Overview

Overview
What is the goal?

The goal is for students to view posters, battle maps, and photos as well as listen to music and personal accounts during the time period towards the end of World War II (specifically Battle of the Bulge) to investigate the time period

What will the students be doing? The will be using a variety of primary sources. They will use maps to see the changes over time in the area of Brussels, Germany, France. They will listen to personal accounts of the battle from veterans, who were approximately the same age as the current high school students. They will view propaganda posters to determine to whose allegiance they fall.

How will you assess student learning?

Students will select a person from WW II from the Veteran's Memory section of the Library of Congress. Working in pairs, they will listen to his/her story and develop questions and answers. They will locate maps of the dates (battles) described. Then they will create a podcast interview with one taking the role of the interviewer and the other the veteran. They will spiral this work into creating their own interview at a later time with a person in the military in their own hometown.

They will determine how the Battle of the Bulge was a defining moment in World War II.

The American History Standards state:

Essential Question: • Who became allies and why?

Learning Objectives: • investigate the reasons for the alliances that were formed • examine why the U.S. entered the war • explore the major figures and events in World War II • identify the many branches of services that fought for the U.S.

Skills: • analyze, discuss, and compare original source materials • write essays requiring critical thinking • analyze graphs, maps, and charts • write essays based on personal research • answer reading comprehension questions • interpret photos, posters, and cartoons • create time lines • research in library or on Internet • expand vocabulary