WWII Teacher Guide Page

IMPORTANT PEOPLE

The government/military leaders mentioned in this book played important roles in the outcome of the war. Have your students research and write up biographical sketches of one or more of these people. They should include information about the leaders' childhoods, education, and personal belief systems, as well as the political systems in which they operated.

*Adolf Hitler
*Sir Winston Churchill
*Franklin D. Roosevelt
*Dwight D. Eishenhower
*Benito Mussolini
*Joseph Stalin
*General Hideki Tojo
*Harry S. Truman

WHAT IF?

Personal Connections

Break your class into groups of four to six.
Have your students think about how the
world would be different if the following happened. Then ask them to get personal.
How might their own lives would
be different if:

*Germany won the war
*Japan won the war
*American women hadn't been willing to
fill all the jobs left vacant by men

THINGS TO KNOW

What are these?

Kilroy
Gestapo
Code Talker
Barrage Balloon
Dead Drops
USO
Axis Sally
Nylon
Pressure Cooker
Allotment Annies
Draft
Pressure Cooker

 

MAPS & TIMELINES

Put up a large world map on your bulletin board (or enlarge the map provided in the
front of the book). Ask students to identify
the countries involved in World War II, identifying them as Axis and Allied powers.

Attach a long piece of white paper across
one wall. After marking a timeline on the
paper, ranging from 1939 to 1945, ask your students to fill in important dates. They can
use the timeline included in the book as
a handy resource.

KIDS LIKE US

In this exercise, you will attempt to have
your students visualize themselves being
forced into prisons—just because of their nationality or color of skin. Tell your students the story of Anne Frank or about the
Japanese American children who were
forced to live behind barbed wire because Americans were afraid they were disloyal to America—possibly even spies.

Ask each student to borrow a book from
the library written by a Holocaust survivor
or a Japanese American whose family was placed in an internment camp.

Have each student write a 1-page report on
the person's experience and then share the report in class. If possible, display a photograph of the author—or their
camp—around the room as each report is read. When all of the reports have been shared, lead the class in making:

Wish Wheel Mobiles
for peace

Page 1 Page 2

WORDS TO KNOW

Have your students define these words
and use them in a sentence:

Nazi
Axis
Allied
Radar
Rationing
Curfew
Camouflage
Sabotage

MIND BENDERS

*Give your students five minutes to decide
what personal objects they would pack
in a shoebox if they were told they
had to move to an internment camp like the Japanese Americans. What items did they choose, and why?  What items would they leave behind with their best friends?

*Discuss the use of war-time propaganda.
Ask students to bring in a sample of propaganda from a newspaper, website
or book. After sharing these, have students write a piece of propaganda that suggests
the U.S. will win the war against terrorism.

LEARNING ABOUT WORLD WAR II

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