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World War II: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 9-12
Curriculum Focus: U.S. History
Lesson Duration: One to three class periods
Program Description
In Memoriam: The Holocaust—Examines the Nazi’s coordination of the Holocaust and conditions
inside the concentration camps. Fall of the Third Reich—Explores Adolf Hitler’s underground
bunker and the attempts to erase it from history. Triumph at Normandy—Examines how concerted
Allied military activity drove the Nazis from the coast of France. Days of Dust—Shows how the
Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affected Americans before the United States became involved
in World War II.
Onscreen Questions
Segments 1 & 2, In Memoriam: The Holocaust and Fall of the Third Reich (35 min.)
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How did key decisions made during the war impact people’s lives?
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What were some of the effects of World War II on people living in Europe?
Segments 3 & 4, Triumph at Normandy and Days of Dust (11 min.)
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Was World War II inevitable?
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Who were the key decision makers in shaping the course of the war?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Research and develop a concept of women’s daily life in wartime Great Britain, the United
States, or Germany.
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Write a fictional account of women’s daily life based on research findings.
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Compare wartime cultural attitudes toward women in these three countries.
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Report findings to the class.
World War II: Teacher’s Guide
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Materials
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World War II video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Paper and pencils
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Computer with Internet access people
Procedures
1. Ask students what they know about World War II. Did their grandfathers fight in World War
II? What did their grandmothers do during the war?
2. Give students the option to research what women’s daily life was like in wartime Germany,
Great Britain, or the United States. They may choose to work alone or in pairs. Make sure that a
third of the class researches each country.
3. Allow students enough time during class to complete their research. Suggest that the following
Web sites are a good place to begin work.
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http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Women_Nazi_Germany.htm
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http://www.macksites.com/PRT1.htm
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http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/wwar.htm
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http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/WomenInWWII.html
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http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0001.html
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http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~cg3/intropage.html
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http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/meltingpot/oxford/330/mwindex.html
4. Based on their research, ask students to write a fictional story about a woman living in that
country during the war. Allow time for writing during class. To get students started, suggest
that they address the following questions in their story:
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What did women in this country do during World War II?
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Did most women work? If so, why?
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Did women and men living at home during the war have to make any sacrifices? What
about children and older people? If so, describe them.
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Do you think that life was difficult or easy for those living at home during the war? Give
evidence to support your ideas.
5. During the next class, ask for volunteers to share their stories, ideally at least one example from
each country.
6. Conclude by discussing similarities and differences in the daily life of women in each of these
countries during the war. In which country or countries did women work? In which did women
stay at home? What does the role of women in each wartime society reveal about the country’s
overall values?
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
World War II: Teacher’s Guide
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Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
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3 points: Students participated actively in class discussions, researched the topic thoroughly
and completely, wrote a creative and informative story about women’s daily life during
World War II.
•
2 points: Students participated in class discussions, researched the topic, wrote a
satisfactory story about women’s life during World War II.
•
1 point: Students participated minimally or not at all in class discussions, researched the
topic inadequately or superficially, wrote an unsatisfactory story that demonstrated
insufficient research or lack of understanding of the topic.
Vocabulary
Blitz
Definition: The bombing of Great Britain by the Nazis from September 1940 through May 1941
Context: The bombings that took place during the Blitz affected daily life and caused much ruin
throughout the country.
cultural values
Definition: The attitudes of a society that permeate many aspects of that society, including how
men, women, and children are treated; how the society is portrayed in the media; and how the
society makes political and economic decisions
Context: During World War II, the fact that women in Germany were expected to stay home and
raise the next generation of “perfect” Germans says a great deal about Germany’s cultural
values at this time.
daily life
Definition: The day-to-day functioning of people, including what they do, what they eat, and
how they spend their spare time
Context: During the war, the daily life of women in the United States and Great Britain changed;
many had to go to work because so many men were gone.
Great Depression
Definition: A period of worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and extended into the
early 1930s
Context: Many historians think that the hardship brought on by the Great Depression
contributed to the onset of World War II.
rationing
Definition: A policy of limiting the amount of food or supplies available to people, usually
instituted during lean times when there is not enough to go around
Context: Rationing of many foods, including sugar, coffee, and chocolate, during World War II
was a way to distribute meager supplies among more people.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
World War II: Teacher’s Guide
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World War II
Definition: A war that was fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Allies (Great Britain, United
States, Soviet Union, and many other countries) and the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan, and other
countries); the Allies wanted to stop the Germans from overtaking Europe and the Japanese
from taking over the islands in the Pacific.
Context: The defeat of the Axis powers by the Allies at the end of World War II meant that the
world had become a much safer and more democratic place.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit http://www.mcrel.org/.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Science—Life Sciences: Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
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Language Arts—Viewing: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media; Writing: Gathers and uses information for research purposes; Uses the stylistic
and rhetorical aspects of writing
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
NCSS has developed national guidelines for teaching social studies. To become a member of NCSS,
or to view the standards online, go to http://www.socialstudies.org
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
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Culture
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People, Places, and Environments
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Power, Authority, and Governance
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
World War II: Teacher’s Guide
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How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into four parts (see below), indicated by video thumbnail
icons. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video from start to finish. Brief
descriptions and total running times are noted for each part. To play a particular segment, press
Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read
the accompanying text description and click again to start the video.
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. Total
running times for these segments are noted. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV
remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index
I. In Memoriam: The Holocaust (8 min.)
The Holocaust serves as a reminder of how inhumanity can reach deadly proportions. Learn about
this dark episode in history from the people who lived through it.
II. Fall of the Third Reich (27 min.)
Through modern technology, historians have re-created a virtual model of Hitler’s secret bunker.
But the question remains, should what’s left of the bunker be preserved or destroyed?
III. Triumph at Normandy (6 min.)
After leaking false information to the Germans, the Allies launch an air and sea attack, storming the
beach at Normandy. They defeat the Nazis and end World War II.
IV. Days of Dust (5 min.)
In the years prior to World War II, the people of the United States suffered through one of the worst
economic crises in the country’s history: the Great Depression.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
World War II: Teacher’s Guide
Curriculum Units
1. The Holocaust
Pre-viewing question
Q: What was the Holocaust?
A: The Holocaust is the name given to the isolation and mass murder of Jews, Slavs, and other
“racially inferior” people in Nazi Germany.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why do you think Hitler was allowed to implement his horrific policies?
A: Answers will vary.
2. Life in the Camps
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you think life was like in a concentration camp?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did the Nazis find it necessary to control their prisoners?
A: Answers will vary.
3. Extermination
Pre-viewing question
Q: What happened to concentration camp prisoners once they could no longer work?
A: They were killed, and their bodies were burned.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why do you think the Nazis tried to hide their death camps from the Allies?
A: Answers will vary.
4. Berlin’s Secret History
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why do you think the world wanted Hitler’s bunker destroyed after World War II?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What do you think should be done with the remnants of Hitler’s bunkers?
A: Answers will vary.
5. Hitler’s Last Days
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you think was going through Hitler’s mind in his last days?
A: Answers will vary.
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World War II: Teacher’s Guide
Post-viewing question
Q: What was Berlin like in the last days of the war?
A: It was mayhem and chaos. There was no such thing as a civilian; Nazis forced residents to fight
for the city. Many residents were so desperate for food and water that they stood in line in the city
streets regardless of the danger.
6. Hitler’s Bunker
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why do you think the Russians destroyed the Reich Chancellery?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What kinds of things do you think remain in Hitler’s secret bunker?
A: Answers will vary.
7. The Chancellery
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why would Hitler not allow the interior of his bunker to be photographed?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Do you think Albert Speer actually plotted to kill Hitler?
A: Answers will vary.
8. Reconstructing the Bunker
Pre-viewing question
Q: What are the historical consequences of destroying Hitler’s bunker?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How was Hitler’s bunker configured?
A: There were two entrances, one at the southeast and one at the northeast corner of the bunker.
Upstairs was a kitchen and kitchen-staff quarters, as well as guard areas. The lower bunker had a
conference room, emergency exit, workroom, and Hitler’s private chambers.
9. The Future of the Bunker
Pre-viewing question
Q: What sort of monument would you create at the bunker site?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Would you destroy or preserve Hitler’s bunker, if given the choice?
A: Answers will vary.
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World War II: Teacher’s Guide
10. The Best-Laid Plans
Pre-viewing question
Q: What does it mean to be an ally?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How did the Allies deceive the Nazis before invading Normandy?
A: They leaked false information, making the Nazis think that an army of Allied soldiers would be
attacking a different location. They wanted to catch the German defenders in Normandy by
surprise.
11. A Surprise Attack
Pre-viewing question
Q: How do you think it felt to be a paratrooper in World War II?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What happened at Normandy?
A: Allied troops arrived by sea and landed on the beach at Normandy. They surprised the German
defenders and took the beach. Eighteen miles north of Normandy, Allied soldiers landed with
almost no resistance because the German troops were too busy at Normandy. The Nazis lost about
half their men in the two days of battle.
12. The Good Times End
Pre-viewing question
Q: Would you rather have been a farmer or stockbroker during the Great Depression?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did farmers move to California during the Great Depression?
A: Farmers from the Midwest moved to California during the Great Depression in hopes that they
could find work picking fruit. The drought in the Plains states had left many farmers without land
and livelihood, so they went to California in search of a new place to farm.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
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