World War II Presentations

World War II Presentations

Honor Code Level 2

Purpose: There are two main purposes to this assignment. First, you will be researching and explaining some of the major events of the war to your classmates. Secondly, you will also be analyzing those events in the bigger context of American and World History.

Timeline:

· Thursday, May 10: Project and groups assigned. Last 40 minutes of class spent in the library to begin work.

· Friday, May 11: One hour spent in library to continue research and presentation preparation.

· Monday, May 14: Forty-five minutes spent in library to complete project preparation.

· Tuesday, May 15 & Wednesday, May 16: Presentations completed in class. Each group will have an assigned date ahead of time.

· Thursday, May 17 (tentatively): WWII quiz based on Holocaust readings, WWII vocab. and presentations.

Topics: Each group will work on one of the following topics:

§ War in the Pacific (specifically the islands of Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and/or Bataan)

§ Eastern Front: D-Day

§ Eastern Front: Battle of the Bulge

§ Eastern Front: Siege of Leningrad/Leningrad Blockade (can focus on role of USSR in the entire war)

§ Japanese Internment

§ Rosie the Riveter

§ War on the Home Front (industry, rationing, draft, etc.)

§ Big Three Leaders (Allied leaders: FDR, Stalin and Churchill)

§ Manhattan Project

§ Atomic Bombs: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

§ Nuremberg Trials

§ Berlin Blockade and Air Lift/Marshall Plan/NATO/Containment Policy

Procedure: Once you and your group have begun your research you will want to decide HOW you want to present to the class. You may choose any means to present, but there must be some visual element to your presentation. Presentation Ideas: Power Points, Prezis, timelines, pictures, graphs, collages, original art by your group members, maps, propaganda, etc.

Requirements:

1. Each group must present a thesis statement and title to illustrate the analysis and to help organize the presentation (see examples on back).

2. An MLA formatted Works Cited page must be turned in when you present.

3. Everyone in your group must play a role in your presentation.

4. Presentations should be between 5-6 minutes in length. You will be cut off at 6 mins.

5. A visual element is necessary in your presentation; no formal written summary or analysis will be turned in.

6. Please see the rubric for information regarding the grading of this assignment.

Getting Started:

Use the following chart to help you get started and to help you make sure that you include BOTH parts of your work in the presentation: explanation and analysis.

Ideas/Tools to help with the explanation: / Ideas to help shape the analysis:
Dates
Events
Timeline
Important figures/leaders
Locations
Statistics
Who, what, when, where… / Overall impact on war effort
Moral dilemmas encountered
Change in gender/minority roles in society
Challenges to democratic ideals
Balancing humanity in warfare
Influence on future foreign relations
Political, economic and or/social impacts
Why…

Thesis Statement Examples:

Although the U.S. suffered great losses to its naval fleet and human lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the attack was also instrumental in shifting American opinion in favor of entering the war.

The Allied powers were able to achieve victory in World War II primarily due to the industrial might of the American home front.

The most important weapons used during World War II were the American women that went to work in the factories.

Grading:

Advanced Proficient (4) / Proficient (3) / Partially Proficient (2) / Unsatisfactory (1)
All written and artistic elements of the assignment are of a consistently high quality. Superior depth of understanding is demonstrated by consistent use of examples, sophisticated explanations and critical and insightful analysis. The group works fluidly to share their knowledge with the class in a manner that is academic and thoughtful in meeting all of the project expectations. / Most of the written and artistic elements of the assignment are of high quality. Solid depth of understanding is demonstrated by use of examples, grade-level explanations and analysis. Everyone in the group plays a role in the presentation and information is presented to address all aspects of the requirements. Imbalance between explanation and analysis presented. / Detail is missing in the written and artistic elements of the assignment that were submitted. Some depth of understanding is attempted but incomplete. Explanations and interpretations are only attempted in a cursory fashion. Group struggles with sharing of presentation and in demonstrating their understanding and analysis of the content with the class. / Group competence is not yet known or is inadequate. Minimal demonstration of understanding is presented by the group. Most work is incomplete and/or missing. Evidence of learning is unable to be determined.

Suggested Sites:

ABC-CLIO (High School Database)

www.ushistory.org (choose the US History tab on the left and then use topics 50-52 to help you)