'World War I: A New Kind of War'

Video for use by 8th Grade Social Studies Class.

'World War I: A New Kind of War'

 

To be used in conjunction with 'New Technology' Essay assigned on May 7th.

Another Video for Homework

8th Grade Social Studies

Classwork/Homework Assignment

for Wenesday, November 7th

Our Federal Government: The Legislative Branch

 

Video for Homework

8th Grade Social Studies

Classwork/Homework Assignment

for Wenesday, November 7th

 

Our Federal Government: The Judicial Branch

Annotated Bibliography - Final

Unit of Study: 8th Grade Lesson on World War II

This annotated bibliography was created for use with an 8th grade lesson on World War II. Because of the amount of material covered in standard textbooks, most historical events are presented as an overview with a few specific pieces of information to give students a quick insight into the event.  Something as major as World War II needs a more in-depth investigation by students to understand its importance and connection to the world today.  At the same time, students need to be engaged in a way that makes them open to this in-depth study. Disengaged students will not learn about or understand a topic.  To help better engage the students with this lesson, I plan to present five supplementary texts for the students to use.  These texts take the form of trade books and web sites.

How will students benefit from this supplementary material? The three books I have chosen for this lesson approach areas of the war of which many students have little knowledge. The first book presents life in occupied Korea through the eyes of two pre-teens/young adults.  The second shows life from the perspective of a young African American female pilot.  The third presents life as experienced by those living in the United States at the time of the war, citizens "fighting" the war far from the battle lines. The two web sites allow students to dig a little deeper into topics and be exposed to photographs, text and sound recordings from the era. The use of technology (i.e.: Internet) can be an excellent tool for engaging today's young adults. Both types of "texts" approach the study of World War II using topics with which today's adolescents can identify.

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Book #1:

When My Name Was Keoko

by Linda Sue Park

(Readability: 6th-9th Grades; ages 10-14)

When My Name Was Keoko follows the life of a fictional family living in Korea during the Japanese occupation of the country. The book presents the struggles experienced by a brother and sister and includes personal, familial, social and cultural struggles. At a time when Sun-hee (aka Keoko) and her brother, Tae-yul, are beginning to form their own personal identities, they have to face the effects of World War II and the Japanese occupation. Among many struggles, one of the most difficult is the forced changing of names and culture from Korean to Japanese. Adolescent readers may be able to identify with the struggles experienced by the main characters as they too are trying to determine who they are and where they fit in the world.

The use of this book should help pull adolescent students into the study of World War II. They will be able to learn about Korean culture and history, the occupation and treatment by Japan, and the effect of World War II on the daily lives of those who lived through it. Instead of students learning basic facts such as names and dates, students will be learning about human interactions, personal sacrifice and discovery of personal identity. My hope is to spark an interest in an historical period which can seem so distant and insignificant to today's adolescents.

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Book #2:

Flygirl

by Sherri L. Smith

(Readability: 6th-10th Grades; ages 12-17)

Flygirl follows the fictional World War II experiences of a young African American farm girl from Louisiana who yearns to become a pilot during a time when society frowns upon female pilots and resists the full inclusion of African Americans in society. Ida Mae Jones is a teenage African American who could easily pass for a Caucasian woman. She uses her fair complexion and a forged pilots license to earn a spot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. This organization is a group of women trained as pilots who are used to fly American military aircraft in non-combat areas thus freeing male pilots to take on combat jobs in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. This book is an excellent window into the difficulties experienced by women and minorities in America during World War II.

This book will be used as supplemental material for the World War II lesson.  The involvement of women and minorities in the war effort will be addressed through this book. Students will be able to follow the difficulties experienced by a young African American woman during the war. They will see how America was segregated by race and gender. The complicated lie lived by Ida Mae through the book challenges her own self-identity, something with which many of the students may also be struggling.  This fictionalized account of World War II on the American home front should appeal to students who are trying to determine where they fit into today's world. It will also prove a good segue into the postwar struggle for civil rights.

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Book #3:

Growing Up in World War II

by Judith Pinkerton Josephson

(Readability: 5th-6th Grades; ages 9-12)

Growing Up in World War II is a non-fiction book which addresses the lives and sacrifices of those left at home during the war. The book presents life in in the home front and highlights the efforts and activities experienced by many Americans. The book discusses rationing, the removal of Japanese Americans to resettlement camps, the loss of loved ones and many other wartime topics. Throughout the book, the words and experiences of wartime children and adolescents are highlighted by the author.

This book will be a non-fiction supplement to the class textbook. While the textbook will touch on the home front, it will not give the detail contained in this book. The photographs and letters presented will allow students to glimpse life in America during World War II. This presentation of everyday life by those left at home will introduce students to something with which they can identify (i.e.: loss of a loved one, separation from friends, fear of the unknown). The book should be below the reading level of most 8th graders making it an easy read and allowing students to concentrate on its content.

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Web site #1:

WASP on the Web

http://wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

(Readability: 8th-11th Grades; ages 13-15)

This web site was created as "a site dedicated to sharing the history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, and shining a light on the inspirational stories of their lives before, during and after WWII." The site contains images, stories, audio recordings, and videos related to the women of the WASP. This little known group of women had a big effect on the American war effort and WASP on the Web does an excellent job presenting their history.

The WASP on the Web web site would be used in conjunction with Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. The web site will be used as a supplemental text. Students will be able to see the planes used by the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. Historical images of the women of the WASP, the songs they sang and other interesting items can be found on the site. Whether the students are directed to the site for independent exploration or they are walked through a specific task, this site should prove to be an important resource.

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Web site #2:

Normandy Invasion, June 1944
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-eur/normandy/normandy.htm

 (Readability: 8th-11th Grades; ages 13-15)

This web site, created and maintained by the Naval History and Heritage Command, gives a comprehensive look at the Normandy invasion which began on June 6, 1944. A major allied offensive against German-occupied France, this effort proved the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany as less than a year later, Germany had surrendered. The web site includes a history of the invasion through photographs and text. All of the images come from the collection of the National Archives. The authoritative and dependable source of this website makes it an excellent resource for studying World War II.

I intend to use this web site to demonstrate to the students what a dependable web site looks like and contains. I have created an "Evaluating Web Sites" worksheet which will be given to secondary school students to prepare them for a future research projects. Students will be directed to visit the above web site along with a web site of poor quality and use an evaluation form to determine the dependability of each site.

Questions on the form include:

• Who is responsible for the content of the site?
• How recent is the site? When was it last updated?
• Does it seem that a specific audience is being targeted? (Example: age, grade, race, etc.)
• Can you tell when the information at this site is a fact or an opinion?

Once they have completed the assignment, the students should have a better understanding of how to determine which web sites are more dependable than others. This skill may require extra practice by some students. I hope this exercise will get students to think about and analyze a web site before using it for any academic purposes. If the exercise works, this may also help students to use this approach when visiting any Internet source for academic or entertainment purposes.

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Citations:

Josephson, J. (2003). Growing up in World War II, 1941-1945. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company. (Amazon link)

Naval History and Heritage Command. Normandy Invasion, June 1944. Retrieved from http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-eur/normandy/normandy.htm

Park, L. (2002). When my name was Keoko. New York: Yearling. (Amazon link)

Smith, S. (2008). Flygirl. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. (Amazon link)

Wings Across America. WASP on the Web. Retrieved from http://wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

Content Area Web Sites #4

This edition of "Content Area Web Sites" is brought to you by the Smithsonian Institute...America's Museum.

Web Site #1:

Between a Rock and A Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops, 1820-Present

http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=119

How I would use this web site for instruction:

The above web page created and maintained by the Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of American History is a great resource for students learning about the Industrial Revoluntion and its aftermath.  The web site, an on-line version of an actual Smithsonian exhibit starts in 1820 and continues until present day.  This site would be a great way of showing students how an historical period which began almost 200 years ago, is still affecting people in the world today.

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Web Site #2:

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Jazz Composers

http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1296

How I would use this web site for instruction:

The second web site, featured above, would be used in conjunction with a lesson plan on the Roaring Twenties.  This web site, also created and maintained by the Smithsonian, contains text, documents, audio clips and video clips.  All of these can be used to help students better understand the period of American History when Jazz was all the rage.

Inquiry Question #3

Inquiry Group: Urban Education & Teens

Question #3:  In what ways does technology affect reading on the urban secondary classroom?

Prior to beginning my search for the answer to the above question, I decided it was time to use a resource other that Edutopia.  I figured there must be plenty of other sources of information on the topic.  I began my search on Google Scholar by conducting a search on the terms "technology integration," "urban," and "reading."  To my amazement, there were 3,110 results.  In an attempt to reduce the results, I requested only results from 2010 through 2012.  This brought the results to a more manageable 626 results.

I began to dig through the results and quickly found that the "scholarly" language was a little above my head and the article lengths could run well into 100 pages or more!  I began to think, "I am getting into an area that is a bit above my ability!"  To add to my difficulty, many of the articles I was able to locate required payment to see more than the 3-5 sentence abstract.

I needed a new approach!

A search of ERIC found a number of articles that seemed to be better suited to my needs.  One in particular stood out above the rest, Effects of Multimedia Software on Achievement of Middle School Students in an American History Class.

This article tracked the effect a technology-based social studies program had on students in an urban secondary history class.  The multi-media program included supplement texts along with a variety of other media.  In the end, the study found that students who used the program obtained a 12% improvement in the subject, while those who did not use the program only increased by 6%.  It was determined that the program created a statistically significant change.

This is one example of how technology affected reading (in this case, social studies texts) in the classroom.  Based on my on-line search, there are many other articles, web sites, blogs and on-line discussions just waiting to be tackled.


Source:

Kingsley, K. & Boone, R. (2008). Effects of multimedia software on achievement of middle school students in an American history class. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41 (2), 203-221.

Content Area Web Sites #3

Web Site #1:

The Presidents

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents

How I would use this web site for instruction:

The above web page created and maintained by the White House, contains biographical sketches for all of the U.S. Presidents.  This site would be an excellent resource for a social studies lesson on the Presidents or American Government.  I can see using it as a place for students to complete a Presidential Scavenger Hunt.  A list of questions or incomplete facts would be created that would cover the careers and personal lives of the 44 American Presidents.  Students would use the web site to answer the questions and fill in the blanks.

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Web Site #2:

WASP on the Web

http://wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/

How I would use this web site for instruction:

The second web site, featured above, would be used in conjunction with Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith.  The book will be used as a supplemental text during a lesson on World War II.  Students will be able to see the planes used by the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP.  Historical images of the women of the WASP, the planes they flew and other fun items can be found on the site.  Whether the students are directed to the site for independent exploration or they are walked through a specific task, this site should prove to be an important resource.