American Leaders on Social Media

Marie Paul
High School/American History

Common Core Standards:

Studentsapplyskillsbyutilizingavarietyofresourcestoconstructthesesandsupportorrefutecontentions
madebyothers.Alternativeexplanationsofhistoricaleventsareanalyzedandquestionsofhistorical
inevitabilityareexplored.
3.Historiansdevelopthesesanduseevidencetosupportorrefutepositions.
4.Historiansanalyzecause,effect,sequenceandcorrelationinhistoricalevents,includingmultiplecausation
andlongandshorttermcausalrelations.
TheisolationistapproachtoforeignpolicymeantU.S.leadershipinworldaffairsdiminishedafterWorldWar
I.Overseas,certainnationssawthegrowthoftyrannicalgovernmentswhichreassertedtheirpowerthrough
aggressionandcreatedconditionsleadingtotheSecondWorldWar.AfterPearlHarbor,theUnitedStates
enteredWorldWarII,whichchangedthecountrysfocusfromisolationismtointernationalinvolvement.
CONTENTSTATEMENTS:
21.Duringthe1930s,theU.S.governmentattemptedtodistancethecountryfromearlierinterventionist
policiesintheWesternHemisphereaswellasretainanisolationistapproachtoeventsinEuropeandAsia
untilthebeginningofWWII.
22.TheUnitedStatesmobilizationofitseconomicandmilitaryresourcesduringWorldWarIIbrought
significantchangestoAmericansociety.
Lesson Summary:
Students will be making fake Facebook and Twitter accounts for the worlds leaders during World War II. Each
student will pick a leader who was critical during this time and set up a social media account for that leader.
Students will then create posts that reflect their leader, and form an online persona in a way that reflects the
character of their subject. The purpose of this lesson is for students to put themselves into the lives of the
world leaders during that time. The goal is for the students to better understand the character of their subject
and have insight on why they behaved the way they did.
Estimated Duration:
This lesson will take approximately three hours. It will last three class periods, about 60 minutes per period.

Commentary:
It will not take very much effort to get the students interested in this lesson. Social media is something most of
them use everyday. For those who may not have social media, they are at least familiar with it. The idea of
being able to get on social media during school (which they are not allowed to do) will be a source of
excitement for the students. I predict a challenge will be making sure the student follow the guidelines of the
lesson. Students may want to act goofy with the accounts, and not put critical thought into what they post.
Also, they may want to browse their own social media accounts, instead of focusing on the assignment.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
First 10 minutes: Introduction- I will explain the guidelines of the assignment.
15 minutes: I will provide a set of world leaders the students may choose to focus their assignment around.
Students will be able to choose their own if they wish. During this time, students decide on whom they want
their social media account to be about and what type of social media they will be using.
20 minutes: Students will then research the subject they have chosen on the internet. They should already
know general information about the subject through past lectures and readings in the textbook. This time is for
learning more personal and in-depth information about the subject from credible online sources.
15 minutes: Students will begin to create the social media accounts online. This will be just the basic set-up.
Putting it basic information. For example: usernames, passwords, age, location, etc.
Day 2:
Entire class: During the entire class period, students will begin to fill in the spots of their social media accounts
online. They may use other sites or their textbook to inspire their posts. Students will post pictures, videos,
status updates, tweets, etc. from the viewpoint of their world leader. Their leaders may friend other leaders
and interact with one another.
Day 3:
First 45 minutes: The students will be able to share their profiles with the rest of the class. The class will be
open to discussion. Students will explain their decisions on their posts, and fellow students may ask questions
and/or provide constructive commentary.
15 minutes: I will wrap up the lesson. I will provide feedback on how well the students did with the
assignment, as well as further develop their thoughts on how they think their world leader would interact on
social media. I will make a point to show how readily available information is in modern times, and how in the
past, it was not as easy to understand a persons motive or thoughts.

Pre-Assessment:
In order to pre-assess how in-depth the students knowledge is in the material, I will use previous quiz/test
scores. This lesson will be towards the end of the WWII unit, and the students will have already taken quizzes
and tests over the subject material.
Scoring Guidelines:
The quizzes and test will be scored how they are traditionally. If some students struggled greatly in
them, I will suggest to those students that they choose the subject they know the most about and do
additional research at home. Although, I do not think this will be greatly necessary because students
will have an allotted time to research their subject in-class, and they are able to use their textbooks.

Post-Assessment:
Student will submit a written response explaining what they learned about their subject and/or another
students subject. Do they understand their leader more? How? How can the lag in the spread of information
during that time cause certain events to happen? With the age of social media, how could have these events
been prevented or accelerated?
Scoring Guidelines:
This will be a pass/fail assignment. The student have already learned the unit, taken quizzes and tests,
and completed a large web assignment. Depending on the thought put into the post-assessment, I will
be able to see whether or not the student grasps the concepts or has attempted to understand them, since
they have been exposed to so much of it thus far.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students:
The challenge will be to create a timeline of events on their social media site to coincide with a significant
event that occurred during WWII that directly affected their leader. The posts to their profile should be detailed
and show causality or reaction.
Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material:
Instead of creating a Facebook or Twitter, which may be extensive. Students will create an Instagram account.
I will give them specific events they need to find photos for, and they will search for and post those photos on
the account. Along with posting the photos, they should create appropriate captions to go along with them.

Extension
http://www.warhistoryonline.com
War History Online is a website that provides rare and fascinating information, videos, and pictures about
anything pertaining to war history. Students will be able to find great videos and photos they can share on their
accounts. Also, it will give them information they can use to help them create unique posts.

Homework Options and Home Connections

Students should create connections with other world leaders at home. They will be required to post to other
world leaders accounts (created by their classmates), tag them in photos, and/or befriend them. Students
should do this from their personal computers, online.

Interdisciplinary Connections
The lesson can integrate sciences like chemistry If a student chooses Oppenheimer as their leader, they can
have a great focus on the atomic bomb. The student will be able to elaborate on the structure of the bomb and
the chemical compounds. Philosophy can be integrated. Students may comment on how their leader feels about
communism, socialism, and capitalism.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

Overhead projector, computer, internet, white board

For students

Computers, internet, textbooks, notebooks, pencils

Key Vocabulary
Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instagram, post, status, tweet, profile picture, share, friend, emoji

Additional Notes

Students should try not to use modern slang in their posts. Although this assignment is merging the old with
the new, we do not want to take away personality traits frrom the subject and create them into someone else.
With that being said, students are not expected to post in early 20th century jargon.