Keri Hayden

Project #3: Advanced Project

Assignment Expectations A & B

Part A:
A video has been created to inform students about personal experiences at the Battle of

the Bulge during World War II. Previously, students have been learning about World War II and

this is used to implement a different perspective and help reach students at a deeper level. The

video will be utilized in an eighth grade Social Studies class. This exhibits a unique display of

information on the battle. This will further the student’s understanding of the war and answer our

essential question of why history is so important.

This video coincides with a unit on World War II. Students learn the causes and effects of

the war. Students learn major battles and events during the time period in history. Students will

understand the necessity to learn about history so it doesn’t reoccur. Students will understand

that many men fighting in WWII weren’t much older than their age range. Students will watch

the video to engage their minds and gain insight from the veteran’s experiences. This will offer

information to students in a more meaningful, personal manner.

The teacher’s role is to provide a safe and positive environment for learning to occur. The

teacher is expected to find the most effective learning styles and strategies to reach his/her

student’s goals. The teacher is required to instill those strategies into learning and instruction.

The teacher will provide the essential information on WWII to the students in a variety of

instructional methods and activities. The teacher will offer opportunities for students to get a

deeper, meaningful experience when discussing WWII and history. The teacher will allow

students to get in the mindset of actually living through the war. The teacher will give his/her

best efforts to have the students gain a sense of appreciation for history and our soldiers.
 The student will be actively involved with learning the WWII curriculum. Students will

be given daily notes along with activities to help better demonstrate and illustrate different

aspects from the time period. Daily journals and new vocabulary terms will be expected to be

completed by the students. Students will be expected to watch a video that gives them more

insight on the Battle of the Bulge. Students will be given an opportunity to reflect on the movie

and share their thoughts. At the end of the unit, students will complete a unit test and create a

podcast. The podcast will display their knowledge on a particular event during the war that will

“interrupt daily recording” on the radio.

Technology will be used during this unit. There will be a movie for students to watch that

was created by the teacher. This tool helps students understand the war from a different point of

view. Students will also have the opportunity to look at online resources such as the Holocaust

Museum and the house of Anne Frank. Students will also have the opportunity to listen to radio

broadcasts that were delivered during the war. Students will create a podcast with their own

“breaking news” from the war.

Students will be grouped in various ways throughout the unit. Small groups and pairs will

be utilized for discussion, assignments and classroom activities.

Question and answer periods will be provided. The teacher will monitor group work.

Informal assessments will be used during the unit. Individual assignments such as worksheets,

will be assessed. Tickets out the door and pop quizzes will be given to assess at different points

throughout the unit to determine continuing instruction. A project and test will be given for a

final assessment. Rubrics and point distribution will be used to grade the assessments.

Range of student skills is very broad. Differentiated instruction is necessary for this class.

Teacher gives appropriate time to complete assignments. Any modifications needed are
implemented throughout the unit. Continuous assessment is necessary to ensure students are

learning and not falling behind or struggling.

There is an aide in the room, no extra staffing is needed.

Part B:
Technology is an incentive to learning and gaining knowledge. Utilizing technology can

heighten a student’s interest and possibly reach them at a more meaningful level. Student

engagement and higher-level thinking can increase with the use of technology. Exposing

students to the video I created will help give a different perspective on history and WWII. It

provides real people, real reflections, and true, factual insight on the topic. It allows for more

connection with students rather than just receiving notes.

Throughout the course the exposure to various forms of technology for classroom use has

been beneficial. I believe many tools we’ve used and learned about can help a student’s

achievement and engagement with learning. However, I think it is important to not rely on these

resources to drive instruction. Many districts do not have access or can’t afford the new

technology. The schools that I have worked in are examples. One can still use a variety of

instructional methods to reach students and their needs in a creative way if technological

advances aren’t accessible. There are so many unique learning needs that need to be met.

Educators must understand the importance of this and differentiating instruction.

I plan to continue growing with the advances to be used in classroom settings. To

improve my knowledge I will continue to lurch on websites and blogs of other educators for any

useful information. I will keep the course Wiki page as a resource to go back to for help and

recommendations during lessons. I will use these resources to the best of my ability as a trial and

error with students. An educator’s devotion is to students and their success. If one of these tools

is extremely beneficial in a student’s learning experience, it should be used. With the many

different learning styles, an educator must be flexible and fully understand that characteristic.
Many different styles, tools, and methods of instruction need to be supplied in the educational

environment and that will, in turn allow for students to prosper. I will take any offered

professional development courses within the district to broaden my knowledge. I just recently

had training on Smart Boards.

Administering a test through an I-pod is something I plan to do in the future. I truly

believe this can help the students with disabilities to take their test at their own pace and with

less pressure. Another tool from the course to help with test taking I plan to use in the future is

the Test Talker. Utilizing blogs will become a daily task in a future classroom of mine. Some

resources that I have already began using are the CAST UDL Lesson Builder and the vocabulary

supports - www.cast.org, www.visualthesaurus.com, and

www.visualthesaurus.com/vocabgrabber. I plan to look further into text to speech supports also

because I work with students that have a very low reading ability.
Keri Hayden 4 – 5 weeks long

World War II unit Social Studies

Grade 8

As per regulation, I will meet with technology coordinator and principal within school to ensure
permission to utilize technologies within the classroom setting.

NYS Learning Standards:

Social Studies Standard #1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of
major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States
and New York.
Social Studies Standard #2: World History
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of
major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the
broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
ELA Standard #1: Language for Information and Understanding
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.Aslisteners
and readers, students will collect data, facts and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and
generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced
texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret,
apply, and transmit information.
ELA Standard #2: Language for Literary Response and Expression
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression. Students
will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performance, relate
texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social,
historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers,
students will use oral and written language for self- expression and artistic creation.
The Arts Standard #3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art
Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual
work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor’s and thought.
Mathematics, Science, and Technology Standards #5: Technology
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and
evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Day One: Introduction

1. Teacher will hang four pictures on board for students to see when arriving to class.
2. After bell rings, teacher will take pictures down.
3. Teacher will ask students to recall what the pictures were and as many details as possible
from the pictures.
 4. Those pictures are in our history. What happened in the hallway on the way to class is
history. We are history in the making and history is all around us.
5. Question to class: What would it be important that we learn about WWII if it happened so
long ago? Listen to student responses.
6. Journal assignment: KWL chart on WWII and answering the above question in more
depth..why learn about it?
7. Start notes – Begin section 1 from curriculum book : Road to War
-Discuss Italy and Germany

Day Two –Five:

1. Continue notes: Finish Section One: Discuss Japan, Soviet Union, and American
Neutrality
2. Start Section Two: War Begins
-Discuss War in Europe

3. Discuss America at War – Japanese threat and U.S. response

4. Attack on Pearl Harbor

-Read excerpts out of V is for Victory
-Begin Under the Blood Red Sun during ELA block

-Extra activity: Teacher will read Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki. Students will
take notes during reading. Students will be assigned to centers to complete assignments. One
center will be imagining you are being sent to an internment camp – what three processions
would you take and why? Center two would be to brainstorm a list of ideas that the government
could have done to make life more pleasant while living in the camps away from home.

Week 2:

1. Review of allies and axis powers activity.

-Students will be given a map of Europe. Students will be asked to color the axis
powers in red and allies in blue.

2. Start Section 3 notes: On the Home Front

-Women joining the workforce
-Excerpts read from V is for Victory
-Factories/Industry
-Rations

3. Rations activity
-Students will be given a ration coupon worth 100 points.
-This coupon will be used throughout three days.
-10 points will be subtracted when students leave, have a break, sharpen a pencil,
socialize, group work, lunch, work on computer, get a drink, etc.
 -This helps students understand in order to do the necessary things to get by, it
cost them points. This is how people during the war had to live if they wanted
food, gasoline, etc.

4. Discuss African Americans/Native Americans/ Hispanic/Japanese Americans

5. Begin Section 4 notes: War in Europe and Africa
6. The Invasion of Italy, Air war over Germany, Tide turns in Europe, Invasion of France

Week 3:

1. Discuss Victory in Europe – Battle of Bulge – “V-E Day”

2. VIDEO – Teacher will introduce students by telling them that they will be able to see a
very interesting video. The men in the video fought in the battle of the bulge. They have
such vivid memories and details for you to try to understand what it was like during the
war. But we will never fully understand what exactly they had to go through.
3. Students will watch video, teacher pausing to draw attention to certain details – memory –
brotherhood – dedication – conditions – explain terms mortar – buzz bomb – still pictures
4. Students will be asked what their favorite part, most interesting, or most intriguing was for
them. Students will be given an index card to write this down on. After 5 minutes, students
will be asked to pair up with the person next to them and share what they wrote on the
index card. Then the class will come back together and listen to some of the student
responses that are shared. The index card is a ticket out the door for the day.
5. The next day – Students will begin a rough draft of a letter to one of the men in the video.
They will choose a person on their own and share their thoughts and ask any questions they
have.
6. Over the next two – three days during ELA time, these letters will be completed.
7. Start Holocaust notes

Week 4:

1. Continue with Holocaust notes

2. Students will look at Holocaust Museum and house of Anne Frank online
3. Students will write a letter to the president – what should country do..pretend alive during
1940.
4. Begin reading and talking about the book Diary of Anne Frank during ELA
5. War in the Pacific, Island hopping, and advance on Japan notes
6. Atomic bomb activity
-Students will be asked to brainstorm as many technologies that have been
invented in the world.
-After ten minutes students will get in groups of four to share their lists and work
together to find the year each technology was invented with the provided
resources from the teacher.
 -Class will come back together at end of period and discuss how much the world
has changed over the years and how we made it through the war without these
advances.

7. Atomic bomb notes

-excerpts from V is for Victory
8. War ends

Week 5:

1. Listen to radio broadcasts during the war from “We Interrupt This Broadcast” CD.
2. Students will become newscasters/reporters describing an event from the war.
3. They will choose any event from their notes and come up with a script that would
interrupt the daily broadcast with a very important message.
4. Students will create a podcast with their imagination and all students will listen to all
podcasts at the end of the week
5. This will be part of their assessment for this unit –a chapter test will be given also.

Daily:

1. Students will make a vocabulary flip book throughout the entire unit, adding new
vocabulary words each day.
2. Students will have a daily journal/diary entry – Teacher will give assignment as to
what the journal or diary entry topic is.

Extensions:
1. Art – Students will be asked to create a propaganda poster after looking at examples
and discussing them from the war time period.
2. Music – Students will listen to music from the war time period. Students will witness
how the lyrics and music created corresponds to history.
3. Students will be asked to give example of modern songs about current events and
issues.
4. Students will find a song about an event in history, whether its from a world war or
something current. The students will be expected to find the lyrics and explain them.
5. Many songs will be played and music videos if applicable.
6. For extra credit students can create their own song or poem with lyrics about World
War II or something going on in today’s world.

List of Books for possible use during unit and/or extra credit the following month after unit:

Sadako and the Thousand Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

My Childhood in Nazi Germany by Elzbeth Emmerich and Robert Hull

Nightmare in History: The Holocaust 1931 – 1945 by Miriam Chaikin

Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust by Milton Meltzer

The Devil’s Arithmetic by June Yolen

The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss

Along the Tracks by Tamar Bergman

Baseball Saved Us by ken Mochizuki

Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

V is for Victory by Stan Cohen

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

References

Appleby, Joyce. (2006). The American Journey. McGraw Hill: NY.

Arnold, Susan. Integrated World War II Unit. (1997) Retrieved November 2, 2009 from
http://www.henry.k12.ga.us/cur/WWII.htm

Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. (2009). WhistleStop Teacher Lessons: World War II.
Retrieved November 2, 2009 from
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/ww2_unit.htm

Walker, Gene. Monumental Battles: Major Turning Points of World War II. (n d ) Boundless
Learning Project Builder. Retrieved November 2, 2009 from
http://cte.jhu.edu/projectbuilder/popup_PrintTour.cfm?TourID=483