What is the Human Response to War?
A Separate Peace and WWII Cyberlesson
Let’s
Begin
Presented by: Gina Gallivan
Recommended Grade Level: Grade 10
RDG Creative Language Arts
Operation Discovery: On the Front Lines of
Understanding War
Your mission:
What is the human response to war?
How are human beings impacted by war?
Our platoon will investigate answers to these questions in
our world and in Chapter 10 of A Separate Peace.
What comes to mind when someone mentions war? How much
do we really know about war? Are our ideas about war reflective
of the reality of war? This cyberlesson will guide you through an
interactive journey as you consider these thought-provoking
questions.
As we learn about the way the characters in A Separate Peace
respond to World War II, we will also take a look at how citizens
have responded to World War II in history.
Materials
Reader’s Journal—You will use your reader’s
journal to respond to the questions and activities in
this cyberlesson.
Graphic Organizer—Click on the links provided
before and during reading to access graphic
oragnizers to organize your thinking.
Pencil –Record your thinking in writing.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
(book and audiobook)
Computer– Link to related websites through an
Internet connection.
Before Reading
Link to the attached Before Reading graphic organizer
to respond to the following questions:
Link to graphic organizer
I. What conditions characterize war?
•What words come to mind when you think about
war? List at least five descriptive words or phrases.
•What images come to mind when you think of war?
Draw a picture of an image of war.
Before Reading
II. What was World War II really like?
Click on the links below to learn more about
World War II.
On your graphic organizer (See link on prior slide), record at least five new facts
you learned about World War II. Look for the roles people played on the home
front as well as on the front lines.
http://www.history.com/minisites/worldwartwo Links to video clips and text about
WWII
http://images.military.com Type in “Faces of Freedom,” then click on Veteran’s
Day – Military.com for WWII slideshows
www.teacheroz.com/WWIIHomefront.htm Information about WWII and the
home front
http://www.worldwar-2.net/ Information about WWII, including timeline of events
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/w2frm.htm Link to eyewitness accounts of
WWII events from veterans and citizens
III. Were your expectations about World War II similar to or different
from the reality of World War II?
Write your reflection in Part III of your Before Reading graphic organizer.
During Reading
(Chapter 10)
In Chapter 10, Gene meets Leper, who has left the war.
As you read Chapter 10 along with the audiobook recording
provided by your teacher, use the Inspiration graphic organizer
provided below to record your observations about how being in the
war has impacted Leper.
Click on the graphic organizer to keep track of Leper’s words and
actions, as well as his character qualities that give clues about how
war has impacted him. Also include Gene’s reactions to Leper’s
words and behavior in Chapter 10.
Link to graphic organizer
After Reading
After reading Chapter 10, write a one page response journal entry in
your reader’s journal. Use evidence from the text to reflect on how
Leper’s expectations about war (Think about Chapters 7 and 9) differ
from the reality he experiences in war. Discuss how Leper has
changed after enlisting. Based on your reading of the novel and your
Before Reading Internet research, what conditions of war do you think
contributed to the change in Leper?
II. Imagine you were Gene in Chapter 10. If you met up with Leper,
what would your reaction be to his changed behavior and speech?
What would you say to Leper?
Draw a picture of yourself meeting up with Leper, and create a speech
bubble with what you would say to Leper in response to his upset state.
Include this drawing in your response journal.
Beyond Reading
Leper’s reaction to war is reflective of a condition
called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). What
questions do you still have about the impact of war
on a person’s mental health, as well as how soldiers
are supported emotionally when they return from
war? Record your questions in your response
journal.
Click on the websites below to read about Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ptsd/alert.asp
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1540534
What new information did you learn? Record your
findings in your response journal.
Write a two-voice poem to express a dialogue
between “pre-war Leper” and “post-war Leper” based
on your findings.
Evaluation Rubric
4
3
2
Before Reading Graphic
Organizer
I wrote five or more words and drew an
image about war that shows superior
effort.
I learned five or more new facts about
World War II.
I reflected thoughtfully on the
differences between my ideas and the
reality of war.
I wrote 3-4 words and drew an
image of war that shows fair
effort.
I learned 3-4 new facts about
World War II.
I reflected about basic differences
between my ideas and the reality
of war.
I wrote fewer than 3 words and
drew an image of war that shows
poor effort.
I learned fewer than 3 new facts
about World War II.
I did not reflect in meaningful
ways about my new learning.
During Reading Character
Web
My graphic organizer is complete and
contains thoughtful descriptors.
My graphic organizer is complete
and contains descriptors.
My graphic organizer contains specific,
relevant textual evidence.
My graphic organizer contains
some general examples from the
text.
My graphic organizer is
incomplete and contains some
descriptors that may be
inaccurate.
After Reading
Beyond Reading
My graphic organizer does not
contain sufficient textual
evidence.
My response journal entry contains
thoughtful conclusions about all three
parts of the question and is supported
with relevant textual evidence.
My response journal entry contains
ideas about some of the questions
posted, and it includes some
evidence from the text.
My response journal entry
contains ideas about only one
question posted, and it lacks
textual evidence.
My speech bubble expresses an
insightful question for Leper that shows
superior understanding of Leper’s
change and his emotional state.
My speech bubble expresses a
plausible question for Leper that
expresses an accurate
understanding of Leper’s change
and emotional state.
My speech bubble does not
contain a meaningful question for
Leper, and the question does not
reflect an accurate understanding
of Leper’s change .
I listed 3-5 questions and 3-5 new
findings about PTSD.
I created a creative two-voice poem
reflective of the change in Leper.
My title is creative and fitting.
I listed 2-3 questions and 2-3 new
findings about PTSD.
I created a two-voice poem
reflective of the change in Leper.
My title is fitting.
I listed only 1-2 questions and 12 findings about PTSD.
I created a two-voice poem that
does not accurately reflect the
change in Leper.
The title is not fitting.
Credits
A Separate Peace by John Knowles (audiobook with reader Scott Snively)
Websites:
Eyewitness to History
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/w2frm.htm
History.com
http://www.history.com/minisites/worldwartwo
The Homefront During WWII
ww.teacheroz.com/WWIIHomefront.htm
KSL Radio
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1540534
Military.com
http://images.military.com
National Institute of Mental Health: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ptsd/alert.asp
World War II Timeline
http://www.worldwar-2.net/
Tips for Teachers
This entire cyberlesson is most successfully implemented over the
course of three days. Here is my suggested timeline:
Day 1: Before Reading activity with graphic organizer completion, Web
investigation, and Inspiration character web completion in the computer
lab.
Day 2: Whole class reading of Chapter 10 of A Separate Peace along
with audiobook recording.
The audiobook recording of Chapter 10 is particularly effective because
students can hear the emotional distress in Leper’s voice as well as the
shock of Gene’s voice as Gene realizes how the war has changed Leper.
Hearing the narrator interpret the characters’ voices will help students
evaluate the cyberlesson’s focus on character change and the contrast
between the expectations and reality of war.
Students can complete the After Reading Response Journal Entry and
Speech Bubble at the end of class and/or for homework.
Day 3: Beyond Reading Web search and two-voice poem writing in
computer lab. This may be done with a partner and presented to the
class. The teacher should model how to write a two voice poem first.