Curated OER
United States Entry into World War I: Some Hypotheses About U.S. Entry
Students determine the most compelling evidence explaining why the U.S. entered WWI. They read and discuss a handout of reasons why the U.S. entered the war, and take a poll as to which reason was the most compelling.
Curated OER
Teaching the World Wars Through Art
Students can learn about World War I and II through art, such as posters, paintings, and photographs,
Curated OER
Leaders, Laborers, and Other Perspectives of World War II
How did the women in France feel about their country’s involvement in World War II? Class groups are assigned a country involved in WWII, and individuals within the group adopt the point of view of leaders, laborers, businessmen, women,...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – End of the War
You are Winston Churchill, and on May 9th, 1945, you receive millions of grateful cards and telegrams. How do you respond? High schoolers put themselves in the Prime Minister's chair with an activity that prompts them to respond to a...
Curated OER
From The Great War To The Great Depression
Discover details about 1920's America. In this American history instructional activity, students read From the Great War to the Great Depression. Students then research famous Americans from the time period and present their findings to...
Curated OER
World War II: A Compartive Study through Literature
Students examine World War II through the use of literature. As a class, they brainstorm a list of words they relate to the war itself. In groups, they read various novels and view photographs showing the experiences of the Jews,...
Curated OER
Paris Peace Conference: Writing a Treaty to End World War I
How did World War I end? Tenth graders role play as experts from countries that were involved in World War I. They write a treaty to end the war and compare it to the Treaty of Versailles.
Curated OER
Black And Asian Involvement in World War 2
Students read story excerpts from the BBC WW2 People's War archive to discover the contributions and obstacles faced by Asian and Black participants in World War 2 British forces. They prepare a radio report describing the commonwealth...
Curated OER
World War II on the Home Front: Civic Responsibility
Students explore World War II. In this World War II lesson, students discover how volunteerism demonstrates civic responsibility. The lesson uses World War II-era posters to appeal to the learners and help them to understand the...
Curated OER
Poetry of The Great War: 'From Darkness to Light'?
Students examine World War I poetry for historical context, poetic devices, and participate in a class discussion. They write an analysis of the poetry's form and its content.
Curated OER
Cloze Passage: Lim Bo Seng
Use this Cloze activity activity in your vocabulary lesson or unit about World War II. After reading a passage about Lim Bo Seng, a guerrilla warrior from Singapore, sixth graders fill in twelve blank spaces using context clues. The...
DocsTeach
WWI Propaganda and Art
Uncle Sam wants you! During World War II, the US government and military created a propaganda campaign to gain public support. The activity uses primary documents such as photos to explain how and why the propaganda campaign was...
Seneca Valley School District
World War I PowerPoint Projects
Use these project guidelines as a start to designing your own class PowerPoint project and to consider what elements you would like to assign and assess in your class. While the resource begins with instructions for researching World War...
University of California
The Cold War (America)
The Cold War—with its roots in World War II—impacts the world today. Using an extensive curriculum, scholars consider its impact through primary sources, including speeches and propaganda, as well as other skills-enhancing activities. An...
Curated OER
Boogie Woogie with a B: Using Alliteration while Exploring Patriotic Tunes
Are you looking for a way to bring writing into your history lesson - or history into your writing lesson? This cross-curricular activity is helpful and fun, no matter what class you're teaching! Using "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the...
Curated OER
Coming of Age During Japanese Occupation: Richard E. Kim's Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood
Explore the implications of the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. Learners read Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood, participate in classroom discussions about the novel and keep journals in which they respond to...
National Woman's History Museum
Women, Propaganda, and War
Governments rely on propaganda to build support for wars. Class members examine six propaganda posters, two each from the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II, and analyze how the way women were portrayed in the posters...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Hamburg
Was bombing German cities an effective means to an end, or was it a war crime? Could it be both? Young historians ponder these questions with an activity that prompts them to use primary sources to summarize the debate surrounding RAF...
Curated OER
Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching additional...
Curated OER
To the North: A Black Family Leaves Arkansas to Find Work in Michigan
Upper elementary and middle school scholars study the economic factors that caused so many Arkansans to migrate to different parts of the country looking for work. Use this history lesson plan to help your charges gain a better...
The New York Times
'The Century's Bitterest Journalistic Failure'? Considering Times Coverage of the Holocaust
Rich with primary sources and additional resources, this plan asks class members to think critically about newspaper coverage of the Holocaust. Focusing in particular on the analysis of the article "150th Anniversary: 1851-2001: Turning...
Curated OER
Chamberlain and Hitler, 1938--What Was Chamberlain Trying To Do?
Explore events prior to World War II. Learners view replicas of authentic photographs and hand written documents representing the viewpoints of Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain. They discuss alternate viewpoints, consider historical...
Curated OER
Anti-Semitism Workshop
Originating from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, here is a resource to support your world historians in their study of World War II, the Holocaust, your cultural scholars learning about anti-semitism, or your...
Curated OER
Jacob Have I Loved
Students examine visual images about the novel, Jacob Have I Loved. They compare pictures from "America from the Great Depression to World War II" that are described in the book and other studies of the Chesapeake Bay. They present their...