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GWHMT_VA_WHII.12c Teacher_Final
Standard WHII.12c
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by
c) explaining the terms of the peace, the war crimes trials, the division of Europe,
plans to rebuild Germany and Japan, and the creation of international cooperative
organizations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948);
Essential Skills
Use artifacts and pictures to analyze the physical and cultural landscapes of the
world and to interpret the past. (WHII.1b)
Identify and compare contemporary political boundaries with the location of
civilizations, empires, and kingdoms. (WHII.1d)
The Iron Curtain
Interactive Whiteboard Activity
Resource
Project the primary source document and audio Winston Churchill’s Warning.
Project the outline map “Europe, 1945–1989” on the whiteboard.
Activity
In this activity students will use a speech of Winston Churchill’s, maps, and class
discussion to describe and explain the outcomes of World War II.
First, project the document Winston Churchill’s Warning on the whiteboard and
distribute copies of the document to the class. Ask the students to read the first two
pages of the document. (You may want to distribute copies of the document to the
students the day before and ask them to read it for homework.) Then, ask the
students to give their impression of the tone of Churchill’s message and record their
responses on the whiteboard.
Second, click on the audio icon in the top left-hand corner of the document so that
the class may listen to an excerpt of Churchill’s speech. At the conclusion of the
speech, ask the students whether their impression of the tone of the message has
changed, and if so, how. Record the students’ responses on the whiteboard.
Third, project the outline map “Europe, 1945–1989” on the whiteboard. Ask student
volunteers to take turns at the whiteboard drawing Winston Churchill’s “iron curtain,”
and labeling the cities he discusses on the map. (You can use the maps on pages
A10–A11 and 665 of StudentWorks™ Plus Online as references for this activity.)
Conclude by leading a class discussion about the meaning of the phrase “iron
curtain” and the political and economic outcomes of World War II.
Critical Thinking
Analyzing Information Tell students that after Churchill coined the phrase “iron
curtain,” it became an oft-used metaphor of the Cold War division of Europe. Ask:
Do you think the “iron curtain” is an appropriate metaphor for the Cold
War? Why, or why not? (Students’ answers may vary.)
Determining Cause and Effect Tell students that the division of Europe was one
outcome of World War II. Ask: What were some other political and economic
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GWHMT_VA_WHII.12c Teacher_Final
outcomes of World War II? (Students’ answers may vary. Political: Creation of
the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Warsaw Pact; the
Cold War division of the world into opposing camps led by the United States and the
U.S.S.R; Economic: European powers’ loss of empires, the Marshall Plan, and the
reconstruction of Germany and Japan.)
Comparing and Contrasting Remind students that one outcome of World War II
was the reconstruction of the defeated Axis powers by the Allied powers. Ask: What
are some similarities and differences between the process and outcome of
reconstruction in Germany and Japan? (Students’ answers may vary.
Similarities: democracy and economic development, elimination of offensive military
capabilities, became economic powers. Differences: initially administration of
Germany and Berlin was divided among the four Allied powers, while the United
States occupied Japan under MacArthur.)
Answers to Student Activity
1. Hideki Tōjō, Admiral Shimoda, Joseph Kramer, Adolf Hitler, Goering, and
Hess. The video shows horrifying images of the Nazi concentration camps.
2. Chapter VI concerns the “Pacific Settlement of Disputes,” and Chapter VII
concerns “Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace,
and Acts of Aggression.” To that end, Chapter VI ask states who are in a
dispute to use peaceful means of settlement such as mediation or arbitration.
The Security Council can pass resolutions under Chapter VI requiring the
parties to seek such means of dispute resolution. Chapter VII, meanwhile,
calls on the Security Council to determine threats to peace and acts of
aggression and permits the Security Council to use military force and
economic sanctions in its response.
3. The creation of an international court is significant because the victors wanted
justice to be carried out in accordance with international law and conventions.
Furthermore, the purpose of creating the United Nations was in order to
prevent future world wars and large-scale atrocities.
4. Students’ answers will vary based on the article chosen, but should include at
least two concrete examples from Glencoe World History: Modern Times.
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