Learning Activity

Celebrating Alabama's Bicentennial: Alabama in the Twentieth Century

Subject Area

Social Studies

Grade(s)

6

Overview

Students in each Grade 6 class will work in collaboration to create a class group Google Slides presentation celebrating the Alabama Bicentennial (or Alabama History).  Students will present information on the reasons behind the strategic placement of military bases in Alabama during World War I, identify changes on the Alabama homefront during World War II, or critique major social and cultural changes in Alabama since World War II. Each student will research a different topic to find information to create one or two slides as part of the group slideshow. The finished class Google Slides’ show will be presented, with each student reading his/her own slides.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Learning Development Summit.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 6

SS10.6.3

Identify causes and consequences of World War I and reasons for the United States’ entry into the war.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.6.3

Vocabulary

  • WWI
  • Lusitania
  • Zimmerman Note
  • alliances
  • militarism
  • imperialism
  • nationalism
  • modern warfare
  • isolationism
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • League of Nations
  • Red Scare

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The causes and consequences of U.S. involvement in WWI (sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman Note, Alliance System, Militarism, Imperialism, and Nationalism).
  • The roles of military and civilians played in WWI.
    • Important people involved in WWI (Woodrow Wilson, Archduke Franz Ferdinand).
  • The impact of technological advances of WWI on modern warfare (machine guns, tanks, submarines, airplanes, poison gas, and gas masks).
  • How to locate countries involved in WWI on a map and boundary changes that occurred after WWI.
  • The factors contributing to isolationism in the United States after WWI (Treaty of Versailles debate, Red Scare, League of Nations).
  • Strategic locations of military bases in Alabama.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Locate places on a map.
  • Read and interpret primary source documents.
  • Cite evidence to support historical events.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were many reasons for United States entry and involvement in World War I and there were causes and consequences of this involvement.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 6

SS10.6.7

Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.6.7

Vocabulary

  • internment camp
  • rationing
  • Birmingham steel industry
  • Port of Mobile
  • Tuskegee Airmen
  • retooling

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The types of rationing that occurred in the United States during WWII.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Cite evidence to support changes on the home front using primary and secondary sources.
  • Evaluate the contributions of significant individuals and/or groups in the US during WWII.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Many changes occurred in the United States during WWII.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 6

SS10.6.9

Critique major social and cultural changes in the United States since World War II.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.6.9

Vocabulary

  • Brown vs. Board of Education
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott
  • Freedom Rides
  • Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March
  • Motown
  • AM/FM radio
  • protest songs
  • demonstrations
  • genre
  • political assassinations
  • latchkey children
  • Civil Rights Movement

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The key figures involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
  • The major social and cultural changes that occurred in the United States post WWII.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Critique multiple points of view to explain the ideas and actions of individuals and ethnic groups to gain equality.
  • Cite evidence to support changes in social and cultural traditions using primary and secondary sources.
  • Evaluate the contribution of technology and mass methods of communication to influence people, places, ideas, and events.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were important the social and cultural changes that occurred in the U.S. after WWII.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The students will be able to recognize the reasons behind the strategic placement of military bases in Alabama during World War I.
  • The students will be able to identify changes on the Alabama homefront during World War II.
  • The students will be able to critique major social and cultural changes in Alabama since World War II.

Activity Details

The students in each class period will collaborate to create a class group Google Slide Presentation in celebration of Alabama’s Bicentennial (or Alabama History) focusing on:

  • the strategic placement of military bases in Alabama during  World War I (the reasons behind the placement of the bases) 
  • changes on the home front in Alabama during World War II
  • Alabama's role in American social and cultural changes after World War II. 

Each student will choose a topic from the following list: (This list was drawn from recommended topics in course standards)

  1. World War I - Alabama Military Bases and Training

    1. Ft. McClellan

    2. Maxwell Air Force Base

    3. Marion Military Institute

    4. Forts Morgan and Gaines

    5. Fort Sheridan

  2. Wright Brothers Flight School at Maxwell Field

  3. Tennessee Valley Authority

  4. World War II - Alabama in the War

    1. Birmingham Steel Industry

    2. Port of Mobile

    3. Tuskegee Airmen

    4. World War II Prisoner of War Camps in Alabama

    5. Redstone Arsenal

      1. Wernher von Braun

    6. Fort Rucker Helicopter Training

  5. Civil Rights Movement

    1. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    2. Rosa Parks

    3. John Lewis

    4. Fred Shuttlesworth

    5. Selma to Montgomery Freedom March

    6. Montgomery Bus Boycott

    7. Hugo Black

    8. George Wallace

  6. Famous People

    1. Zora Neale Hurston

    2. Hank Williams, Sr.

    3. Harper Lee

    4. Hank Aaron

    5. Helen Keller

    6. Percy Sledge

    7. Jesse Owens

The teacher will create a Google Slide presentation with only a title slide: “Celebrating Alabama’s Bicentennial”, or “Celebrating Alabama’s Heritage”. The teacher will share this presentation with each student in the class (using the usual delivery method for the classroom - Google classroom, email, teacher website, etc.)  If more than one class will be involved, a separate show should be created for each class, with the class period denoted on the file name. (make a copy and rename)  

The share link should be set: Anyone with the link can edit.

Each student will research the topic he/she selected, using a textbook or the internet.

Each student will add one or two slides to the group presentation, giving brief historical information and a picture. 

Students will work on their slides simultaneously, taking advantage of the collaborative nature of Google Slides.

If the students are not familiar with the process of collaborating on Google Slides, the teacher will explain that students can all add their slides at the same time and can see the presentation as it is constructed by their classmates.

The finished slide show will be viewed by the class on the projector screen, with each student presenting his/her slide.

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The students will be assessed on their individual slides and the accuracy of the historical information and pictures presented on each slide.  The teacher may create a rubric to use as an evaluation tool.

 

Variation Tips

The presentation could be modified to cover American History during one historical period as categorized in course standards.

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

The teacher will create only the title slide of a Google slide presentation, then share the presentation with each child in the class. Set the share link to Anyone with the link can edit.  If more than one class is involved, make a copy of the first presentation and rename it to denote the specific class period.  

The teacher will review the collaboration process of Google Slides

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

keithd
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