Joe Rusek

October 4th, 2015

Curricular Resources for World War Two

Intro: For this assignment I will be focusing on the World War
Two era. This topic has three points of emphasis that I would like
to focus on: The European Campaign, the Pacific Campaign, and
the Domestic Effects of the War. I will focus on the years
between 1939 and 1950. While the war ended in 1945, I feel that
talking about the effects the war had on the few years after the
war could add valuable knowledge to the topic. For this topic, I
would really like to focus on showing how this war helped shape
the world as we know it today, whether it was politically,
economically, or culturally. The effects of World War two can
still be felt today, and as one of the largest fights in the history
of the world, I feel a special unit dedicated to it is highly
important, especially when it comes to giving students a
knowledge base for talking about topics like the Cold War Era.
1. Textbook: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51b.asp
a. Chapter 51, section B from UShistory.org.
b. I would use this section of the History book to talk
about how the war affected the home front. The
students parents would all mostly be on the tail end of
the baby boomers era, so this would be a great place
to talk about that, as well as the mobilization of
women in the workforce.
c. Questions:
i. How difficult was it to get women to go to work?
ii. How did women going to work help them to grow
out of the Housewife phase in American
history?
iii. What industries were boosted during the war?

Joe Rusek
October 4th, 2015

2. Alternative Text:
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnpeopleswar.h
tml
a. Chapter 16 in Howard Zinns A Peoples History of the
United States.
b. In this chapter, Zinn talks about how, while world war
two was a popular war in the United States, the
governments treatment of minorities (especially
Japanese immigrants) is often a dark reality that is
not spoken of as much. I believe it is important for the
students to get this perspective so they can compare
it to the previous resource, and see that while
patriotism is at an all time high, so was the
mistreatment of minorities.
c. Questions:
i. Can you classify World War 2 as a Peoples War
even when many citizens were so mistreated?
ii. Why do you think the American population was
okay with how the government was treating
minorities?
iii. Can you draw any parallels from World War 2 to
todays War on Terror?
3. https://apusb.wikispaces.com/file/view/20305%5B1%5D.jpg/197234468
/20305%5B1%5D.jpg
a. Political cartoon featuring Hitler and Hirohito
b. This is a political cartoon that was ran in papers during
World War Two. Students will be able to see how even
the US used propaganda to further its cause during
the war. Students also will hopefully be able to see
some of the racist undertones in the cartoon (The way
Emperor Hirohito is pictured) and will be able to see

Joe Rusek
October 4th, 2015

how the media fed into the publics growing

xenophobia.
c. Questions:
i. What do you think was the goal of this cartoon?
ii. Would you consider this propaganda?
iii. Do you think that there is anything wrong with
how the two villains are represented?
4. http://annefrank.com/about-anne-frank/diary-excerpts/
a. Excerpts from Anne Franks diary.
b. These entries from Anne Franks diary could be
implemented when the lesson turns to the Holocaust. A
lot of the time I believe it is hard for students to
personally connect to the massive tragedy that was
the holocaust. By reading someones actual words, I
believe it will help students connect on a deeper level
to the victims while getting in a more serious mindset
for the rest of the lesson.
c. Questions:
i. Why do you think Jews in Germany in the rest of
Europe did not leave when things started to get
bad?
ii. How do you all think the rest of the world
treated Jews during this time?
iii. Why did the Nazis target the Jews?
5. http://www.history.com/inside-wwii-interactive
a. Interactive World War Two map
b. I think this would be a great resource for students to
get into small groups and play with. The map offers
information on North America, Europe & Africa, and
Asia, which will allow students to get many different
perspectives.
c. Questions:

Joe Rusek
October 4th, 2015

i. What cultural differences do you notice between

the three different areas?
ii. What similarities do you see?
iii. Compare the soviet propaganda with the political
cartoon from the United States
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3q8tba_lw
a. Saving Private Ryan Storming Omaha Beach
b. Not only is this one of my favorite movies of all time,
but I feel like this movie, especially this scene, was
one of the first wake up calls I got when I was young
that war was not a game. I hope that the intensity of
this scene helps show the students some of the grim
realities of war, and helps them realize how many
casualties there were in World War 2.
c. Questions:
i. Using your knowledge of World War 2, do you
think this scene is historically accurate?
ii. Why do you think there were so many casualties
in World War 2?
iii. How does modern warfare differ from how
World War Two was fought?
Conclusion: In conclusion, I hope that this lesson allows students
to realize how big of a war World War 2 actually was. The scale
of WW2 is tremendous, and could not be covered completely in
the week I would probably spend on it. I also hope students
realize the extreme death toll that was the result of this war,
not to depress them, but so students realize how terrible war can
actually be. The World War Two lesson will be full of information
for students on the era, but I also hope that students will be able
to see the long lasting effects the war had on the world culturally
and politically.