Eyewitness –
World War II
Description
World War II brought about destruction,
devastation, and death. It was more than a petty squabble between two
countries; it involved many countries around the world. Join me on a fieldtrip
that will greatly expand your knowledge of World War II. You’ll learn not only
about the war, but some interesting facts, view pictures, and read true stories
of men and women who were there, living, working, and fighting as it happened.
For further exploration, the Eyewitness
website offers articles on other time periods in history (such as the Ancient
World, the Middle Ages/Renaissance, the Civil War, the Old West, World War I,
etc.), the Photo of the Week, Snapshots, and Voices of the 20th
Century.
Goals
The
goals and objectives of this fieldtrip are to: a) learn about World War II, b)
learn some interesting WWII facts, and c) become familiar with World War II
through the eyes of people of different nationalities who experienced it from
various parts of the globe.
Research
(Source: The World Book Encyclopedia website)
According
to the World Book Encyclopedia: “World War II (1939-1945) killed more people,
destroyed more property, disrupted more lives, and probably had more
far-reaching consequences than any other war in history. It brought about the
downfall of Western Europe as the center of world power and led to the rise of
the
The
exact number of people killed because of World War II will never be known.
Military deaths probably totaled about 17 million. Civilian deaths were even
greater as a result of starvation, bombing raids, massacres, epidemics, and
other war-related causes. The battlegrounds spread to nearly every part of the
world. Troops fought in the steaming jungles of Southeast Asia, in the deserts
of northern Africa, and on islands in the
World
War II began on Sept. 1, 1939, when
Lesson Plans:
1)
Go to the Eyewitness – History Through
the Eyes of Those Who Lived It website (www.ibiscom.com). From time to
time, the links on the web site do not work. Either skip the question below or
the page you’ve been directed to and go on. When navigating a site, you may
want to use your forward and back arrows, or click on the icon (link) buttons.
The back arrow is the best way to get from a particular screen back to the main
screen.
2) During this fieldtrip, we will be studying World War II. Go to the top of the screen and click on World War II (in bold).
3)
We will be following the order of the various articles listed on the left side
of the screen (in gray), traveling through time as the events occurred. Click
on Blitzkrieg, 1940 (General Erwin Rommel leads his panzers into
4)
Click on Air
5)
Click on The
6)
Click on The Attack at Pearl Harbor (Aboard the USS
7) Click on The Attack at Pearl Harbor – Japanese View (The leader of the air attack describes the view from his cockpit) and read it. Go back to the WWII homepage.
8)
Click on The
8) Click on Attack of An Arctic Convoy, 1942 (Defending a Russia-bound cargo ship during a Nazi air attack) and read it. Go back to the WWII homepage.
9)
Click on A GI’s Trip to
10)
Click on The Nazi Occupation of
11)
Click on “Loose Lips Sink Ships”
(Advice to GIs on what to say and not say when writing home, carrying on a
conversation, or if captured during World War II) and read it. Go back to the
WWII homepage.
12)
Click on Shot Down Over
14) Click on Sunk By Submarine, 1944 (Aboard the S.S. John A. Johnson attacked by a Japanese sub in the Pacific) and read it. Go back to the WWII homepage.
15)
Click on
and read it. Go back to the WWII homepage.
16)
Click on Rommel Commits Suicide, 1944
(Hitler forces his "favorite General" to take his own life) and read
it. Go back to the WWII homepage.
17)
Click on Iwo Jima, 1945 (Raising the
1st US flag over
and read it. Go back to the WWII homepage.
18)
Click on The Fall of
19)
Click on The War Ends in
20)
Click on
21)
While not part of this fieldtrip, there are many more interesting things on the
Eyewitness Web site to explore, such as the other time periods in history, the
Photo of the Week, Snapshots, and Voices of the 20th Century.
Grades
K-3
1) When did the Japanese attack
2) What year did World War II start? What year did it end?
3) When did the Invasion into
4) What is the
5) How long did the Battle of Midway last?
6)
Approximately how many pounds was each American GI carrying on his back when he
plunged into the water from the landing craft during the invasion into
7) What does the term “Loose Lips Sink Ships” means?
8) What was the cargo hauler, the S.S. John A. Johnson carrying?
9) If a soldier was captured during World War II, what were the only three facts he was required to give?
10)
What raid in April 1942 shake
Grades
4-8
1) What was the Blitz?
2) The attacking Japanese planes came to
3) Why was the attack on
4) How many aircraft did the Japanese launch in the attack
on
5)
What did the Battle of Midway do for the war in the Pacific?
6)
What was the most dangerous of all convoy routes during World War II? Why?
7) What was one element so vital to
8) When the Blitz ended, where was Hitler heading?
9) Approximately how many people lost their lives at
10) Of the eight battleships damaged during the attack on
Highschool
1)
There is a famous photograph of Marines raising the American flag, representing
bravery and heroism. Where was the photograph and taken and during what battle?
2) Why was the Invasion into
3)
What does RAF stand for? (Look elsewhere for answer)
4)
What three countries participated in the Tripartite Pact?
5) What did the attack on Pearl Harbor finally convince
6) Why was the
7) What was the only thing that stood between the British and defeat in 1940? What was the outcome?
8) What mark did Flight Officer Charles Yeager make?
9) Why did Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resign? Who was he replaced by?
10) What did the Doolittle Raid of 1942 show the Japanese?
*During World War II, merchant marines manned the ships
that were the lifelines of the Allied campaign in
* “Loose Lips Sink Ships”….Imagine that someone close to you, father, brother, or uncle, is fighting in the War. What kind of information would you not want to spread around? Draw a pamphlet that you would give to your friends during the 1940’s, telling them why it is important to keep their lips sealed about any information relating to the War.
*These are some of the planes used in World War II on both sides: Stukas, P-51 fighter, Heinkels, Messerschmitts, and an FW 190 fighter. Find pictures of all of the above mentioned planes and write a brief paragraph about each one (it can be information on the plane, a description, or what the plane is commonly used for).
*Find a world map or globe and locate the cities where all the major fighting took place during World War II. Mark all the countries that were attacked and beaten by the Nazis and then later, the Russians.
*Write a 3-4 page research paper on the cause and effects of World War II. Include a bibliography.
*Look for
*Do some additional research on the Doolittle Raid of April, 1942. What happened? What was the goal of the raid? Who were the invaders?
* Read one of the books below and write an essay on it.
*Read some fiction about World War II to get an even better and more indepth picture of World War II and life back then: Enemy Brothers* by Constance Savery, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The Small War of Sergeant Donkey* by Maureen Daly, The Winged Watchmen* by Hilda Van Stockum, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins, and The Red Horse** by Eugenio Corti.
* Published by
** For highschool reading