Trying to teach WWII

[rbbailey]

Teaching 20th Century U.S. History is why I originally got into teaching back in 2000. This is the first year I've been able to teach it. And right now, I am in the middle of teaching WWII. I'm loving it, but I'm certainly not 'there' yet. I've done more planning and prep work for this unit these past few weeks than I've ever done before.

Anyway, here are a few of the foundations of my presentations. The first one is an overall timeline of the war. Certainly not comprehensive, but I present it by starting with the chain of events, causes, of both the Pacific and European Theaters. Then I go through a survey of the entire U.S. role in the war. This took 3 days. Now I'm going back and doing mini-lessons on objects: The P-51; Artillery; Tanks, Propaganda on the Home Front, Images of the Holocaust, etc... And I'm also going to spend a day on D-Day.

Enjoy by clicking, then you can select full screen, then click to move through the presentation. You'll have to imagine that I narrate my way through these to the students.

prezi.com/vbwkqc-nvw0k/

prezi.com/7mgth_ikfh6y/

The tool used here is called Prezi, it is free!

Tell me what you think.

[Josh]

That is way cool. Maybe I'll use it for my upcoming World War II unit coming up.

In the past, one way I've taught WWII was through the use of a detailed simulation game I created (sort of a cross between Axis and Allies and World in Flames)

I also usually read lots of snippets from Steven Ambrose, show sections of World at War, etc... But my favorite days are simply the direct instruction/ discussion with visual aids!

[yeshuafreak]

perhaps you should spark a debate in the classroom about hitler:

why did a whole country of germans remain silent?
was the holocaust exagerrated?
Was hitler an occultist?
why did hitler choose the jews?

etc.

john

[rbbailey]

Good ideas, and questions that I will have to incorporate next year!

I have not yet done more than to simply touch on the Holocaust, that will come.

Also, the emphasis here has been on U.S. involvement in the war, so the timelines skip to big events along those lines.

Josh, the teacher across the hall from me is a veteran teacher, been here for more than 30 years, he's Welsh, and has a thick accent. He sets up a war game in the classical sense. He uses it for teaching D-Day, but he allows his Honors students to stay after school at the end of the unit and they war game the display back into it's storage boxes.

The display is 20x8 feet. It has textured soil and sea. There are LSTs and other landing craft, tanks, aircraft, a model of Pegasus Bridge, tank traps, Broccoli, Chez Hedgehogs, and little tiny barbed wire. The bunkers are all scale models of actual Normandy bunkers, and even the other buildings are replicas of French beach Chateaus that are really there.

I'll have to get photos of it before he takes it down, it's fantastic.

[yeshuafreak]

I have not yet done more than to simply touch on the Holocaust, that will come.

ahh- that is the most interesting part.

slightly off topic, but do YOU think hitler was an occultist? or at least influenced by esotericism's teachings?

[Josh]

Sure he was. He dabbled in eastern mysticism and indulged fantasies about finding medieval relics like the lance of Christ.

He was unable to sleep at night toward the end, requiring people to be around him 24/7.

[rbbailey]

Nazism was a cult.

[ryan]

I have just begun my WWII unit. I originally was not a great fan of this chain of events, but I have fed off of student enthusiasm over the years. I now look forward to it.

I have spent a great deal of time setting up the war (causes, places, personalities). I will show portions of a couple of films. This year I am using a few of the old News Reels to set up the lessons. I am not a big films person, but there is so much great stuff.

I am fascinated by the psychology of Hitler, and have spent some time unraveling why he did what he did.

I don't spend much more than a day on the Holocaust because I have limited time and I would consider the Holocaust more of a World History event than a US History event. I do not under sell it, but I do point out that Hitler and the Nazis were just as brutal to other groups of individuals (It's reported he killed more Christians than Jews - though I haven't seen the stats).

I also have some good propaganda material relating to Pearl Harbor. I will not -repeat- WILL NOT show that abysmal film "Pearl Harbor to my students. Much to their chagrin.

[rbbailey]

Yeah, I tell my students that the new Pearl Harbor movie is really only good for getting some sense of what it might have looked like to be there. The movie itself is really pretty stupid. I do show the Doolittle raid, and then I fill them in on what is correct and what is not.

I really would like to have a history class based on movies. The idea being that you watch the history of the United States through movies, good and bad, and discuss and write about the factual content vs. the fiction. I offer extra credit for watching and reviewing movies in this way.

One of my students, a girl who is pretty bright, randomly says to me, "Mr. Bailey, that Band of Brothers movie is soooooo awesome! I can't stop watching it! I'm 4 hours into it, and I'm going to go home right after school and stick in the next episode!"

[Josh]

If you're interested in a psychological viewpoint on Hitler, I might recommend a documentary entitled Hitler and Stalin: Roots of Evil.

On a somewhat related note, I'm curious if you guys are allowed to show rated R movies in class, and if, so, under what circumstances?

Good to see you, ryan! It's been a while. Are you gearing up for Spring Break? Do you have to wait an extra week or is yours earlier than ours?

[rbbailey]

I have not got a very straight answer on the movie question, Josh.

I asked about it early on in the year, and I'm not sure if my dept head didn't quite get what I was asking, or if maybe he thought I was looking for the cop-out history teacher approach, but he strongly stated that I should not show any movies in class, that I could show PG-13 clips, but not more than 10-15 minutes in length, and they should have parent permission slips!

However, since then, I have learned that there are two Language Arts courses in the school right now, both of them were created on a last-minute basis, and both are Movies as Literature -- the entire class is watching movies!

Also, I have since shown clips of Band of Brothers (nothing with language or gore) and of The Longest Day. Both my principals and my senior teachers and my dept head know about this, and are fine with it.

I recommend rated R movies, but if you saw my web site with the list, you would also notice that I state that these movies are only recommendations for extra credit, and that I won't even look at the assignment unless the student has the signed parent permission slip attached to the front of it.

[Josh]

I used to be able to show rated R movies without restriction. Now it's just PG-13 with permission, though I can show some clips from R movies as long as they are appropriate. It totally depends on the administration.

With my population of kids (students with emotional disturbance/ behavior problems), compared to the stuff they are watching on a daily basis, anything I would choose to show in class in innocuous

[Josh]

One movie I'd like to show some clips from is Downfall. Have to check that one with the powers that be.

[Josh]

Oh, and I've been showing this:

The Nazis: A Warning From History

www.imdb.com/title/tt0207907/

It's highly recommended (thought it's six episodes long). I've learned a lot from it myself!

[ryan]

We are not allowed to show rated R films. I tried showing a couple of clips from "Flags of Our Fathers" a couple of years ago and caught some flack for it. I usually show Patton with commentary (my own) I will show some clips of a couple of other films (primarily documentaries) I have wanted to show "Longest Day", but the students won't sit through a black and white film.

[Josh]

I got my students through Paths of Glory, but yeah, sometimes it's hard with black and white films.