“Implementing Women's Voices Into the Social Studies Curriculum”

An Honors Thesis
by

Caitlyn M. Urban

California, Pennsylvania
2021

Implementing Women’s Voice Into the Social Studies Curriculum
Written by: Caitlyn Urban
University Honors Program, Thesis Project November 2021
California University of Pennsylvania

Table of Contents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………3
Literature Review……………………………………………………………………….4
Curricular Materials (Unit Plan and Lesson Plans) ..…………………………………12
Reflection………………………………………………………………………………77
Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………79

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Abstract
Integrating Female Perspective into the Social Studies Curriculum
By: Caitlyn Urban
The purpose of this project is to incorporate a female voice into the male
dominated perspective in Social Studies’ curriculum. A literature review will be done,
examining prior research on this topic. I will also look at different pedagogical techniques
to integrate biographies, case studies, or readings to a unit of study. I will select a unit
topic after completing the literature review. The goal is to have my future female students
feel they have a voice in the intricate web of history.

Keywords:
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Education
Female
Curriculum
Textbooks
World War II
Unit Plan

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Literature Review
The Social Studies curriculum has long been dominated by the male perspective;
the female voice has been lost in the background. Historical events and watershed
moments change the path of history. Many women helped make change possible, but
their work is overlooked. In reviewing literature on textbooks and pedagogy, the narrative
of integrating the female perspective is there for discussion and educators are
implementing ways to teach this perspective. Researchers have experimented with adding
different engaging activities into the classroom. Three themes appeared in multiple
sources about ways to implement women’s voices through the teacher’s curricular design,
the power of local resources, and making thematic units. These methods need to be done
with purpose and not just to check off a box for the standards.
Teachers are the gate keepers of the knowledge their students hear. Teacher’s
syntax when lecturing can impact student’s bias on certain topics. In Social Studies, there
is a large breadth of material to cover in a short amount of time. Many teachers teach
superficially when it comes to the impact of women on history. A sense of idealism is
needed for students to get a well-rounded view of a topic. Watson-Canning’s (2020)
study Gendering Social Studies, where she looked at instructional techniques to broaden
the scope of women in social studies curriculum, has said “(d)emonstrating a sense of
idealism, both teachers viewed the purpose of social studies education as teaching
students to see multiple perspectives and develop empathy for others.” Creating gender
parity when lecturing helps make and female students have an alternative to normal
gender stereotypes. An example could be through a discussion on Joan of Arc. She is
often portrayed as “masculine” rather than allowing students to see her as a powerful
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female role model. In reality, a teacher can use certain verbiage to explain how
monumental her feats were on the battlefield for a woman and uplift her as a female role
model figure.
Other challenges a teacher may face when choosing how to teach certain topics
relies on their tenure. A new teacher may be more inclined to stick to the textbook. When
interviewed, a new teacher of archaeology said, “(s)he follows the textbook closely and
tried to use the idea of ‘change’ as a way of connecting the chapters” (Gudmundsdottir,
1990). Later in the case study, the teacher proved to not follow any sort of connection
across topics but followed the textbook structure. Textbooks are very subjective, and they
tend to favor male perspective. A more seasoned teacher has their ways set for how they
teach. Stephen J. Thornton says, “teachers will stick to familiar ways because they don’t
know the breadth of subject matter” (Thornton, 1994). They will know what will work or
not in their classroom. They are also more subject to opinion-based teaching. These
veteran teachers will not likely take the extra time to research new ways to enhance their
classroom.
Textbooks are printed based on the location of the publisher and where the main
buyers will be. Kay Chick and Stacey Corle, students at Penn State Altoona, performed a
study on the representation of women in high school textbooks. Schools will use either of
the three major publishers: Pearson, Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, or McGraw-Hill. They
created a formula that showed the ratio of men and women represented in textbooks
based off illustrations. Textbooks have focused on war history and political actions
leading to military involvement. In history, women have been significantly less involved
in war than men, at least on the battlefield. Therefore, these textbooks do not find their
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work as impactful. This is largely because of textbook adoption states, like Texas, where
their approval relies heavily on market and profit. One exception seems to be a 2003
work by, Howard Zinn titled A People’s History, which gave a realistic view of history.
He included all the atrocities that American history tends to cover up in textbooks. Some
schools do use this book in upper-level history classes, usually in AP (Advanced
Placement). These classes are elective, so the general student may never get a chance to
read it. The general education classes still use a textbook from the three publishers stated
above. Zinn’s book was so controversial, it included themes of slavery, suffrage, and
inequality (Chick 2016). Textbooks are what the majority of curriculum is based around,
so having biased published makes it difficult for teachers to educate about different
perspectives.
When publishers write about women they tend to be very superficial. In the study
by Chick and Corle, the one textbook they examined referenced Harriett Tubman. The
book just said how she was a guide for slaves of the Underground Railroad, they moved
on to the next information. Harriett Tubman did so much more for African Americans
than just being a guide. High schoolers would fail to realize this because their books do
not say otherwise. The same dialogue was found throughout the books. When they
mentioned Sandra Day O’ Conner, they gave little details just a sentence or two. It’s
important to know that little research on Latina and African American female students
has been done and most is still relatively under consideration.
Teachers are also faced with teaching to rigorous national and state-based
standards. Teacher’s evaluations rely on the meeting of these standards in their
curriculum. The National Council for Social Studies has several different frameworks to
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use. There are ten themes of Social Studies, with many smaller standards within (NCSS).
When glancing over the themes, it appears there is a lot of freedom to teacher, but then as
one looks further into the specific standards, that idea disappears. An example of a
Pennsylvania State Secondary Education standard is 8.3.U.A which states “compare the
role groups and individuals played in the social, political, cultural, and economic
development of the U.S.” (Pa Dept. of Education). Our state has written standards to be
used in high schools today, but teachers have just depended on the men’s impact and
maybe sprinkling a women’s voice in the lecture. Catherine Engebretson (2014) wrote
“Another Missed Opportunity: Gender in the National Curriculum Standards for Social
Studies” in which she examined multiple textbooks from the 1960s-1970s and counted
the number of times a man appeared in an image compared to a female. The men heavily
outweighed the women in representation. In the textbook 9% of pictures were women,
but all appeared as Europe-American (Engebretson, 2014). She noted there has been
progress in the last 50 years, but women are still underrepresented. All of these
challenges teachers are faced with take time and effort to tailor curriculum to use the
women’s voice.
Teaches are the gatekeepers of knowledge they must make purposeful curriculum
design and choose syntax to avoid stereotypes. Local resources can serve as a catalyst for
students to connect with community figures. Writers Gail Hickey and Don Kolterman
practiced implementing women’s history in a middle school classroom using local
resources. Teachers can go to a local historical center or museum to gain access to a
database of obituaries, journals, deeds, wills, military papers, or business records. At the
local level, students can learn about relatives or others who may change the way of their
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town or city. This could motivate female students to see they have a voice in their own
community. With hopes, they can take their voice to a larger platform in life. Students
were more engaged and wanted to keep exploring the rich history of their town. Hickey
and Kolterman are two individuals who were able to encompass standards for their
classroom as well as purposefully incorporating women into the curriculum (Hickey and
Kolterman, 2006). Their project was called “Telling her Tale.” The project was a
combination of women and immigrants of their small town retelling their stories of
moving to America and the challenges they faced. The students used primary sources and
journals. Some students even used oral history to perform interviews on women in their
town. This project used history, geography, and civics, a full circle lesson.
Teachers who have access to local resources have their own library of exclusive
materials to make their curriculum unique. There are challenges teachers are faced with
when they want to use these materials. Sarah Bair created a project with an Inservice
teacher and preservice teacher, to integrate women’s voice into an eight-grade history
classroom through use of local resources. There were four major challenges they ran into
along the way (Bair, 2008). The first was lack of quality resources. Bair and her
colleagues gathered a list of Pennsylvania state Social Studies standards and compiled
local materials on women’s history. After they cross-referenced the two together, the
amount of reliable material was slim. Certain resources were too short to have meaning to
the lesson or some were too complex. Students would not be able to understand the full
impact of women, in a short amount of class time. Another challenge was the lack of
time. Teachers only had the summer months to change their curriculum before they
present it for the class. Teachers became overwhelmed. Their goal was to go into detail as
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much as they could with women’s history, but within 180 days of instruction, there would
be no time to impact everyone. She said “we tried to make our curriculum guide as userfriendly and efficient as possible. Teachers also noted there were simply not enough
hours in the day to cover everything important to the social studies curriculum” (Bair,
2008). The third challenge was a need to conform a district curriculum and state
standards. As stated in paragraphs above, standards place extra pressure on teacher’s
freedom to design their curriculum, especially integrating women’s voice. The fourth
challenge was a lack of content knowledge in women’s history. Bair notes how many of
the teachers’ content knowledge was social studies as whole, therefore not specialized in
one area: meaning not women’s history. Women’s history is not a new topic, but teachers
are just now starting to be required to take non-Western history electives in college with
women’s studies as one option. There is always more information to add but teachers are
not to keep up with the changing times during an academic year.
Another way to look at making women’s history more inclusive in the social
studies curriculum is through a bi-focal lens of design. The instructions are focused on
the main themes and then, when delving into the content on a further level, one could see
the contributions women had on society. Christine Woyshner (2002) from Temple
University wrote a study on a 4-pahse method to integrate women’s history into the
curriculum. Her study was based off the important work by Mary Kay Thompson
Tetreault and Nel Noddings who are renowned as being the most famous writers for the
importance of women’s history. The first phase is to start with the social life, this is the
everyday tasks women would have done during the targeted time period. Students will
have a chance to relate their life and everyday tasks to those women in history. Students
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need to see that women in history live like them; they have families and jobs. Civic
motherhood was essential with the involvement of war. As men were off fighting, women
were left raising the families and working outside the home. Then it is important to move
into the social movements they were a part of, such the women’s suffrage movement or
the creation of settlement houses (Woyshner 2002). As one teaches about these social
movement, it is easy to talk about the average white middle-class women participating.
Women from all diverse backgrounds were participating in our conquests for social
justice.
Teachers can give multiple perspectives, to teach culturally responsive. Educators
have to keep in mind that one can does not teach everything, they need to choose what is
important and what will last in their student’s minds moving forward. One example of
adding representation of diversity in the classroom is by looking at Angelia M. Leslie’
work on Rendering Latinas Invisible: The Underrepresentation of Latina Role Models in
K-12 History Textbooks. She examined textbooks, like the study above by Chick and
Corle (2016), her findings were more drastic. Latina women were .0063% of individuals
in textbooks through either illustrations or mention in the text. When there is no
representation for these students they feel their culture and gender are undesirable. If
students see themselves and others like, being oppressed and put negatively in history
they become upset and tend to disengage from learning there on. Her study found that
8.4% of high school dropouts were from Latina women, 6.5% from African American
women, and 4.1% of white women (Leslie, 2021). Leslie says, “When students of colors
are offered positive role models, there is evidence to support that culturally relevant
pedagogy aids students in seeing themselves as change agents” (Leslie, 2021). When
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students are motivated to be like others in history they tend to participate in class more
and have better grades.
The best ways to integrate multiple perspectives is debated. Angelia M. Leslie
suggests having discussion that require critical thinking skills. This way students engage
in higher order thinking and metacognition. On the teacher’s end, they can look at their
curriculum and examine where they can add more or steer away from a one-sided view.
Teachers can add question that will challenge to make their units interdisciplinary
(Leslie, 2021).
The goal to integrate women’s history is to not make them appear always
oppressed or underserved. Students would be better engaged when content is uplifting
and positive. Women should not always be suppressed end of history. Women should be
inspirative to their contributions to history. Looking back on history classes I have
experienced, men tended to be put in successful road to power and women are put on the
struggling paths. Through practices like critical thinking discussion, curriculum
examination, and interdisciplinary work teachers can incorporate more of a female
perspective. When using textbooks, teachers have to keep in mind that they will be one
sided. They cannot solely rely on the textbooks. Students deserve a more well-rounded
view of social studies. Role models are needed in the classroom to encourage engagement
in schools and motivation to reach their goals.

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Course Name Great Events in World History since 1900

Standards/
Established Goals
State Standard:
8.4.W.C: Evaluate how
continuity and change
have impacted the
world today: Belief
systems and religions,
commerce and
governments,
technology, politics and
government, physical
and human geography,
and social
organizations
7.1.W.A: Use
geographic tools to
analyze information
about the interactions
between people,
places, and the
environment.
8.1.W.C: Construct
research on a historical
topic using a thesis
statement and
demonstrate use of
appropriate primary
and secondary
sources.

Unit Name

World War II

Stage 1 – Desired Results
Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to …
 Understand the connection of historical events to current events
 Recognize that many different groups helped aid on the Homefront which allowed success in the battlefield
 Anticipate and prepare for the future
 Recognize the historical patterns leading to war or worldwide disruption
Meaning
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will keep considering…
 How did the impact of living in the ghettos affect the Jewish
religion and psychology?
 Why do countries go to war?
 How did war shape social organizations in Europe?
 What makes a dictator?
 Was the Normandy Invasion just?
 How do we interpret the attacks on Pearl Harbor in the sense
of American nationalism?
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How did women play a role in the outcome of the war?
 How should governments check up on other nations to make
sure another genocide or world war is avoided?
 Was World War II worth fighting for in an American sense?
 How are the outcomes of World War II impacting us today?
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Why did World War II help justify the dropping of the atomic
bombs?
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Acquisition
Students will be skilled at…
 Analyzing primary sources and pulling out important
details
 Identifying traits of a dictator

UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand …
 The psychological damage of being placed in
war ghetto with little food and no outside
information
 The characteristics of war and what pushes
countries to interact violently
 The social hierarchy in relation to war time
persecution.
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The diplomatic functions governments must go
through in order to enact war.
 The legacy of World War II on today’s world
stage with technology, economics, policy, and
social organizations.
 The decision-making process and motive of
President Truman to drop the atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Students will know …
 Major diplomatic agreements made during
WW2
 The social hierarchy

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PA Core:
CC.8.5.11.1: Integrate
information from
diverse sources, both
primary and secondary,
into a coherent
understanding of an
idea or event, nothing
discrepancies among
sources.

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Prominent military leaders and their successes
Characteristics of what makes a dictator
The role of underrepresented groups pertaining
to different battles and technological advances.
Politics between General Patton and General
Montgomery
The importance of the supply escort across the
Atlantic Ocean
The legacy of World War II

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Identifying geographic acquisitions during the war
Deciphering differences and similarities among
important battles.
Examining different groups’ role in the war.
Answering open-ended questions about war and
genocide prevention
Communicating their opinions professionally and
respectfully.

13

Objectives
Cognitive Objectives:
1. The student will be able to summarize major battles during World War II, when asked openended questions
2. The student will be able to comprehend primary sources’ main theme and compare and
contrast discrepancies to other primary sources read during the unit.
3. The student will be able to examine the differences between warfare in the Pacific theater to
the Europeans theater.
4. The student will be able to create a research analysis on local people who were on the
home front during the war
5. The student will be able to relate the chain of events before the war to after the war.
6. The student will be able to criticize governmental decisions taken during World War II by
world leaders
7. The student will be able to generate an opinion based on the justification of the events of the
war
Psychomotor Objectives:
1. The student will be able to design a map of the military campaigns of World War II with
advanced accuracy
2. The student will be able to compose an argument for their United Nations Mock Trial
assigned country
3. The student will be able to organize a infographic depicting the assigned dictator, with
photographs and charts to back up evidence.

Remember

Affective Objectives:
1. The student will be able to question if the psychological and economical toll of warfare is just
2. The student will be able to describe their attitudes/feelings towards war when shown
different videos depicting battle
3. The student will be able to share their opinions on the actions taken to catalyze the start of
World War II.
4. The student will be able to compare what life was like for African American men and women
in the armed forces during World War II

Receiving

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

1.Understand
2.Understand
3.Analyze
4. Create
5.Apply
6.Evaluate
7. Create

Guided

Mechanism

Complex

Adaptation

Origination

1.Origination
2.Origination
3.Complex

Responding

Valuing

Organization

Characterization

1. Characterization
2. Receiving
3.Valuing
4. Organization

Stage 2 – Evidence
Code (A, M, T)

Evaluation Criteria

Performance Tasks

14

Construct research on a
historical topic with
thesis statement and
appropriate primary and
secondary sources




Use of geographic tools
to analyze information
about interactions
between people

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Integrate information
from diverse sources,
primary and secondary,
into coherent
understanding of ideas

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Code (A, M, T)

Evaluation Criteria
Knowledge concerning
battles, people, places,
politics, social

Infographic (PA Core Task)
o Students are assigned a dictator during World War II and will create an infographic
(50 points)
Mapping Exercise
o At the beginning of instruction students will be given a blank map of Europe and the
Pacific, during the unit they will plot points and major movements on map. At the end
they will turn in map with half page-page analysis of what is shown on the map.
Socratic Seminar: Origins of World War II
o Pre-assigned after last unit exam
o They will be assigned a side to defend, then do research.
o 4-5 groups, depending on class size, each will have 10 minutes to discuss and peers
ask questions to add to the discussion.
Primary Sources reading exercise
o Life of a Nazi, Life of a Jew, Life of an American Solider
o Diary of Anne Frank, Night, Hiroshima (excerpt)
Warm-Up Journal
o 1945: The Final Year
Mock UN Trial
Students are assigned country and must simulate a United Nations trial on genocide and war
prevention
Textbook Insert
o Students will design a presentation about local women in WW2 as if it was going into
a textbook.
Nearpod Homework
Anne Frank Reading Homework
Video Clips:
o Greyhound, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan
Exit Tickets: Student perspectives on lesson (affective domain)
Self-Reflection
o Students will reflect on what they learned about underrepresented groups such as
Women, African American, Native Americans, or Japanese Americans

Other Evidence
 Unit Exam on day 19
 4 Pop Quizzes on days 4,8,11, and 15. (not graded on accuracy just participation (5 points),
just a check for understanding to gauge student’s comprehension)
 Self-Assessment

15

organizations, and key
events

o
o

Sent a survey on day 9, on how they feel about this unit, speed of learning, and if they
would like changes on a particular area.
At the end of instruction, students will be send a survey where they will be asked to
give feedback on how they felt the unit and where there could be improvement

16

Stage 3 – Learning Plan: Learning Events
Code (A, M, T)

Pre-Assessments
What pre-assessments will you use to check students’ prior knowledge, skill levels, and potential misconceptions?

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Transfer
Meaning

Acquisition

Ask essential questions
When introducing new historical figures, battles, or conferences, check their knowledge of the event to see how in depth to go

Learning Events
 Chart major battles and movements on a map.
 Risky behaviors of countries put the UN on alert
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Discuss emotions invoked during Hiroshima Primary Source Reading
Watch excerpts from Saving Private Ryan, Greyhound, and Bridge Too Far
Summarize events of major battles
Write about the timeline during the final year of war

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Major discussion points/diplomatic decisions of conferences
Politics between Patton and Montgomery
How the social hierarchy worked for leaders and then down to minorities
Characteristics of a dictator
Local historical society comes in to speak on women’s involvement during World
War II
African American men and women in the military

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Progress Monitoring
 Mapping Exercise
 Mock UN Trial
 Primary Sources Exercise
 Video Segments with Exit Ticket
 Journal
 Homework
 Quizzes
 Informal Assessments
 Unit Exam

17

Stage 3 – Learning Plan: Lesson Topics
Code (A, M, T)

Pre-Assessments
 Ask Essential Question before each corresponding lesson
 Students will go up to the board and write what they know about the day’s topic and then the teacher will examine students’
awareness of their bias on certain topics. The goal being for students to have a more well-rounded view of the war beyond just
on the battlefield.
Learning Events
Lesson #1 – Origins of War

M, A

Progress Monitoring

Overview of learning events in this lesson.

Ask students about what they know of the origins of World War II. Introduce the Invasion of
Poland. Explain Germany as a superpower forced countries to submit to his power.
Discuss the Non-Aggressive Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. Explain the
Battle of the Atlantic and the importance of the supply escort. Show clips from movie
Greyhound. Introduce Mapping exercise to fill out throughout the whole unit. Possible
Socratic Seminar or just whole class discussion about the beginning of the war. (Day 1-3)

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

Mapping Exercise
Exit Tickets
*Socratic Seminar

Overview of learning events in this lesson.





Pop Quiz
Primary Sources Exercise
Assign Infographic

Ask students how the United States enter into World War II, discuss their answers. Explain
Operation Barbarossa and the Atlantic Conference. Show clips of movie Pearl Harbor.
Have exit ticket directed toward affective domain. (Day 6)

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Exit Ticket

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

Video Clips
Nearpod

Lesson #2 – 1940
Overview of learning events in this lesson.

A

First 10 minutes will be a five-question pop quiz about previous lesson. Talk about Hitler’s
rise to power, and the German invasion throughout Europe. Introduce the first major battle
The Battle of Britain. Small Primary Sources exercise on life in the ghettos. (Day 4-5)
Lesson #3 – 1941

A

Lesson #4 – Pacific Theater
Overview of learning events in this lesson.

A

Discuss major battles that took place in the Pacific Ocean such as Midway, Guadalcanal,
Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Include clips of the movies Midway and the Doolittle Raid scene
from Pearl Harbor. Have Nearpod if time allows in class, if not for homework. (Day 7)
Lesson #5-7 ~ European Theater

18

M, A

First 10 minutes will be a five-question pop quiz on previous lesson. Ask students what
they know about the battles that took place in the European theater. Explain Battle of
Stalingrad, first and second Battle of El Alamein, Battle of the Bulge. Class discussion
about the D-Day Invasion, is it just? Pros and Cons? Discuss conferences like Casablanca,
Tehran, and Yalta. Highlight the liberation of Paris. Nearpod Homework on Diary of Anne
Frank. Show video clips of Saving Private Ryan and Bridge Too Far with exit tickets. (Day
8-10)
Lesson #8 European Conferences & Diplomatic Decisions
Students will learn about the four major conferences that occurred during the course of
World War 2. Students will answer critical thinking questions about the impact of these
conferences and the outcome of the post-war world. Students will also read a document
about how FDR’s daughter accompanied him along to the Yalta conference.

M, A

Lesson #9 Women in the Armed Forces
Students will participate in a bias awareness exercise where they will examine their
knowledge of women in the armed forces before and after instruction. Students will also
use information from instruction to help build their content for their Research Analysis.
There will also be a section for students to examine Executive Order 8802 further in aspect
to women.

T, M,A

Lesson #- 10 Guest Speaker
Students will listen to a guest speaker explain the importance of local women during the
war time on the Homefront and even abroad. Students reflect on the speaker and by use of
previous lectures to write a research analysis. Students will have the remainder of the unit
to work on it.

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Pop Quiz
Nearpod
Primary Sources exercise



Research Analysis.



Pop Quiz

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10-minute Journal



Pop Quiz



Mock Trial

M, A
Lesson #-11 Holocaust
Ask students their thoughts on the Holocaust (emotions, knowledge, statistics, opinions).
Highlight major concentration camps, statistics, daily life in the concentration camps,
people. Students will read excerpts from the Anne Frank’s Diary, to invoke emotion about
life in the concentration camps and for Jews in hiding. (Day 12)
T
Lesson #12- Influential Technology
Students start class with a 10-minute journal of their thoughts on the Holocaust from
previous day. Students will learn about technology that was invented for war such as the
atomic bombs, different ships, planes(B-52s), and tanks (Sherman and Panzer) used. Also
discuss the importance of the telegraph. Explain technological adaptations on the
Homefront in the United States. (Day 13)

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Lesson #13- Legacy
Ask students what they see as a lasting effect of World War II, or what we do today
because of World War II. Then detail the toll of rebuilding Europe, Nuremberg Trials,
psychological effects of the Holocaust, attitudes towards certain countries, and economic
damage of war. Students will turn in their mapping exercise. (Day 14).

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

Unit Study Guide
Unit Exam

Lesson #14- United Nations Mock Trial
Students will participate in a UN Mock Trial focusing on identifying risky behavior and to
prevent genocide/war. Students will each be assigned a country. Some will be part of the
superpower’s others will be assigned more “at risk” countries (15-16).
**Days are relative to change depending on schedule**

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Stage 3 – Learning Plan: WHERETO
Code (A, M, T)

Pre-Assessments
 Pre-test


Learning Events
W

Students know what is required of them and where the learning is going. They understand assignments and reading exercises. Students know
there is no wrong answer to the essential questions. Students will have reliable sources available for completion of homework and other in class
assignments. Students are aware of the goals for the unit and what is required for them to achieve them.

H

Each lesson begins with an anticipatory set. Students will be asked probing questions to get them thinking about what they will learn in the lesson
to come. Students will also have different movie clips to visualize the war from a first-person perspective. Students will be able to channel their
emotions provoked during these videos into a small writing exercise. Students will also have the opportunity to share artifacts they may have if
they have grandparents who are World War II veterans. As the teacher, I have several artifacts to show students. I have dog tags from my
grandfather I will bring in for the European Theater day, especially when talking about the D-Day Invasion. Also, I have newspapers from the day
when the atomic bombs were dropped to show students the magnitude of that decision.

E

Students will make connections from World War II to modern-day. They will look at economic policies, diplomatic relationships, and technological
advancements. Students will learn through notetaking, class, and small group discussions, Nearpod assignments, primary source readings, and
a hands-on mock trial. Students will provide their own input if they have prior knowledge or personal family experiences in relation to the war.

R

The unit is set up to follow a rough chronological timeline. I chose to chunk the majority of similar content into the same lesson. For example, for
the European Theater Day, several of those battles happen before and after other lesson in the unit. I think chunking them together helps
students visualize the geographic trends of war. Students can keep straight which prominent people go with each front and they are able to
comprehend the magnitude of their decisions. Also, having a whole day devoted to the Holocaust lets students learn the gravity and impact it had
on the world. Students get to take hold of their learning when working on the infographic, mapping exercise, and participating in the UN Mock
Trial. Students will loop back to the origins of the war when looking at diplomatic decisions made throughout.

E

By the end of the unit, students will be able to self-evaluate their learning. Students will evaluate the teacher, for future learning. During the UN
Mock Trial students will use metacognition to use evidence from the unit with their own thinking to provide solid answers. Students will be
evaluated using formative and summative assessments. They will have a Unit Exam and several pop quizzes throughout the unit. This will be so
they know where they stand with their knowledge. The infographic, mapping exercise, primary sources exercise, and mock trial will be worth
more points since this is the student’s own work instead of just answering questions by recall. Students will have surveys multiple times during
the unit to check in with them where they stand with the unit. For example, if they feel content is moving too fast or too slow, or if they need me to
review a certain chunk of content again.

21

T

Student’s learning will be tailored to what learning styles fits them. Students will have different options to take notes. They can write them, just
listen, or have them printed out and do both. Students with the need for differentiated learning will have instruction tailored to fit their adaptations.
Students will not be seated at their desks every day, there will be opportunities to collaborate and interact with peers. The Socratic Seminar may
be taken out depending on how the timeline works with the class. If it would be more beneficial to skip over it in one class not the other, it will be
class specific.

O

The organization of the unit it unique, in that it is not entirely chronological. Students will learn about certain areas or time period during the war
instead of moving linearly throughout the war. Students will make connection to past wars and to the modern-day policies and procedures we
have as a result. Assignments and discussion are structured to maximize student engagement and participation.

22

Content Outline
1. Origins of World War II
a. Poland vs. Germany
b. Non-Aggressive Pact
c. Battle of the Atlantic
i. Supply Escort
ii. U-Boat Threat
2. 1940
a. Life in the Ghettos
i. Social Hierarchy
ii. Food and Shelter
b. Hitler’s Rise to Power
i. Traits and Movements
ii. Similar dictators
c. Battle of Britain
i. German U-Boats
3. 1941
a. USA enters war
i. Pearl Harbor
ii. Japanese Internment Camps
1. Family and Gender roles in the communities
iii. Generals and Leaders
b. Operation Barbarossa
c. Atlantic Conference
4. Pacific Theater
a. Midway
b. Okinawa
c. Iwo Jima
d. Guadalcanal
e. Leyte Gulf
f. Doolittle Raid
g. Navajo Code Talkers
5. European Theater
a. Battle of El Alamein
b. Battle of Stalingrad
c. Battle of the Bulge
d. Operation Torch
e. D-Day Invasion
f. Operation Torch
g. Tuskegee Airmen
h. Deaths
i. Hitler
ii. FDR
iii. Mussolini
i. Liberation of Paris
j. Conferences
i. Yalta
ii. Tehran
6. Underrepresented Groups of the War
a. Women
i. Eleanor Roosevelt
ii. Women’s Organizations:

23

7.

8.

9.

10.

1. WAVES, WACS, Women Marines, WASPS
iii. Executive Order 8802
b. Guest Speaker
i. Local historical Center focusing on Women in WW2
Holocaust
a. Concentration Camps
i. Living Conditions
ii. Treatment
iii. Names
1. Auschwitz
2. Dachau
3. Buchenwald
b. Refugees
i. Anne Frank
ii. Escape Plans
Technology
a. Atomic Bombs
i. Hiroshima
ii. Nagasaki
b. Planes
i. B-52 Bombers- USA
ii. Kamikaze-Japan
iii. Supermarine Spitfire
c. Tanks
i. Sherman (USA)
ii. Panzer (German)
d. Radio and telegraph
e. President’s Use of technology to communicate with the Homefront
i. Fireside Chat
f. Homefront Technology
i. Women workers
ii. Victory Gardens & Recycling
Legacy
a. Economic
i. The price of war
b. Social
i. Prisoners of the Holocaust’s recovery
ii. Statistics
c. Technology
d. Political
i. The power of democracy for the people
ii. New foreign relationships
e. Government
United Nations Mock Trial
a. Research
b. Axis vs. Allied sides
c. Debate
d. Use notes and research from whole unit to support argument

24

Lesson #1
Heading
Teacher: Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: Great Events in History since 1900
Unit Name: World War II
Topic for the Lesson: Origins of War
Day Number: 1-3 of 18
minute class periods

Time in minutes: three 42Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

7.1.W. A.

Geographic tools to analyze information about interactions
between people, places, and the environment.

8.4.W. C.

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world
today: Belief systems and religions, commerce and
governments, technology, politics and government, physical and
human geography, and social organizations.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to summarize the events that led to the
start of World War II

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to combine their knowledge of the Battle of
the Atlantic and the supply escort to justify the impact it had on European survival
in the 1940s.
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1.Non-Aggressive Pact

2. U-boat

3. Battle of the Atlantic

4. Supply Escort

5.Appeasement

6.Neville Chamberlain

25

Lesson Activities
Hook: Ask students “Why do countries go
to war?”

Rationale

Time

Jot down main reasons on board/piece of
paper to look back to during the lesson

Students know and understand
what war is. I want to gauge
their knowledge of why
countries go to war. I chose to
write them down and look back
for reference so the students
can see at the conclusion of the
lesson if the reasons for World
War II match with their Essential
Question answer.

7-10
minutes
dependin
g on the
number
of
response
s.

Instructional Activities

Rationale for Activities

Discuss answers, compare, and contrast
different students’ ideas.

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Invasion of Poland: Explain the key
countries involved with the beginning of
World War II. Germany is the main
offensive action. Britain and France
declared war two days later. I will point
out the relationship that Britain and
France have dealt with Germany’s
offenses in history with WWI. Britain
makes deal that if Germany attmetps to
invade Poland again they will aid in
defense.

Staring with the German
invasion of Poland sets the
foundation for why World War II
happened. It also helps students
see that Germany tried this
before and they did not learn
from their first try. Highlighting
Britain and France involvement
helps visualize the dynamics of
the war. It shows that this
invasion did not only affect
Poland it was other countries
too.

Time
#1. _20_
minutes

CFU Questions
1. Ask students questions to sum up and
review what they just learned.

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Non-Aggressive Pact: I would start by
explaining to the students what a nonaggressive pact is. We will discuss the

Students needs to understand
the pact made between these
two countries. This type of pact

#2. Rest
of Day 1
class
period,
26

implications this could have on war
efforts. Go into detail on the pact
between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Talk about secret underlying for the
division of future Eastern Europe.

CFU Questions

has been signed before and
even today there are some in
place. Students will relate the NA Pact in 1939 to current war
relations. It also important for
them to see how Germany and
the Soviet Union were planning
for victory and the overtaking of
Eastern Europe.

then start
next day
and take
about 20
minutes

1. Ask students to predict what they think
will happen between Germany and the
Soviet Union

Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.

Battle of the Atlantic: Introduce how this
battle started. Explain what the supply
escort was what it meant for European
resources survival. Inform students this
was the longest continuous battle of the
war stretching from 1939-1945. The three
objectives of the battle for the Allied
powers: block the Axis powers, free sea
movement, and free military power
across oceans. Then discuss the Axis
objective: aggravate the Allied powers
into war. Discuss the power of the U-Boat
and the preciseness needed for the Allied
ships to steer out of range of a German
torpedo.

Students need to understand
the breadth of this battle. It was
a constant battle for supply
ships across the Atlantic to get
food and fuel to impoverished
Europeans and the front lines.
Students will learn that this
battle was the real test if
Germany could beat the Allied
powers, because of the veracity
of the U-boat submarines.

#3. 15
minutes
from Day
2 then 20
minutes of
Day 3
class
period.

CFU Questions
1.

Mapping exercise: They should have the
first part filled in the packet for movement
across the Atlantic and for the Invasion of
Poland. They will answer the two-three
questions at the bottom of the map.

Transition
Activity #4

Rationale #4.

Greyhound movie clips: Show the 10minute scene of the height of the battles

A movie gives visual
representation of the nerve-

#4. 20
minutes

27

in the film and the last 10 minutes when
the escort reaches out of the Dark Zone.

wracking journey across the
Atlantic. The constant paranoia
of a U-boat lurking is felt when
watching the movie.

CFU Questions
1. Exit Ticket

Lesson Summary
Closure
Review at the end of each of the three days about the content and essential
questions “Why do countries go to war?” Students should use the
vocabulary terms and concepts to answer the formative questions.

_5_
minutes

Homework

When Due

Rationale for Homework

None
Day #
Assessment (Formal and Informal)



Mapping exercise to chart the first events of World War II
Exit Ticket on the movie Greyhound

28

Lesson #2
Heading
Teacher: ______Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: __Great Events in World History since
1900________________________________
Unit Name ____World War
II_____________________________________________________
Topic for the Lesson:
___1940________________________________________________________
Day Number: 4-5 of 18_______
period______

Time in Minutes: two 42-minute class
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

CC.8.5.11.1

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event,
noting discrepancies among sources

8.4.W.C

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world
today: Belief systems and religions, commerce and
governments, technology, politics and government, physical and
human geography, and social organizations.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to comprehend primary sources’ main
theme and compare and contrast discrepancies to other primary sources read
during the unit.
2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to question the psychological and
economic toll on the people forced into the ghettos
3. At the end of instruction, you will be able to identify traits of a dictator.
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. Warsaw Ghetto

2. Adolf Hitler

3. Kristallnacht

29

4. Lebensraum

5. Mein Kampf

6. Battle of Britain &
Luftwaffe

Lesson Activities
Hook: Pop Quiz on previous lesson (not
graded) to see what was retained..

Instructional Activities

Rationale

Time

I chose to do a pop quiz and not 10
grade it so students can see
minutes
what stuck with them, without
having to prep for a formal
assessment. They will use recall
and critical thinking to on-thespot answer questions. They will
get these “quizzes” back as a
helpful study tool for the unit
exam.

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Hitler’s Rise to Power: Students will learn
about Adolf Hitler’s formation as a
dictator. We will look at his childhood, his
education, and traits that evolved him into
a dictator. We will look at his mentality for
Germany, including looking at a passage
from Mein Kampf. We will look at his
devout followers and how their
organization came to be. We will see
what they did to those who were not
German.

I chose to create a lecture
surrounding Hitler so the
students can see what a
complex individual he was.
Students only know the
superficial identify of “he was a
bad guy,” they do not know what
created the monster. I also think
its important to read from his
own words so they can see
where his mind was when he
made decisions to concentrate
Jews, Catholics, and gypsies.

Time
#1.
_30_
minutes

CFU Questions
30

1. Have students make a list of traits that
make Hitler a dictator.
2. I will ask studetns to pull themes of his
mentality form a the passage of Mein
Kampf.

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Life in the Ghettos: I will use the
Vocabulary Acquisition model to instruct
this lecture. We will look at the night
when Germans went around Poland
forcing Jews from their homes and
placing them in ghettos. We will look at
the living conditions, food sources, and
economic toll. We will also look at the
risk’s children took trying to seek and find
food for their families beyond the ghetto
walls. We will read a primary source
about life in the ghettos, that takes from
the point of view from a mother,
struggling to keep her family alive and
together. Students will fill out a short
handout to go along with the reading. We
will look back at what Hitler thought about
these races and how he treated them.

Having students see the reality
of living in the ghettos lets them
activate their affective domain,
by pulling emotions. Students
will be shocked to learn of the
horrors that went on behind the
walls of the ghetto. Primary
sources readings are great
because it is a first-hand
example of what life was really
like.

#2. Day
5: _20
minutes

CFU Questions
2. Handout questions for after the priamry
sources reading
3. Ask students to put themselves in the
shoes of a Polish Jew and what they
would do to survive.

Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.

Battle of Britain: We will briefly cover
what happened in the Battle of Britain,
who the main countries involved were,
the main people, and the outcome/effect
on the war. The teacher will also explain
the significance of German U-Boats.

The Battle of Britain was one of
the first air battles, this will help
students add to their map
exercise. It is also important
because students will see there

#3.
_10_
minutes

31

was intense fighting before the
United States got involved.
CFU Questions
2. Students will take notes to have future
review questions.

Transition
Activity #4

Rationale #4.

Assign Infogrpahic: Students will be
assigned a project that will be submitted
at the end of the unit on Day 16-18.
Students will create an infographic about
Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin comparing
and contrasting the traits that make them
a dictator. They will use priamry and
secondary sources to add to their work. I
also want them to include what their
family life looked like during their reign,
such as their spouse and children. They
will also add pictures and statistics about
their dictator. This will be worth 50 points.

I think designing an infographic
helps students see similarities
and differences between the
three. Infographics help
students learn more visually and
through reading. They allow
more information than a
PowerPoint presentation and
the pictures and graphics help
make it vibrant.

#4. 5__
minutes

CFU Questions
2.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down for
understadning of instructions

Lesson Summary

Closure
I will ask students questions regarding information discussed the last two
days. I will informally assess their understanding. If they miss certain
questions I will explain the correct answer and where their mistake was.

Homework

Rationale for Homework

__3_
minutes

When
Due
32

Start working on Infographic
See above explanation for
Activity 4

Day #
16-18

Assessment (Formal and Informal)




Pop Quiz on previous lesson (not graded)
Primary Sources Exercise (life in the ghettos)
Assign Infographic (due later in the unit)

33

Lesson #3
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: ___Great Events in World History since 1900
Unit Name __World War II
Topic for the Lesson: 1941
Day Number: 6 of ___18________

Time in Minutes __42 _______
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4.W.C

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world
today: Belief systems and religions, commerce and
governments, technology, politics and government, physical and
human geography, and social organizations.

8.4.W. A

Evaluate the role groups and individuals played in the social,
political, and economic development throughout world history.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to interpret the attacks on Pearl Harbor in
the sense of American nationalism.

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to examine the outcomes of the Atlantic
Conference
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1.Operation Barbarossa

2.Pearl Harbor

4. Hirohito

5. Internment Camps

3. Atlantic Charter

34

Lesson Activities
Hook

Rationale

Asks students if they know how the
United States got involved in World War
II. Discuss answers.

I want to gauge student’s
5
understanding of how much they minutes
know about Pearl Harbor, to see
if I need to shorten or extended
this part of the lesson

Instructional Activities

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Pearl Harbor: Students will learn about
what happened on Dec 7, 1941, who was
involved, and casualty statistics. We will
also look ath photgraghs taken that day. I
will tap into the affective domain on their
sense of American nationalism. Then
explained what were Japanese American
Interment Camps and what they meant
for Japanese American citizens. I will
include the heroic nurses who tended to
the injured and showing a video clip,
about the challenges they experienced.

Students will learn about the first
major military event for the
United States during World War
II. Students need to understand
the impact that was felt when
our homeland was attacked. I
hope they can relate this feeling
to those other events where we
have been attacked such as
when 9/11. The sense of
Patriotism spread.

Time

Time
#1. 20
minutes

CFU Questions
3. Ask students, to name the five battleships
in Pearl Harbor.
4. I will ask students to recall the chain of
events on that day.

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Operation Barbarossa: explain what, the
importance, combatants, and casualty
statistics.

Students will see the audacity
that Germany had to violate a
diplomatic agreement between
the two nations. It shows they
had no mercy or feelings of
preserving any power but their
own. Hitler did not want anyone

#2. 10
minutes

35

CFU Questions
4. Ask what was special important about
Germany invading the Soviet Union after
agreeing to the Nonaggression Pact.

to be superior to him, even
Stalin who thought he had an
alliance with him

Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.

Atlantic Conference:

Students learn this is a
nonbinding treaty but laid the
foundation for the alliance
between the United States and
Great Britain.

Students will learn about the basis of the
conference and what the outcomes were.

#3. _5_
minutes

CFU Questions
3. Students will be asked to explain the
signficance of the conference

Lesson Summary
Closure
We will do a quick wrap up of what the class learned today. I will ask
questions that will be simply recall and others that require more critical
thinking.

__3_
minutes

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Take-home “pop quiz” to check
understanding of materials learned so
far, based off of participation grade not
accuracy.

Students’ complete assignment
so they can have a refresher on
the material covered in lesson 1
& 2.

When
Due

Day # 7

Assessment (Formal and Informal)




Exit Ticket
Informal Questioning
Take-home pop quiz

36

Lesson #4
Heading
Teacher: __Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900
Unit Name: World War II
Topic for the Lesson: The Pacific Theater
Day Number: 7 of ____18_______

Time in Minutes ____42_____
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4.W.C

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world
today: Belief systems and religions, commerce and
governments, technology, politics and government, physical and
human geography, and social organizations.

7.1.W.A.

Use geographic tools to analyze information about the
interactions between people, places, and the environment.

Lesson Objectives
Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to differentiate events during battles in the
Pacific Theater
2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to examine the Japanese mentality during
the attacks on their homeland.

Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1.Hideki Tojo

2. Carpet bombing

3. General MacArthur

37

4.Doolittle Raid

5.Bataan Death March

6. Island Hopping

Lesson Activities
Hook: Students will watch a 3-minute
movie clips from the most intense fighting
from the movie Midway.

Instructional Activities

Rational

Time

It gives students a visualization
of the intense fighting that took
place in the Pacific.

3
minutes

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Battle of Midway and Battle of
Guadalcanal: Discuss the signifncance of
that battle, any memorable people and
who won/lost. Also explaint he
signifcance of the Navajo Code Talkers

These were some of the first
battles in the war on the Pacific.
Students need to learn about
the naval warfare and to
understand there was some
hand-to-hand combat, but it was
aerial and naval.

Time
#1.
_12_
minutes

CFU Questions
5. Ask questions about the important parts
of the activity students will have to
remember for furture assessment

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Battle of Leyte Gulf: Students will learn
about what events happened during the
battle, and what makes it worth learning

Students may not have learned
about the battle as much in
other history classes, but this

#2. _5_
minutes

38

about. Students will also learn who
won/lost. Tell the story of Ruby Bradley,
who is one of the most decorated women
in US military history and even captured
by the Japanese.

battle is important to touch on.
The main goal of this war was to
create complete isolation for
Japan so they could not get
supplies from other countries,
especially oil.

CFU Questions
5. What makes the Battle of Leyte Gulf so
memorable?
a. Largest naval battle on World
War II
6. What stood out most to you from the story
of Ruby Bradley?

Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.

Battle of Iwo Jima and Battle of Okinawa:
Students learn about Iwo Jima and the
legacy this has. Student will look at the
iconic “Raising the Flag” photograph and
the treacherous fighting on the island.
Students will also learn about the last
battle of the Pacific at Okinawa and how
it closed the book on war in the pacific. I
will also include how in the Battle of the
Philippines; women picked rifles and
became guerrilla fighters. One fighter,
Liwayway, even wore lipstick.

These battles are remembered
as some of the most
courageous American fighting in
the pacific, so students need to
understand the gravity of their
efforts. These two battles also
concluded the majority of the
fierce fighting against Japan.

#3.
_10_
minutes

CFU Questions
4. Ask students what they knew prior to
activity then ask what they found
interesting about these two battles at the
end of the activity.

Transition
Activity #4

Rationale #4.

The Doolittle Raid: Students will complete Nearpod breaks the
a Nearpod to learn about this topic. There monotonous routine of lecture,

#4.
_10_
minutes
39

will a poll at the beginning to see if they
knew about this event before now. Then
there will be small a paragraphs/bullet
points to learn the material. There will be
a video clip from the movie Pearl Harbor,
for this event. The conclusion of the
Nearpod will be multiple choice questions
and short answer to gauge their
knowledge of the event.

so students get to use
technology and take their
learning in to their own hands to
gain what they want out of a
activity on the Doolittle Raid.

CFU Questions
3. Student complete Nearpod

Lesson Summary
Closure
Students will put away their iPads/Chromebook away, but to leave their
seats to put them away, they have to tell me which battle their favorite was
to learn about and why.

_3__
minutes

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Mapping Exercise on Pacific Theater

This assignment is reoccurring
throughout the whole unit. They
are completing a packet of maps
and geographic exercises. This
homework will only focus on the
maps for war against Japan.

When
Due

Day # 14

Assessment (Formal and Informal)



Nearpod exercise
Check for Understanding questions during instruction

40

Lesson #5
Heading
Teacher: Caitlyn Urban______________________________________________
Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900___________________
Unit Name: World War II____________________________________________
Topic for the Lesson: __European Theater: Battles_________________________________
Day Number: 8 of ____18_______

Time in Minutes _____42____
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4. W.C.

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments, technology,
politics and government, physical and human geography, and social
organizations.

CC.8.5.11.1

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting
discrepancies among sources.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to examine the differences between war in the
European theater to that in the Pacific

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to summarize major battles during fighting in
Europe during World War II.
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1.Blitzkreig

2. Dwight D. Eisenhower

3. Luftwaffe

4. General George S. Patton

5. Josef Stalin

6. Erwin Rommel

41

Lesson Activities
Hook

Rational

Time

Play a short audio clip of Eisenhower
speaking.

Students engage their listening
skills and start learning with
firsthand audio of the Allied
commander speaking

4
minutes

Rationale for Activities

Time

Instructional Activities
Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Battle of El Alamein: Students will learn
what happened during this battle, why its
important, who were key people, and the
outcome

This was one of the major battles in
North Africa. Learning about this
shows the expanse that this war
covered.

#1. 10_
minutes

CFU Questions
6. Ask students questions from what
they just learned, to reiterate the
important points
Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Battle of Moscow: Students will learn what
happened during this battle, why its
important, who were key people, the
outcome. Explain the women in the T-34
Russian Tanks.

The Battle of Moscow was fought
in the Soviet Union, it tested the
power between Hitler and Stalin.
Students will learn how harsh
fighting was in the Soviet Union,
especially with the climate.

CFU Questions

#2. _10_
minutes

7. Have students do a quick summary of
the dynamics of what this battle meant
for Stalin and Hitler
Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.
Students learn that this battle
stopped German advance on the

#3. _10_
minutes

42

Battle of Stalingrad: Students will learn what
happened during this battle, why its
important, who were key people, the outcome

eastern front as well as this was the
first major loss for Germany.
Defeat impacts morale in a military.

CFU Questions
5. Have students give reasons what made
this battle so memorable.
Lesson Summary
Closure
Students will be asked to pick their favorite battle to learn about during that day and
explain what they took from it.

__5_
minutes

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Take-home quiz on Pacific theater

This is a small assignment so
students remember what they
learned the day prior, it’s for
homework so when completing they
can compare how battle were fought
in the pacific compared to in Europe

When
Due

Day # 9

Assessment (Formal and Informal)
Exit Ticket for video clips
Mapping Exercise on European front
Take-home pop quiz

43

Lesson #6
Heading
Teacher: Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900
Unit Name __World War II
Topic for the Lesson: ___European Theater Part 2: Battles\
Day Number: 9 of ____18_______

Time in Minutes 42
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4. W.C.

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments, technology,
politics and government, physical and human geography, and social
organizations.

CC.8.5.11.1

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting
discrepancies among sources.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to reason the importance of the battles
discussed in this lesson

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to submit a short answer on their thoughts
after watching clips from Bridge Too Far.
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. General Bernard
Montgomery

2. Hurtgen forest

4. Panzer tank

5.Tuskegee Airmen

3. Sherman tank

44

Lesson Activities
Hook

Rational

Time

Five-minute clip from movie Bridge Too
Far

This a classic movie, that many
people do not appreciate as
much anymore. Students get to
see the land efforts taken to
knock down or take the bridges
during the Battle of Arnhem and
the expertise planning involved
with this strategy.

5
minutes

Instructional Activities

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Battle of Arnhem: Studetns will relate
what they just watched in the video to
what actually happened. They will learn
what happened, the importance of this
battle, and who won/lost.

This battle is visualized to many
by the movie, but in most world
history curriculums it is passed
over. I think it is just as
important to look at the smaller
battles as to the large-scale
ones.

Time
#1.
_10_
minutes

CFU Questions
7. Ask students to match which tank model
to the perspective side.
8. Ask students why was it necessary to
take the bridges?

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Battle of the Bulge: Students will learn
the basics of this battle: what happened,
where, who was involved, and the
outcome. Students will look at the
uniqueness of this battle’s name in
relation to the actions taken during it.

The Battle of the Bulge shows
the power of the American
morale, that even through
extreme winter temperatures
and inward cave of the line they
preserved through to stop the
German advance.

#2.
_15_
minutes

CFU Questions
8. Studnts will be asked what makes this
battle unique?

45

Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.

The Battle of Berlin: Students will learn
the events of this battle, the main people
involved, the outcome, and what makes
this battle so memorable. Also, introudce
the highlights of the Tuskeegee Airmen
and the importance of their flights.

Students will learn how the war
ended in Europe, and how it
impacted the psychology of
Hitler’s untouchable Nazi
empire.

#3.
_10_
minutes

CFU Questions
6. Students will be asked to answer what
this battle meant for war in the European
Theater? (End the fighting in Europe)
7. What was so signficant about the
Tuskegee Airmen?

Lesson Summary
Closure
We will reflect on what the Battle of Berlin meant for Europeans under
Hitler’s control and how they must have felt after hearing of an Allied victory
on the German Homefront

_3__
minutes

*Turn in completed Bell Ringer

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Mapping Exercise

This is an ongoing assignment,
so students just learned about a
new map in their packet so they
can complete the map and
questions about it.

Google Forms Survey

Students will complete survey on
pacing of the course and how
they think their learning is
progressing through the unit

When
Due
14
Day #

Day 11

Assessment (Formal and Informal)
46

Bell Ringer on Bridge Too Far
Google Forms Survey (Participation grade)
Informal Questioning throughout instruction

47

Lesson #7
Heading
Teacher: Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900
Unit Name __World War II
Topic for the Lesson: ___European Theater Part 3: D-Day Invasion
Day Number: 10 of 18

Time in Minutes _____42___
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4. W.C.

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments, technology,
politics and government, physical and human geography, and social
organizations.

CC.8.5.11.1

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting
discrepancies among sources.

7.1.W. A

Use geographic tool to analyze information about the interactions
between people, places, and the environment.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to justify the Normandy Invasion

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to break down the events of the D-Day
Invasion
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. D-Day

2. Patton’s Balloon Army

4.General George S. Patton

5.Pointe du Hoc

3. Atlantic Wall

48

Lesson Activities
Hook

Rational

Time

Show the opening scene of Saving
Private Ryan with bell ringer focused on
emotions evoked while watching the film.

This movie makes any American 10
emotional seeing what these
minutes
men had to go through to take
the Atlantic Wall down and
move onward to liberate Paris

Show the class my grandfather’s dog
tags that he wore when he stormed
Omaha beach, as a way to bring history
to life.

Instructional Activities

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Explain General Pattion’s balloon army
and the power behind this simple
dostraction. We will discuss the events
that could have happened had the baloon
army tactic failed.

This is a little-known secret
behind the success of the D-Day
Invasion. Students will learn
more in-depth understanding
behind the gravity of this
operation.

Time
#1. _5_
minutes

CFU Questions
9. Students will answer what they think
would have happened had this tactic
failed

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Operation Overlord: Explain the five
beaches (Omaha, Juno, Utah, Gold, and
Sword) and the importance of Pointe du
Hoc. Include the women of WASP and
their contributions.

Students need to understand
the geography if the French
coast to comprehend the
intensity of this operation. Pointe
du Hoc was the home base for
success in this invasion, and the
capture of this relied on
Americans climbing vertically up

(299) D Day Invasion WWII Living History:
Women's Role - YouTube

#2.
_10_
minutes

49

a 100-foot cliff while being shot
at with Germany artillery.

CFU Questions
9. Asking students questions to pair up
events with the perspective beach.

Transition
Activity #3

Rationale #3.

Land Advance: Explain how dangerous
storming the beaches were and the skill it
took to manuever through the pillbox
scattered hillside and avoid the fire of the
Atlantic Wall. Students will read short
accounts of soldiers storming the
beaches.

Primary sources will help
students learn of what the
soldier went through on the
beaches and it lets them learn
on their own instead of me
lecturing of the events.

#3.
_10_
minutes

CFU Questions
8. Students will summarize the accounts
they read

Lesson Summary
Closure
Discuss the liberation of Paris and impact it had on the successful
Normandy invasion. Had the Allied forces not succeeded the world would
have continued under Nazi reign.

_5__
minutes

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Mapping Exercise: Normandy Invasion

Ongoing assignment, students
will complete the pages in the
packet for the Normandy
Invasion

When
Due

Day #
14

Assessment (Formal and Informal)
Bell Ringer & Informal Questioning
50

Lesson #8
Heading
Teacher: Caitlyn Urban
Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900
Unit Name: World War II
Topic for the Lesson: European Theater Part 4: Conferences & Diplomatic Decisions
Day Number: 11 of ____18_______

Time in Minutes _____42____
Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4. W.C.

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments, technology,
politics and government, physical and human geography, and social
organizations.
Lesson Objectives

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to judge diplomatic decisions made at
major conferences during World War II
Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. Casablanca Conference

2. Tehran Conference

3. Yalta Conference

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt

5. Winston Churchill

6. Josef Stalin

51

Lesson Activities
Hook

Rational

Time

Students will be shown iconic
photographs of the Big Three leaders and
asked if they can tell who these men are
and what happened when they met?

Students should be able to
recognize Roosevelt, Churchill,
and Stalin by photograph and
what happened when they met.

3
minutes

Instructional Activities

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1

Rationale #1.

Casablanca Conference: Students will
learn who was in attendance, what was
discussed, and what the outcomes were.
This was Roosevelt’s and Churchill’s
planning meeting ot discuss miltary
strategies for war in Europe.

Casablanca was one of the first
meetings for Roosevelt and
Churchill to plan out the war
effort. This symbolized the
diplomatic decisions behind all
the aggressive military
advances.

Time
#1.
_11_
minutes

CFU Questions
10. “What was the outcome of this
conference?”
11. “Who met at this conference?”

Transition
Activity #2

Rationale #2.

Tehran Conference: Students will learn
who was in attendance, what was
discussed, and what the outcomes were.
This was conference was the decision to
open a second front in Europe to fight
Germany in France.

Tehran involved the Big Three
(Roosevelt, Churchill, and
Stalin), it involved cooperation to
collectively decide to open a
second front. Stalin had to
understand that the Allied efforts
would now be split, and he
would have to take up more
defense to protect his from.
Roosevelt and Churchill had to
understand their supplies and
efforts would be expansively
divided across Europe.

CFU Questions
10. “What was the outcome of this
conference?”
11. “Who met at this conference?”

#2.
11__
minutes

Transition
52

Activity #3

Rationale #3.

Yalta Conference: Students will learn
who was in attendance, what was
discussed, and what the outcomes were.
They will learn this was another meeting
of the Big Three to discuss the
reorganization of Europe postwar.

Yalta was important because it
showed that the Allied forces
were already thinking postwar
and how to deal with the mess
Germany created.

#3.
_12_
minutes

Students will read a paraphrased version of
the article: In 1945, FDR’s daughter
accompanied him to one of the most important
meetings in US history | by Allen McDuffee |
Timeline
About FDR’s daughter accompanying him to the
Yalta Conference

CFU Questions
9. :”What was the outcome of this
conference?
10. “Who met at this conference?”
11. What was the signifgance of FDR
bringing his daughter to Crimea?

Lesson Summary
Closure
Students will answer: Which conference had the greatest impact on the
war?

_5__
minutes

Homework

When
Due

None

Rationale for Homework

Day #
Assessment (Formal and Informal)
Informal questioning

53

Lesson #9
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban

Name of Course: Great Events in History since 1900

Unit Name: World War II

Topic for the Lesson: Women in the Armed Forces

Day Number: 9 of 18

Time in Minutes: 42

Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4.W.C

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments,
technology, politics and government, physical and human geography,
and social organizations

Lesson Objectives
Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to reflect on what life was like for
underrepresented groups during World War II

54

Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. WACS

2. WAVES

3. WASPS

4. Executive Order 8802

Lesson Activities
Hook: The teacher will ask the students
“what role did women play in the war?”
Students can come up to the board and
write their responses
The teacher will examine the answers,
assuming they will not be about fighting
in the Armed forces.
The response will stay up for the
remainder of the lesson.

Instructional Activities

Rational3:

Time

Students tend to think of nurses
or raising children as their role
for war. In reality women were
heavily involved with the armed
forces such as clerical jobs,
gunners, parachute riggers, and
even officers. The hook will
engage students by perking
their interest in a subject they
may not know a lot about.

5
minutes

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1: Army and Marine Women

Rationale #1.

The teacher will begin teaching about the
different organization’s women were
involved in during the Second World War.
Examples being WACS, WAVES,
Women Marines, SPAR, and WASPS.

Focusing on each branch of the
military lets students see women
were in every aspect of the war.
I chose to focus on individuals
instead overarching tasks for
women, because it makes it
more personal for the students.

Each organization has an individual to
highlight their work. The first
organizations are army and marines.
Students will learn about specific women
and their contributions. As the teacher is
lecturing students will take notes in a
notebook. They can use these for the
Research Analysis: The women with their
organization are:

Time
#1. _8_
minutes

55

WACS: Alyce Dixon
Women Marines: Marjorie Tredway Flack

CFU Questions
12. What was Dixon’s main job Birmingham,
England- organzing all the mail from
loved ones
13. What was Flack’s job aboard planesparachute rigger

Transition
Activity #2 Navy and Coast Guard
Women:

Rationale #2.

Following in similar fashion, the second
section is on Navy and Coast Guard
women. They will learn about their
background and challenges they faced as
women.

Having students learn about the
individual it makes it more
personal for them to remember.

#2. _9_
minutes

SPAR: Dr. Olivia Hooker
WASPS: Betty Tackaberry Black “Tack”
WAVES: Susan Ahn Cuddy

CFU Questions
12. Out of five women, Hooker was the only
one left at the end to do what? – type
discharge papers
13. What was Black’s claim to fame? – she
was in the graduating class of the first
Women’s Airforce Service Pilots
14. What was Cuddy’s claim to fame? – first
women gunnery officer

Transition

56

Activity #3 Nurses & War:

Rationale #3.

Army Nurse Corps: Ellan and Dorothy
Levitstky

Having students learn about the
individual makes it more
personal for them to remember.

Navy Nurse Corps: Jane Kendeigh

#3. _5_
minutes

CFU Questions
12. Where were the Levitstky sister’s station
as nurses? – Normandy
13. What was Kendeigh’s claim to fame? –
first flight nurse to ever set foot on an
active Pacific battlefield.

Transition
Activity #4 Executive Order 8802

Rationale #4.

Outlawed discriminatory hiring and
established the Committee of Fair
Employment Practices.

African American were
subjected to servile jobs in the
military such as cooks and
housekeepers. Women were
subjected to the worse of its
kind. This Executive Order was
the first presidential civil rights
action since the Reconstruction.

Eleanor Roosevelt was strongly opposed
to the Navy keeping African Americans in
servant like jobs.

#4. _9_
minutes

CFU Questions
4.

Why was this Executive Order so
influential?

Lesson Summary
Closure;
The teacher will introduce the Research Analysis project that will focus on
the student’s analysis of women in the war. They will be thinking critical and
writing a 3-4 page paper on what they learned about women in the war and
from the guest speaker that will be in class the following day.

_6__
minutes

57

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Begin Research Analysis

N/A

When
Due

Day # 18

Assessment (Formal and Informal)
Check for Understanding Questions- Informal
Research Analysis- Formal


Turned in at the end of the unit

58

Lesson # 10
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban

Name of Course: Great Events in History since 1900

Unit Name World War II
Topic for the Lesson: Guest Speaker from Local Historical Center

Day Number: 13 of 18

Time in Minutes ___42______

Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.1.W.C

Construct research on a historical topic using a thesis statement and
demonstrate use of appropriate primary and secondary sources.

Lesson Objectives
Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to create a research analysis based off the
information from the guest speaker.

59

Lesson Activities
Hook: The teacher will introduce the
speaker to the class and what the
expectations are for in class speakers.

Instructional Activities

Rational: It’s important to
Time
express expected behavior for a
3
speaker, so if a student does
misbehave they were told ahead minutes
of time what the consequences
will be.

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1: The speaker will present
information on local women who
participated in World War II. Students will
take notes and ask meaningful questions
to the speaker. The speaker will have
interactive elements to get the students
engaged.

Rationale #1.
Students will benefit from this
speaker because they will gain
perspective from a local
resource that they may not learn
from direct instruction.

Time
#1. 35
minutes

CFU Questions
1. Students will have questions for speaker

Lesson Summary
Closure: The teacher will thank the speaker and then the students will have
a short recap of the information share. The teacher will reiterate to the
students to use the information from the presentation to write their research
analysis.

Homework:

Rationale for Homework

Keep writing Research Analysis ( will
have time to work in English classes as
well)

Assignment worked on
throughout the unit

5
minutes

When
Due

Day # 18

60

Assessment (Formal and Informal)
Informal, questions from the speaker
Formal, Research Analysis

61

Lesson #11
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban

Name of Course: Great Events in History since 1900

Unit Name: World War II

Topic for the Lesson: Holocaust

Day Number: 14 of 18

Time in Minutes ____42_____

Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

CC.8.5.11.1

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, nothing
discrepancies among sources.

Lesson Objectives
Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to criticize the atrocities that occurred at
the concentration camps during the Holocaust

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to recall events that occurred in the excerpt from Anne
Frank’s Diary

62

Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. Auschwitz

2. The Holocaust

3. Death Camps

Lesson Activities
Hook: Students will be shown a short
slideshow of photos from the Holocaust
and have a small bell ringer that will have
the question “what thoughts do you have
about these photos?”

Instructional Activities

Rational: It’s important to target Time
the affective domain for students
5
to engage them for instruction.
minutes

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1: Concentration Camps

Rationale #1.

The teacher will begin by talking about
three different concentration camps:
Auschwitz, Dachau, and Buchenwald. Th
teacher will highlight living conditions and
treatments of prisoners. The students will
fill in note packet. They will also have a
map of Europe that has all the
concentration camps highlighted.

Students need to know the grim
reality of the concentration
camps and the Final Solution.
Showing the photos of the camp
will help students visualize the
atrocities. I also think having the
map will help them see the
concentration of the camps in
Poland and other eastern
European countries.

The presentation will have many photos
from the camps to keep students
engaged. The teacher will include
statistics on those who were captured
and those who were killed.

Time
#1.
_12_
minutes

CFU Questions
14. Why did Germany do this?
15. Why did Germany have most of the
camps in Poland?

63

Transition
Activity #2: The teacher will show a brief
interview clip of a Holocaust survivor.

Rationale #2.
It’s important to show the real
people who suffered these
atrocities.

#2. _4_
minutes

CFU Questions
1. What were your thoguths on the
survivor’s story.

Transition
Activity #3 Read excerpt from Anne
Frank’s Diary
Students will read a two-page excerpt
from Anne Frank’s Diary. They will read
through it twice. The first time for theme.
The second time for important details and
questions. They will annotate margins.
They will use a smiley face for important
details and a question mark for places
that need clarification.

Rationale #3.
This is a well-known reading,
that students can read. It is
wrote by a young adult, so it is
easier to understand. Students
also will be more interested
because it is from a young
adult’s perspective.

#3.
15__
minutes

CFU Questions
14. What did you notice while reading?
15. What was the most important part of the
reading?
16. What would you have done in Anne’s
shoes?

Lesson Summary
Closure
The teacher will have the students turn over the bell ringer to the exit ticket
on the back. The students will write two things they learned about the day.
Then the teacher will ask students to share what they learned, if they would
like. Then they will turn them in.

__4_
minutes

64

Homework

Rationale for Homework

The teacher will remind students to keep
working on the Research Analysis

Culminating project

When
Due

Day # 18

Assessment (Formal and Informal)





Note Packets
Map of Concentration Camps
Reading excerpt from Anne Frank’s Diary
Bell Ringer & Exit Ticket
o 5 points

65

Lesson #12
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban

Name of Course: Great Events in History since 1900

Unit Name World War II

Topic for the Lesson: Technology in the War

Day Number: 15 of 18

Time in Minutes _____42____

Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4.W.C

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments,
technology, politics and government, physical and human geography,
and social organizations

Lesson Objectives
Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to classify different technology that was
influential in World War II

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to explain the United States reasoning for
dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

66

Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. Hiroshima

3. Fireside Chat

2. Nagasaki

3. Kamikaze

5. U-Boat

6. Panzer

Lesson Activities
Hook: Students will walk into the
classroom and on each of their desk will
be a photograph of a different type of
technology used in World War II. They
will participate in a Think-Pair-Share
about what they think they know about
that technology.

Instructional Activities

Rational

Time

Students will begin thinking
about different types of
technology used in the war and
why they might have been used.

3
minutes

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1 Planes and Tanks

Rationale #1.

The teacher will introduce planes and
tanks used in battle for the war. The
teacher will explain the difference
between combat and reconnaissance
planes. Then three types of planes will be
introduce along with photographs: B-52
bombers (used in Doolittle’s Raid from
previous lesson), Kamikaze (which was
included in Pacific Theater lesson), and
Supermarine Spitfire. Students will look
at differences in speed, altitude, and use.

Students should know what type
of armaments were used in the
battles

Time
#1.
_15_
minutes

Then the teacher will show the difference
between the United States Sherman
tanks and the German Panzer tanks.
They will look at statistics about how
many were manufactured and battlefield
accomplishments. Students will have a
graphic organizer for the three planes
that will have similarities and differences.
The students will also have a Venn
67

Diagram for the tanks. The teacher will
also talk about the Russian women who
operated the Russian T-34 tanks and
Alexandra G. Samusenko, the only
woman who held the position of
commander of a tank battalion in World
War II

CFU Questions
16. Which plane do you think would be most
effective over land fighting? What about
on the seas?
17. Which tank do you think did more
damage?
18. Why do you think women tank
commander were only in the Russian
Army

Transition
Activity #2: Atomic Bombs

Rationale #2.

The teacher will display the iconic
photograph of the atomic bombs dropped
and the mushroom cloud. The teacher
will explain the Manhattan Project and
then project a short video on the “why”
behind the United States dropping the
bombs on Japan. Then the teacher will
show graphic depicting casualties.

Students need to know the
reasoning for the United States
to take nuclear decisions on
Japan. Its also important to
understand the psychological
damage the wat had on the
Japanese.

#2. _7_
minutes

CFU Questions
15. Why did the United States drop the
bombs on Japan?
16. What were the two names of the bombs?
17. What was the name of the plan that
dropped the bomb?

Transition

68

Activity #3: Homefront technology

Rationale #3.

The teacher will share audio from
President Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat. The
teacher will have students Think-PairShare about what they think was the
significance of radio usage on the
Homefront. The teacher will explain how
a radio and telegram were used on the
battlefield. Also students will see video
clips of women in the factories and their
victory gardens.

Hearing the Presidents voice
engages the students because it
is a chance to hear a primary
source. It also will evoke the
affective domain by hearing the
president use words over radio
to motivate citizens.

#3.
_12_
minutes

CFU Questions
17. What was the signifigance of President
Roosevelt’s usage of the radio for
Fireside Chats.

Lesson Summary
Closure
The teacher will ask the students to share one interesting thing they learned
from the lesson and then students will give a thumbs up or thumbs down if
they agree with them.

__4_
minutes

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Keep working on Research Analysis

Culminating project

When
Due

Day # 18
Assessment (Formal and Informal)






Planes Graphic Organizer
Venn Diagram for Tanks
Think-Pair-Share
Thumbs Up/ Down
Verbal Check for Understanding

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Lesson #13
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban

Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900

Unit Name: World War II

Topic for the Lesson: Legacy of World War II

Day Number: 16 of ____18_______

Time in Minutes ___42______

Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.4.W.C

Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today:
Belief systems and religions, commerce and governments,
technology, politics and government, physical and human geography,
and social organizations

Lesson Objectives
Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to connect the information fort he unit to
the legacy of the war.

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to reflect on the events of the war and how
they will impact the future of the 20th century.

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Lesson Key Vocabulary & Concepts
1. Nuremberg Trials

2. VJ-Day

3. VE-Day

Lesson Activities
Hook: Students will have three questions
to answer, that will be wrote on the board
when they enter the classroom:
1. What on was one lasting effect of
WW2?
2. Who suffered the most from the war?
3. What was one thing that could have
changed the outcome of the war?

They can write these on a blank sheet of
paper.

Instructional Activities

Rational

Time

Its important for students to
5
reflect on all the information they minutes
learned in the unit. This lesson
will sum up all the facts and
exercises we did to really help
them remember the “why”
behind its legacy today.

Rationale for Activities

Activity #1: Economic Legacy

Rationale #1.

The teacher will have graphs projected
about the cost of war and the amount of
casualties lost. Students will guess how
much it would cost to rebuild Europe. The
one with the closest guess will earn a
bonus point on the Final Exam.

Students will be surprised the
sheer cost of war and see its no
cheap feat.

Time
#1. 6
minutes

CFU Questions
19. How much did war cost the world?

71

Transition
Activity #2 Social

Rationale #2.

The teacher will show another clip of a
Holocaust survivors’ story and the
psychological effects the atrocities had
on the survivors. The teacher will also
show a video for an American solider
dealing with PTSD of coming home from
war. Students will also learn about
attitudes people had towards certain
groups like Germans and Japanese
because of what happened in the war.

Students need to know the
social atmosphere when
soldiers returned home and
consequences different
Americans faced based off the
certain countries fighting.

#2. 7
minutes

CFU Questions
18. Why did others treat these different
ethnicity citizens differently?
19. Why do you think PTSD was so strong for
soldiers and survivors?

Transition
Activity #3 Technology

Rationale #3.

The teacher will highlight 5 technologies
that came out of World War 2 that we still
use today:

Students use the evolved
version of technology that was
used in war. They can thank the
development during World War
II for their phones, GPS, etc.








V2-rockets- which lead to the evolution of
guided ballistic missles
Frequency Hopping Communication,
thanks to Hedy Lamarr a female inventor
and performer. This led to the foundation
for modern day Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and
GPS tech.
Radar- which lead to the development of
air traffic control and weather forecasting
Cabin pressurization- crews needed to
move around so now all planes have this
Digital computers- which lead to the
modern smartphone. Code breakers used
them to break German codes.

#3. 12
minutes

Students will have a note packet to fill in
as the teacher is instructing.

72

CFU Questions
18. Can you name any other technology we
use today that came from the war?

Transition
Activity #4 Political

Rationale #4.

The teacher will go over VE-Day and VJ
Day. The teacher will show photographs
of the celebrations back home when the
war was over. The teacher will also
explain the formation of the United
Nations and the legacy it has.
Considering we still depend on this today.

Student should reflect on the
importance of the UN and why
democracy prevailed when
faced against the power of
autocracy.

#4. 8
minutes

CFU Questions
5.

Why do you think the United Nations is
so important to have today?
6. Do you think democracy prevailed, and
why?

Lesson Summary
Closure
The teacher will conclude, with tying the unit together and asking students
4
what they feel was their favorite part of the unit. The teacher will also ask the minutes
students where she could make improvements for future use.

Homework



Be prepared to turn in Research
Analysis the following day and all
outstanding assignment.
The teacher will pass out the study
guide.

Rationale for Homework
Students should have completed
Research Analysis and begin
preparing for the Unit Exam

When
Due

Day # 18
&19

Assessment (Formal and Informal)





Students will turn I the culminating mapping exercise
Bell Ringer
Verbal CFU Questions
Note Packet

73

Lesson #14
Heading

Teacher: Caitlyn Urban

Name of Course: Great Events in World History since 1900

Unit Name: World War II

Topic for the Lesson: United Nations- Mock Trial

Day Number: 17-18 of 18

Time in Minutes: 42

Standards

Pennsylvania Academic Standards or PA Core Standards
Number

Title

8.1.W.C

Construct research on a historical topic using a thesis statement and
demonstrate use of appropriate primary and secondary sources.

CC.8.5.11.1

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, nothing
discrepancies among sources.

Lesson Objectives

74

Objectives (student version):
1. At the end of instruction, you will be able to compose an argument to support their
country assigned in the UN Mock Trial.

2. At the end of instruction, you will be able to formulate rebuttal to use during the UN
Mock Trail to defend their country.

Lesson Activities
Hook: The teacher will pass out
instructions for the UN Mock Trial and
send students into groups of three. The
countries the students will be assigned
are:






United States
Germany
Great Britain
France
Italy

The main debate questions will be:




How can we prevent world wars in the
future?
Who should be responsible to pay for war
debts?
How can we resolve disagreements in the
future?

Instructional Activities
Activity #1 Going Over Instructions:
The teacher will go over instructions and
expectations. Students will have to pick
one of three “jobs”: Moderator, Scribe,
and Defender


Moderator = the one who will speak
during the Trial

Rational

Time

Student will get to pick their
countries to see what may
interest them.

4
minutes

Also, students can use this
exercise as practice to help
mediate disagreements and
practice social skills to prepare
for the future.

Rationale for Activities
Rationale #1.

Time
#1.
_38_
minutes

Students will have ample time to
prepare their arguments for the
Trial

75




Scribe = the one who will write the
arguments and facts to prepare for the
Trial
Defender = The one who will speak the
rebuttal and help add support the
argument

The Trial will take place the following day
and the students will have the rest of the
period to prepare their arguments and
rebuttals.

Lesson Summary
Closure
The teacher will announce a reminder about the exam and explain to
students the trail will take place tomorrow

Homework

Rationale for Homework

Finish Argument for Trial

N/A

When
Due

Day # 18
Assessment (Formal and Informal)
United Nations Mock Trial Debate
Students will turn in Dictators Infographic, assigned in Lesson 2

76

Reflection
The use of implementing women’s perspective into Social Studies needs to be purposeful
and impactful. Through my research of different articles, editorials, and scholarly journals I
found techniques to use my unit plans that can be applied to real world scenarios in the
classroom. Going through the process of writing the curricular materials, I found the process
challenging at times. I wanted to make it meaningful not just “add and stir.” This has been the
main idea when adding women to curriculum, because you would just mention them and move
on. I implement them into my curriculum so it will build of each other. When I mention the
women in the air force, I will continually revert back to them in future lessons. I also explain
background of women in the war prior to the guest speaker coming in, so students have
background to ask questions and contribute to the conversation.
When I first started the project I had perceived notions about how the process would go. I
figured it would be easy to add women into the narrative of Social Studies. As I read through the
literature, I learned about the many factors that play into curriculum design. Understanding how
teachers are the gatekeepers of knowledge, textbooks are biased, and the teacher’s tenure play
into the process makes it more rigorous. As a new teacher, it’s easier, because there will not be
as much influence from external sources.
Another preconceived notion I had was about the effectiveness of the “add and stir”
method. Thinking back on my high school classes, my teachers used this method. I could never
recall an impactful lesson that centered about women. It was not until college where I learned
about their contribution sin World War II beyond Rosie the Riveter. As I wrote my curricular
materials I had to keep asking myself “will students remember this outside the classroom?”
77

When I kept this question on the forefront of my mind, when planning, I was able to concentrate
my implementation on lasting activities. It was a great reflection of metacognition on my end,
and since this is a skill I want my students to develop I can reflect that into teaching for them.
During my presentation the question was raised about intersectionality. The term
“Women’s History” is very broad and there is so many avenues to take curriculum design. It is
imperative to incorporate a diverse array woman into the unit plan. I also think getting a cohort
of teachers who are on board from different content areas is beneficial. This way when the ideas
are taken to the administration there is support from multiple content areas.
Through my research and curricular design, I have gain knowledge and skills, which I
can surely use in my future classroom. I enjoyed implementing a different perspective into my
unit plan. I think a wider perspective of students will appreciate this material more. Moving
forward, I will use the techniques of this research to further help me teach culturally responsive,
as only to benefit my students.

78

Works Cited
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and Practice, 3(1). Retrieved 2021, from Social studies academic standards.
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Chick, K. A., & Corle, S. (2016). Confronting Gender Imbalance in High School History
Textbooks Through the C3 Framework. Social Studies Research & Practice (Board
of Trustees of the University of Alabama), 11(2), 1-16.
Engebretson, K. E. (2014). Another Missed Opportunity: Gender in the National Curriculum
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July 2021, from https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20%20Administrators/Curriculum/SocialStudies/Pages/default.aspx.
Thornton, S. (2008). Continuity and Change in the Social Studies Curriculum. In L. Levstik
(Ed.), Handbook of Research in Social Studies Education (pp. 15–26). essay,
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Watson-Canning, A. (2020, May 17). View of Gendering Social Studies: Teachers' intended
and Enacted curriculum and Student Diffraction: Journal of Curriculum Studies
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https://curriculumstudies.org/index.php/CS/article/view/28/15.
Woyshner, C. (2002). Political history as women’s history: toward a more inclusive
curriculum. Theory & Research in Social Education, 30(3), 354-380.
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