"Cheer, Cheer, for the 'Red, White, and Blue!'" University and High School Students' Contributions and Participation During the World Wars

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Social Studies

Grade(s)

11

Overview

Students will examine and evaluate both college and high school students' support of and involvement in the World Wars. Students will research both photographic and textual resources in order to produce factual information about how students reacted to World Wars 1 and 2. This lesson will culminate in a student-driven Socratic Seminar-style discussion which will allow the students to verbally articulate their findings from the resources provided.

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 11 - United States History II

SS10.US2.4

Describe causes, events, and the impact of military involvement of the United States in World War I, including mobilization and economic and political changes. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

UP:SS10.US2.4

Vocabulary

  • World War I
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • mobilization
  • imperialism
  • nationalism
  • militarism
  • nativism
  • fascist

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The causes, events, and the impact of military involvement of the United States in World War I.
  • Social and political changes and attitudes in the United States related to involvement in World War I, including: American neutrality, mobilization, economic changes, and political changes.
  • The role of imperialism, militarism, nationalism, nativism, and the alliance system in World War I.
  • Geographical and political boundaries of Europe and the Middle East, pre- and post-World War I.
  • Controversies over the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the League of Nations.
  • Short- and long-term effects of the Treaty of Versailles.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Explain the changing role of the United States during specific historical periods and in relationship to specific historical events.
  • Describe the effects of political and social movements and ideologies.
  • Analyze the social and political causes, events, and impact of specific historical events.
  • Identify geographical and political changes related to specific historical events.
  • Analyze controversies related to political policies, plans, and agreements.
  • Analyze primary and secondary sources.
  • Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were many causes and effects of the United States' military involvement in World War I and these had significant social, political, and economic impact on the United States.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 11 - United States History II

SS10.US2.10

Describe the impact of World War II on the lives of American citizens, including wartime economic measures, population shifts, growth in the middle class, growth of industrialization, advancements in science and technology, increased wealth in the African-American community, racial and ethnic tensions, Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (G. I. Bill of Rights), and desegregation of the military. (A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.)

UP:SS10.US2.10

Vocabulary

  • wartime economic measures
  • G.I. Bill of Rights
  • desegregation
  • Tuskegee Airmen
  • Aliceville POW camp

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The impact of WWII on national economic issues.
  • Population shifts that occurred as a result of WWII.
  • Social changes in the nation, including the growth of the middle class.
  • The growth of industrialization in the nation and the impact of this growth.
  • Advancements in science and technology and the lasting impact of these advancements.
  • Changes in racial dynamics, including increased wealth in the African-American community, desegregation of the military, and changes in the racial and ethnic tensions in the nation.
  • Political actions that impacted the effects of the war, including the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.
  • Alabama's participation in WWII, including the role of Tuskegee Airmen, Aliceville Prisoner of War camp, the growth of the Port of Mobile, production of Birmingham steel, and the establishment of military bases.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media.
  • Evaluate an author's premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information related to historical events.
  • Read and comprehend historical texts independently and proficiently on various topics related to events that led to WWII and the effect of those events on American foreign policy today.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There was a significant domestic impact from WWII with lasting effects on the political, social, and economic environment of the United States.
ELA21.11.R3
ELA21.11.6
ELA21.11.24

Primary Learning Objectives

  1. Students will evaluate photographic and complex textual evidence in order to research a specific topic in history.

  2. Students will formulate, and articulate through writing and verbalization, responses to a specific prompt regarding high school and university students’ reactions to the World Wars in America.

Procedures/Activities

Before the Lesson:

Before the lesson, any hard copies of handouts should be distributed.  If students have access to the internet as well as enough or limited personal electronic devices, the teacher should proceed to direct the students to each link they will need to complete the various aspects of the lessons:

1. Photograph of API Cadets: 1918 API Joins the American Expeditionary Force

2. Article about Auburn during WWI:  Auburn University from Encyclopedia of Alabama

3. Article about Alabama during WWI:  The University of Alabama in WWI from The Summersell Center for the Study of the South.

4. Directions on how to access the high school yearbooks from the National WWII Museum Feature Involving High School Yearbooks from the 1940s.

5. Guided Examination of the photo and texts

6. Socratic Seminar instructions and rubric  (This activity will be the first formative assessment.)

The teacher should then have students either work independently or with a partner to examine the photograph and text.  Then either independently or with the same partner, answer the questions that go along with the photograph and text.  (This activity will be the second formative assessment.)

Once the students have completed the assignment (timing may vary for different classes), have the students get with an elbow partner and discuss their findings from the article (formative assessment). This will give them a chance to process their answers as well as briefly discuss what other classmates discovered.  

During the Lesson:

The students should have a copy of the Socratic Seminar instructions and rubric. At this point, the teacher should discuss the structure and the expectations of the Seminar with the students. Place the students in a circle (or where each student can see the other eye to eye). It is at the teacher's discretion what the leading prompt or question should be to get the Seminar started. It is also at the teacher's discretion when and where to intervene during the Seminar.  (Don't be afraid of small stints of awkward silence.) Once everyone has had at least one opportunity to participate, the Seminar should come to an end (summative assessment).

Examples of 3 prompts to begin discussion during the seminar:

1. What similarities did you find as you examined how various high schools portrayed wartime in their yearbooks?

2. What differences did you find as you examined how various high schools portrayed wartime in their yearbooks?

3. What are some details in the photograph that indicates the individual's mood?

After the Lesson:

The teacher should ask the following question as an "exit slip" to be turned in before leaving the classroom that day:

"From the photograph that you examined, the articles that you read, and finally the authentic high school yearbooks that you evaluated, would you determine that high school and university students overall supported or did not support the war efforts during WWI and WWII?  Give 2 specific examples to support your answer."  (This will serve as a summative assessment )

Bibliography:

Culver, M. (2017, May & June). The University of Alabama in WWI. Retrieved July 22, 2017, from https://summersell.ua.edu/student-research/the-university-of-alabama-in-wwi/

N. (n.d.). See You Next Year: High School Yearbooks From WWII. Retrieved July 22, 2017, from http://www.ww2yearbooks.org/home/

Logue, Mickey, and Jack Simms. "1918: API Joins the American Expeditionary Force." Auburn The Loveliest Village Photograph Collection. Auburn University Libraries, 2013. Web. 30 July 2017.

Olliff, Martin T. "Auburn University (AU)." Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University Outreach, 18 Aug. 2008. Web. 30 July 2017.

Center, Clark E. "University of Alabama (UA)." Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University Outreach, 12 Sept. 2008. Web. 30 July 2017.

Cronenberg, Allen T. "World War II and Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University Outreach, 14 Sept. 2007. Web. 30 July 2017.

Olliff, Martin T. "World War I and Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University Outreach, 22 May 2008. Web. 30 July 2017.

U.S. History.org (2017). The American Home front. Retrieved August 01, 2017, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/51b.asp

Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment: Guided Reading Questions

Summative Assessment: Socratic Seminar (evaluated using the rubric)

Summative Assessment cont: Exit Slip Question

Acceleration

Students who would like to pursue an enrichment activity should research 3 more of the high school yearbooks and present to the class their findings as an extension of the original guided reading question regarding the yearbooks.

Extended Reading List:

An excellent source for more information regarding Americans supporting the war efforts on the homefront can be found at: 

http://www.ushistory.org/us/51b.asp

Intervention

*All specific accommodations or modifications to this assignment should be made according to any student's IEP.  

One example of an intervention strategy would be to have a student only examine the photo and one article instead of the other materials. Also, the questions from the guided reading could be shortened to only one of the student's choosing for each resource.

Total Duration

61 to 90 Minutes

Background/Preparation

This lesson fits best toward the end of a WWI unit. Before this lesson begins, the students should understand the general timeline of WWI. For example, they should know that the war began in 1914; the U.S. did not declare war and enact its first Conscription Act until 1917. They should know that the war came to an end in 1918. Even if WWII has not been covered yet, the teacher only needs to simply preview the year that America will enter WWII as a point of reference.  

Additional information for the teacher can be found at the following links:  World War I and Alabama from Encyclopedia of Alabama  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1545 

World War II and Alabama from Encyclopedia of Alabama  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1348 

Auburn University from Encyclopedia of Alabama  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1649

University of Alabama from Encyclopedia of Alabama  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1678

Materials and Resources

For this lesson, the following resources are necessary:

1. personal electronic devices for each student (if this is not available, hard copies of each resource and assessment can be provided)

2. electronic access or hard copy of the photograph:  1918:  API Joins the American Expeditionary Force from Auburn University Digital Library

3. Electronic access or hard copy of the following article:  Auburn University from Encyclopedia of Alabama regarding student military involvement in WWI at what is now Auburn University. 

4. Electronic access or hard copy of the following article:  The University of Alabama in WWI from Summersell Center for the Study of the South regarding student military involvement in WWI at the University of Alabama. 

5. Electronic access to the World War II Museum’s feature portraying high school yearbooks from the 1940’s:  National WWII Museum Feature Involving High School Yearbooks from the 1940’s.  (If no access to the internet is available, the lesson can be modified to only include research of the hard copy articles regarding college students.)

6. Socratic Seminar Instructions and Rubric

7. Guided Examination of the Photo/Texts

8. Paper and pencil

Technology Resources Needed

All aspects of this lesson except the "1940s High School Yearbook Compilation" can be completed even if the students do not have access to personal electronic devices. However, in the past, my students have been able to access the Yearbook part perfectly with their cell phones.

1. Personal Electronic Devices for students or the students could be grouped if a few students have cell phones or laptops in the classroom.

2. Access to the internet (hard copies) can be prepared if the students do not have access to the internet.

Approved Date

2017-09-03
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