internet sites to research the answers to the question Debriefing (10 miutes) Students will have three minutes a piece to relate what they have found throughout the day.
Day 3 Back to Top
Lesson Plan Outline
Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc) Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts
Materials
(Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)Webquest (30 minutes) Students conduct their own guided research. The topic for the second day of the webquest is: "Describe why this theater of war was important to the allied victory. What battles and or operations made victory possible?" Students will use suggested internet sites to research the answers to this question. Debriefing (20 minutes) The instructor will take ten minutes to lead a discussion about the average age of a soldier in the war, and to read a brief oral history of a soldier who fought in the war. http://fas-history.rutgers.edu/oralhistory/orlhom.htm
Day 4 Back to Top
Lesson Plan Outline
Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc) Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts
Materials
(Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)Brainstorming activity (10 minutes) The students (and instructor if necessary) brainstorm about new technologies used during WWII. This may be conventional or chemical weapons, communications equipment, radar, sonar etc... White board, markers Webquest Activity (40 minutes) The students research how these new technologies influenced how the war was waged in their specific theater of operations. Internet sites and search engines
Day 5 Back to Top
Lesson Plan Outline
Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc) Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts
Materials
(Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)Teacher led discussion (15 minutes) The instructor begins the class by reading an excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 about the US firebombing of Dresden Germany. The teacher then poses the question: "Do morals belong in an all out war?" Students discuss for 10 minutes. "The Children's Crusade" Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut Webquest activity (35 minutes) Students research and analyze what they consider to be a moral dilemma or humanitarian crisis that took place in their region during WWII. Possible examples are the Holocaust, internment camps, or the use of an atomic bomb. They need to come up with a position on what the US leaders 'should have done.' Suggested Internet sites and search engines Homework Finish analysis of moral issue during the war.
Lesson Plan Outline
Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc) Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts
Materials
(Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)Webquest (50 minutes) Students have all day to work on their power-point presentations. The presentation will be a synthesis of the research and assignments that they have completed during the last four days. Student notes, Microsoft Power-point program
Note: Depending on student progress at the end of day seven- another day may be given so that students may finish their power-point presentations
Students will spend the next three days presenting their power-point presentations to the other students in the class. Each student will be responsible for leading a discussion about their particular area of expertise. The students, therefore, will teach the unit to the rest of the class. The role of the instructor during these presentations will be one of participant observer. The instructor will answer any questions that stump the students, be sure the presentations are historically accurate, and will be there to ask questions to help foster discussions if needed. The aim of this project will be to have the students compare and contrast what life would be like during WWII, whether one was in the service, working as a riveter, or a civilian at home or another part of the world. The overall goal is to show that war does not always just involve those who are fighting, but anyone with a stake in the matter.
Credits/References:
Web sites are listed above in "Web based subject matter content"