Unit+Narrative+Overview

Back __Unit on World War II__ -Each day, students will begin class with a Learning Log entry. Learning Logs are used to reflect on previous classes, settle in for class, and organize thoughts. __Day 1:__ Learning Log Entry: Pretend you are a German Soldier after World War I. What are your reactions to the Treaty of Versailles peace settlement? Students will volunteer to share their reactions with the class. Next, I will briefly review the major facts of World War I, and answer any questions from students. I will introduce World War II by first discussing the Great Depression. Each student will receive pretend money in an envelope. The money will represent the students’ monthly salary in the 1930’s. A chart will be given to each student that lists items and their prices that students can purchase. Students are given three options: Place the monthly salary in the bank, purchase a couple of items, and place the leftover money in the bank, or buy as many items as your salary permits. Once each student decides what they plan to do with their salary, the students will lead a discussion on what they decided to do with their money and why. I will then lead our discussion into the Great Depression lecture. Students will learn that many American citizens trusted the banks with their money, and millions of individuals lost their earnings. At the end of class, students will define the Great Depression in one sentence as an exit slip. __Day 2:__ Learning Log Entry: Think for just a minute…If you lost the most important belonging that you own, how would you feel? Now, what if you had to sell this item to help your family during the Great Depression, how would you feel? Students will volunteer to share their feelings of losing something of importance. Then, I will briefly review the Great Depression and touch on the activity that they participated in the previous class. The students will then view a short introductory video on World War II. Students will have to look for one section in the film they found interesting. The students have the option of writing the interesting point down, or keeping a mental note. After the film, I will lead a discussion on the interesting points that the students found from the film. We will quickly move into a lecture on the dictators of Europe. Students will be given a graphic organizer in which they can compare and contrast Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin. Each group will receive material on Mussolini, Hitler, or Stalin in a manila folder. The group members must analyze the material to be able to teach in a jigsaw activity. Each group must come up with three key points about their dictator to present to the jigsaw group. Once each group has come up with their key points, I will divide the students so that only three or four students are in each group. The students will bring their graphic organizer with them to the jigsaw activity to fill in while they learn about each dictator. Then, I will begin a lecture on the dictators of Europe and their importance to Europeans during the early 20th century. At the end of class, I will introduce the novel //Flames of the Tiger// that will be used as an in-common read. There will be a class copy available, or students can read on google books. __Day 3:__ Learning Log Entry: In what ways were Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini similar? Try to think of the traits that they carried. I will have a brief review of the movie, as well as the European dictators’ lecture that was presented. Next, I will have an interactive map on the smart board in which I will have students volunteer to name the countries in Europe based on prior knowledge. I will then introduce the beginnings of World War II. There will be a teacher-centered lecture covering the events that led to World War II. At the end of the lecture, I will have students create a timeline of the events that led to World War II. Students will need to know when Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini joined the Rome-Berlin Axis. Also, students will look at Hitler’s plan to take over the Polish territory, and Hitler’s threats to the Polish leader prior to the invasion of Poland. We will refer back to the interactive map to mark the countries that were labeled Axis powers and Allied powers after the war was declared. At the end of class, I will read chapter one of //Flames of the Tiger// with the class, and I will give the students at least fifteen minutes to read //Flames of the Tiger// silently at their desk or sitting around the room. __Day 4:__ Learning Log Entry: No learning log today; students are in the computer lab. Today’s class will be in the computer lab. I will introduce the class to glogster (interactive poster). I will give students two options for creating a newspaper article on the beginning of World War II: a glogster, or a word document. Students will have the entire class to create their article. If students do not finish this class assignment, I will ask that they finish their article for homework and should be completed and turned in by day seven of the unit. I will give the option of working on their article during a “working lunch.” __Day 5:__ Learning Log Entry: If you lived in Poland during the German invasion, how would you feel and why? I will go over the beginnings of World War II as a review. Next, I will introduce a teacher-centered lecture of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the United States involvement in the war. Students will learn about the Japanese Internment camps in the U.S., as well as the general war effort that began soon after Roosevelt’s declaration of war. At the end of lecture, I will give the students an opportunity to read //Flames of the Tiger// for the rest of the period. __Day 6:__ Learning Log Entry: What is your reaction to //Flames of the Tiger?// Do you like this book? Why? Today’s class will look at the propaganda and music of World War II in Europe and America. I will begin by a photo slideshow of images of propaganda during the war. Students will need to concentrate on the messages in the propaganda photos. Also, students will listen to select songs of the war period. Students will find the connections between the music that was listened to in America vs. Europe during the war. Then, I will introduce the poem //Nazi Victim// by Martin Niemoller. Each student will receive a copy of the poem in which they will analyze the meaning of the poem. Tomorrow, students will begin writing their own poetry pieces with a war theme. I will give the remainder of class for students to read //Flames of the Tiger//. __Day 7:__ Learning Log Entry: What were some of the messages in the propaganda images from World War II? What was the major theme of most of the images? I will review the lecture of propaganda and music from the previous lesson. Students will look at the //Nazi Victim// poem that we analyzed in the previous lesson. This poem will be students’ inspiration for the poem that they will create today. I will give students the option of writing a haiku, concrete poem, or any type of poem of their choosing. Students will have the majority of the class to create their poem, as well as ask questions. Students may read //Flames of the Tiger// if they find their poem is presentable. If, however, students do not finish their poem in class, they will finish it for homework. Students will need to finish the poem by day eleven of the unit. Also, today marked the due date for the newspaper article. Students should have turned in their article from glogster or from a word document. I will count off two points for each day the assignment is late. __Day 8:__ Learning Log Entry: What type of poem are you writing? What did you choose to write about? Today’s class will concentrate on the major battles during World War II. Students will extend their timeline from the previous lesson on the events that led to World War II. I will first have a teacher-centered lecture on the major battles of World War II. The major battles that will be covered are: Battle of Midway, Stalingrad, D-Day (Normandy), Battle of the Bulge, and Iwo Jima. Next, students will fill in their time line with the dates of these battles and when they ended. I will give the remainder of class for students to work on their war poem, or read //Flames of the Tiger//. __Day 9:__ Learning Log Entry: Which battle do you think was the most important in the war, and why? In today’s class, I will have a ten to fifteen minute discussion on the Holocaust. Students will watch a short Holocaust remembrance film. After the film, students will view several “approved” photos of the Holocaust. I will ask students to write a short paragraph reflection on the film and the photos. After the in class writing, students will be informed of the Holocaust Remembrance Day that will be held in the next class. Students will be allowed to continue reading in //Flames of the Tiger//. __Day 10:__ Learning Log Entry: Why do you think the German people followed Hilter’s attempts at Genocide? Think back to our previous lesson on Hilter and the European dictators. I will begin class by having five stations set up in the classroom. Each station will have either a short story to read, pictures to view, a sound clip, or a video about the Holocaust. I will have the desks out of the way, so that students can maneuver around to each station. I will have the class sit in the center of the room to begin class. I will explain the rules to working in the stations, as well as my expectations from each student. I will ensure that students take this class activity very seriously. I want to ensure that each student walks away from this activity with the knowledge of the Holocaust, and the painful awareness of Genocide. Students will also be aware of the Blue Diamond test that they will take on day twelve. __Day 11:__ Learning Log Entry: What were your reactions from the Holocaust Remembrance Day that we held in our previous class? Today, I asked students to complete their war poem, and I will ask for several volunteers to share their poem to the class. I will collect all of the poems, and create a class poem book that I will bind and display in the library for the remainder of the unit. Students will be able to continue reading //Flames of the Tiger// for the remainder of class. Day thirteen will be devoted to our discussion on //Flames of the Tiger//. Students will be aware of the Blue Diamond test that they will take in the next class. __Day 12:__ No learning log; students are taking Blue Diamond. Students are to finish //Flames of the Tiger// for the remainder of class. __Day 13:__ Learning Log Entry: What can you do in your community to promote peace? In today’s class, students are going to be discussing //Flames of the Tiger//. I will give each student a number in which will be their “home group” number for the class activity. Next, I will have each student join other students with the same number in a “learning group” to talk about certain components of the book. Students will then rejoin their “home group” to talk about the questions that were discussed in their “learning group.” Students will then return to their assigned seats to talk as a whole class about the novel, and the literary elements that were present in the book. Students will also discuss the connections they found with this novel and our unit on World War II. Today marks the last day of the World War II unit.