Download This unit is on WWII content (1939-1945). It aims to

Sebastian Kreindel
Title: WWII and You: the Inside Story
Class: World History II- Predominantly Freshman and Sophomores
Blocks- A, E, F, G
Pacing Guide: Approximately February 20th, 2013- ?
Unit Calendar: (5 Teaching days- on the 6th day we assess)
Day 1
Students will
be introduced
to WWII.
Day 2
Review of
major
characters
Appeasement
German
invasion of the
Soviet Union
Introduction of
major
characters
German
Invasion of
Poland
Day 3
Atomic Bomb
Debate
Pearl Harbor
America
joining the war
D-Day
Day 4
Holocaust and
Genocide
CONCEPT
FORMATION
Original Plan
for Jews:
Madagascar
Plan Final
Solution
Elements
leading to the
Holocaust
Fall of France
Exit Ticket
Battle of
Britain
Exit Ticket
Other
Examples of
Genocide:
Armenians,
Stalin, Pol Pot,
Tutsi’s
Day 5
Recap of
Holocaust and
Genocide
Day 6
Assessment
Outcomes of
WWII
German
Reconstruction
Japan
Reconstruction
International
Cooperative
Organizations:
UN, NATO,
Warsaw Pact
Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights
Exit Ticket
Content Overview/Unit Overview:
This unit is on WWII content (1939-1945). It aims to identify the causes of
WWII and what steps led to the American involvement in the war.
This era is one of particular importance because WWII was a global war that
included nations from every populated continent. It broke down to two sides, the
Allies and the Axis. A very important aspect of this war was the fact that it was a
‘total war’--countries had to assign most if not all of their industrial and technical
assets to the war effort.
Causes of the War are numerous, and each nation had unique elements that
led to its involvement. At first Germany sought to take back the Sudetenland (an
ethnically German area of Czechoslovakia) and the Anschluss, which was the
occupation and annexation of Austria, but later they set their eyes to most of
Europe. The United States joined the War after a surprise attack by Japanese forces
on Pearl Harbor.
This war, like the First World War saw the use of nationalistic propaganda
that at times used scape-goating (Germany). This war can be blamed on the failures
of the Treaty of Versailles, the weakness of the League of Nations, the absence of the
United States of America from the League of Nations, the absurd appeasements
demanded of Germany and the pacifism and isolationism demonstrated by the
United States.
Included in this unit is the study of the Holocaust and other major genocides
that were based on the destruction of racial, political, religious, and/or cultural
groups. Students will understand the development in German thought that led to
the Holocaust, such as the Madagascar Plan, Hitler’s belief in the master race, and
the prevalence of anti-Semitism in Europe. This totalitarianism combined with
nationalism led to the overwhelming compliance of citizens and soldiers acting out
against innocent peoples. Other genocides that will be brought up will be the
Armenian Genocide, the purging of the Soviet Union by Stalin, the Pol Pot genocide
of Cambodia, and the genocide in Rwanda.
Lastly the lesson will flow into the outcomes of the war. It’s important that
students understand how the USSR and the United States became superpowers in
the world. The iron curtain divided Europe, separating Democratic and Communist
nations. The United Nations was formed with the intention of being a means to
resolving disputes through diplomatic means, and the passing of the Declaration of
Human Rights demonstrated a new post-war emphasis on civil and human rights.
The Nuremburg Trials and the trials of other war crimes became a big theme,
particularly because the holocaust was an organized mass genocide that had never
been seen in the world. The Marshall Plan and the Warsaw Pact were used as
means to promote the agendas of the USA and the USSR in maintaining power
outside of the nation’s borders. Berlin and Germany were divided into four parts,
and West Germany emerged as an economic power in Postwar Europe. The
reconstruction of Japan led to Japan becoming a democracy, elimination of military
power, and the emergence of economic power. NATO was also formed as a means
of fostering economic agendas.
Rationale: The purpose of this unit is to help students understand the WWII content
and to help them relate that content to their present lives. This unit is intended to
help foster levels of empathy among and between students of different races and
ethnicities, particularly through understanding genocides and the Holocaust. One
theme I focus on is tolerance; I try to reinforce tolerance as much often as I can to
foster the development of global students. WWII also tells the story of courage and
dedication to ridding the world of dictatorial totalitarian leaders who devastated
Europe and Japan. Millions of soldiers gave their lives to fight for freedom from
tyranny—by showing my students this I demonstrate the value of the freedoms we
have today.
Goals and Essential Questions:
• Evaluate the social, political, and economic conditions that led to WWII.
• Compare and contrast life in the United States of America, Great Britain, Germany,
France, and Japan during WWII
• Identify attributes of FDR, Truman, and military commanders of the United States
and assess their involvement in WWII through discussion and short answer
questions.
• Compare and contrast the use of military attacks in WWII to the War on Terror
and the Iraqi War.
• Evaluate how the results of WWII shaped the future of the United States?
• Synthesize a hypothesis in what ways the dropping of the Atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki created tension between the United States and the USSR
• Describe how key battles help change the tides of the War to favor the Allies
Unit Objectives:
1. Students will draw explicit connections between the primary source documents
from WWII and their textbooks to demonstrate deep knowledge and make their
own inquiry hypotheses.
2. Students will use in-class materials and research to make inferences about the
nature of Anti-Semitism, the holocaust, and the Nuremburg Trials.
3. Students will compare and contrast the attack on Pearl Harbor attack to the fire
bombings of Dresden, and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
4. Students will understand the impact of the Holocaust and the Nuremburg trials
and how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights came to be instated
Outline for content: The scope of the content of the unit. Are all-important
perspectives included (race, class, gender). There is a myriad of perspectives taken
in this unit-- based on religion, ethnicity, and nationality.
Assessment and Evaluations: Day 6—to be found in the Assessment section of the
portfolio.
Materials and Resources: Included in Daily Lesson Plans
Daily Lesson Plans: Day 1-5
Differentiation: Included in the daily activity descriptions (Look at ELL, individual
learning styles, cultural backgrounds)
Accommodations: Included in Daily activities as adherence to any 504 or IEP plan
Assessments: Exit Tickets will be given on days one, two, and four and will assess
the information from days one and two, and three and four respectively. There will
be an end of unit assessment on day six which will cover all the information from
the entire unit.
Standards: STANDARD WHII.12a
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by
a) Explaining economic and political causes, describing major events, and identifying leaders of the war, with
emphasis on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George C.
Marshall, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Hirohito.
Essential
Understandings
Many economic and
political causes led to
World War II. Major
theaters of war included
Africa, Europe, Asia,
and the Pacific Islands.
Leadership was
essential to the Allied
victory.s
Essential Questions
What were the causes
of World War II?
What were the major
events of World War
II?
Who were the major
leaders of World War
II?
Essential Knowledge
Essential
Skills
Economic and political causes of World
War II
 Aggression by the totalitarian powers
of Germany, Italy, Japan
 Nationalism
 Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
 Weakness of the League of Nations
 Appeasement
 Tendencies towards isolationism and
pacifism in Europe and the United
States
Use maps,
globes, artifacts,
and pictures to
analyze the
physical and
cultural
landscapes of the
world and to
interpret the past.
(WHII.1b)
Major events of the war (1939–1945)
 German invasion of Poland
 Fall of France
 Battle of Britain
 German invasion of the Soviet Union
 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
 D-Day (Allied invasion of Europe)
 Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki
Major leaders of the war
 Franklin D. Roosevelt: U.S. president
 Harry Truman: U.S. president after
death of President Roosevelt
 Dwight D. Eisenhower: Allied
commander in Europe
 Douglas MacArthur: U.S. general
 George C. Marshall: U.S. general
 Winston Churchill: British prime
minister
 Joseph Stalin: Soviet dictator
 Adolf Hitler: Nazi dictator of
Germany
 Hideki Tojo: Japanese general
 Hirohito: Emperor of Japan
Identify
geographic
features
important to the
study of world
history.
(WHII.1c)
Identify and
compare
contemporary
political
boundaries with
the locations of
civilizations,
empires, and
kingdoms.
(WHII.1d)
STANDARD WHII.12b
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by
b) examining the Holocaust and other examples of genocide in the twentieth century.
Essential
Understandings
There had been a
climate of hatred against
Jews in Europe and
Russia for centuries.
Various instances of
genocide occurred
throughout the twentieth
century.
Essential Questions
Why did the Holocaust
occur?
What are other examples
of genocide in the
twentieth century?
Essential Knowledge
Terms to know
 genocide: The
systematic and
purposeful
destruction of a
racial, political,
religious, or cultural
group
Elements leading to the
Holocaust
 Totalitarianism
combined with
nationalism
 History of antiSemitism
 Defeat in World War
I and economic
depression blamed
on German Jews
 Hitler’s belief in the
master race
 Final solution:
Extermination
camps, gas chambers
Other examples of
genocide
 Armenians by
leaders of the
Ottoman Empire
 Peasants,
government and
military leaders, and
members of the elite
in the Soviet Union
by Joseph Stalin
 Artists, technicians,
former government
officials, monks,
minorities, and other
educated individuals
by Pol Pot in
Cambodia
 Tutsi minority by
Hutu in Rwanda
Essential Skills
Identify, analyze, and
interpret primary and
secondary sources to
make generalizations
about events and life in
world history.
Use maps, globes,
artifacts, and pictures to
analyze the physical and
cultural landscapes of
the world and to
interpret the past.
(WHII.1b)
Analyze trends in
human migration and
cultural interaction.
(WHII.1e)
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
Understandings
Essential
Questions
The outcomes of
World War II
included the war
crimes trials, the
division of
Europe, plans to
rebuild Germany
and Japan, and the
establishment of
international
cooperative
organizations.
What were the
outcomes of
World War II?
The Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights
was issued in
1948 to protect
the “inherent
dignity and…the
equal and
inalienable rights
of all members of
the human
family….”
What were the
war crimes
trials?
How did the
Allies promote
reconstruction of
the defeated
powers?
What were the
international
cooperative
organizations
created after
World War II?
Essential Knowledge
Essential Skills
Outcomes of World War II
 Loss of empires by European powers
 Establishment of two major powers in the
world: The United States and the
U.S.S.R.
 War crimes trials
 Division of Europe, Iron Curtain
 Establishment of the United Nations
 The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
 Marshall Plan
 Formation of North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and Warsaw Pact
Use artifacts and
pictures to analyze
the physical and
cultural
landscapes of the
world and to
interpret the past.
(WHII.1b)
Efforts for reconstruction of Germany
 Democratic government installed in West
Germany and West Berlin
 Germany and Berlin divided among the
four Allied powers
 Emergence of West Germany as
economic power in postwar Europe
Efforts for reconstruction of Japan
 United States occupation of Japan under
MacArthur’s administration
 Democracy and economic development
 Elimination of Japan’s military offensive
capabilities; guarantee of Japan’s security
by the United States
 Emergence of Japan as dominant
economy in Asia
International Cooperative Organizations
 United Nations
 North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
 Warsaw Pact
The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
 Established and adopted by members of
the United Nations
 Provided a code of conduct for the
treatment of people under the protection
of their government
Identify and
compare
contemporary
political
boundaries with
the locations of
civilizations,
empires, and
kingdoms.
(WHII.1d)
Standard WHII.12a. FROM THE SOLS
Students will also be able to:
b) assess the social economic and political results of the war
c) defend and criticize the stances of WWII leaders
Essential Questions:
1) What were the causes of WWII
2) What were the major events and who were the major leaders of WWII, and
how were these leaders influenced?
3) How did the major events in the War change the tides?
4) How the war set the United States of America up to be a powerhouse?
Standard WHII.12.b. FROM THE SOLS
Students will be able to:
c) Compare and contrast the Holocaust to the crimes against humanity carried out
by the Soviet soldiers as they invaded German territories
d) Discussing and modifying hypotheses on how to prevent further genocides
e) Evaluating the role of anti-Semitism and racism in genocides
Essential Questions:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Why did the Holocaust occur?
What are other examples of 20th century genocides
How can we prevent genocide from occurring?
How do you compare and contrast the brutal murdering of Soviet soldiers
and citizens the massive amount of rapes carried out by Soviet soldiers on
German women.
Standard WHII.12.c. FROM THE SOLS
b) Construct hypotheses on if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been
effective in preventing genocides
c) Assess the role of the USSR on Eastern Europe following WWII
d) Compare and contrast the relationship of Stalin and Tito prior to and after 1952
Essential Questions:
1) What were the outcomes of WWII?
2) What were the war crime trials? And what were they like?
3)
4)
5)
6)
How did the allies promote reconstruction of defeated nations?
What were the international cooperative organizations created after WWII
What were crimes do you know that have occurred in the past 20 years
How have the war crimes that occurred in the last 20 years been handled by
the United Nations and the tribunal against war crimes
Reflection:
This unit went incredibly well and was fun to teach. Most students were very
interested in the content and developed connections to the present day. As a result
of this being my first unit, there are some things I would obviously change. For one,
I will get to know my students better before I jump into teaching them. I need to
learn their needs and they need to adapt to my style. One should simply dive into
the content; one should to look before one leaps. Students on average performed
very well on the end of unit assessment; however nearly 16% of students failed the
exam. Most of the students who failed the exam were those who chose to sleep
during class. I constantly woke students up, but some would refuse to keep their
head off their desks. The exit tickets also revealed they were not paying attention.
As the semester went on these students and I began to build stronger relationships.
Whether out of respect or genuine interest they started paying attention in class,
taking notes, and performing better on assessments. In the future I plan on doing
my atomic bomb debate slightly differently. I push students to empathize with the
victims of the bombing by having them write journals as if they were Japanese
victims. I recognized that many students failed to empathize with victims quoting
that, “Japan attacked Pearl Harbor first, and they had it coming.” For the most part, I
felt the unit was very effective in getting students to critically think about the
content.