Instructional Resources
Course Title: America and WW II
Grade Level: Fourth Grade
Unit: America and WW II
By: Brian Wesson, Bret Miller, and Evan Pryor
Abstract
This unit centers around the bombings
at Pearl Harbor. The unit starts with an
explanation of why the war started. It then
moves to explain why the Americans are
neutral and how we are attacked leading us to
change that viewpoint. The unit ends with a
lesson describing how Americans enter the war
and some of the results because of it. This entire
unit focuses on making choice. Sometimes
choices are hard, but eventually they have to be
made.
Focus Questions
1. What would you have liked to happen
in WWII?
2. Do you agree with WWII?
3. What did America do during WWII?
The History on the Net Group. (2/01/2011).
World War Two- Causes. Retrieved March 30,
2011, from History on the Net:
http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/cause
s.htm
U.S. Army Center for Military History. (2003).
The Outbreak of War. Retrieved March 30,
2011, from World War History:
http://www.worldwariihistory.info/WWII/war
.html
(2011). What Happened?. Retrieved March 30,
2011, from Pearl Harbor. org:
http://www.pearlharbor.org/history-of-pearlharbor.asp
Rosenberg, J. (2011). Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Retrieved March 30, 2011, from About.com:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii
/a/hiroshima.htm
Zebrowski, C. (2005). Busy with the BlitzProofing. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from
America in WWII:
http://www.americainwwii.com/stories/busy
withtheblitzproofing.html
(2011). ‘Victory Garden’ Movement Grows.
Retrieved March 30, 2011, from Indiana Daily
Student:
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=
54756&search=mill&section=search
Castle Films. (2005) Bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Retrieved March 30, 2011, from Ball State
University Digital Media Repository:
http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CIS
OROOT=/WWIIHistFilm&CISOPTR=113&CISOB
OX=1&REC=17
Indiana Bell Telephone Company. (2005) Ready
on the Home Front. Retrieved March 30, 2011,
from Ball State University Digital Media
Repository:
http://dvisweb1.bsu.edu/media/wwii/VHSSP_3870_-_ready_on_the_homefront.asx
Benchmarks
4.1.10
Growth and Development: 1900
to 1950. Describe the
participation of Indiana citizens
in World War I and World War
II.
Assessment Tasks
Key Concepts
Students will:
1.
2.
Create a news report
video
Create a public service
announcement



WWII
Communication
Safety
4.1.11
Growth and Development: 1900
to 1950. Identify and describe
important events and
movements that changed life in
Indiana in the early twentieth
century.
Catalogue of Lessons:
Lesson 1: Axis and Allies
WW II started for several
reasons. Explain to the students, that
after WWI the Germans were
punished with the Treaty of Versailles.
In that treaty, they were ordered to
pay more than they could afford. The
Germans tried to appeal the
reparations, but were denied. To
connect this to the students ask them
to listen to the following scenario.
There is a bully at school. He knocks
you down and even hits you. After the
event, he is punished badly; in fact, he
is told that he has to pay you 100
dollars. The bully doesn’t have 100
dollars so he asks you to change the
penalty. What would you do? Have the
students write an answer to the
question.
Lesson 2: America remains Neutral
After WWI, the Americans
decided that it would not be wise to
join in any other world wars. The
army was made for defense only and
laws were passed to prevent America
from attacking. Over seas the
Americas Allies from the first World
War were fighting the Germans.
Sadly, they Allies start falling, so
American preparations for defense
rise. The goal of the German leader,
Hitler, was to create a larger space for
the Germans. Write a letter to
President Roosevelt explaining if you
agree or disagree with his decision to
remain neutral.
Lesson 3: Pearl Harbor
America had not entered the
war and prepared their defensive
stance. Unfortunately that was not
enough to prevent an attack from the
axis powers. A base in Hawaii, Pearl
Harbor, was bombed by Japan. The
Japanese people bombed Pearl Harbor
for over 2 hours destroying aircrafts,
battleships, and taking lives. After the
students watch the video they will
make their own. The class will be
given a video camera and will make a
news report of the bombing.
Lesson 4: The bombing of Hiroshima
The teacher will explain that
after America had been attacked, it
was time to retaliate. Americans had
access to atomic bombs, and dropped
2 of them on Japan. This wiped out
two of their cities. Explain how
Japanese-Americans were treated in
America and how the bomb itself was
viewed because of the hostility
created from the Pear Harbor attack.
Once the students understand how
America reacted, ask them to create a
poster that they would have waved
outside of the White House. This
poster could agree with or disagree
with the decision to bomb.
Lesson 5: Indiana enters the war
Now that America has entered
the war, the people from our area
were involved as well. Hoosiers did
many different things for the war.
Some Hoosier planted small “victory”
gardens from which to eat. This
helped by allowing America to use the
food supply overseas, while the
Americans at home were able to eat
form their gardens. The citizens of
Indiana also practiced air raid drills.
These were similar to fire drills and
people hid in cellars in case they were
bombed. Indiana sent troops and had
a major manufacturing boom,
especially in the area of steel. This
raw steel was used to help make
wartime products such as guns,
ammo, and vehicle parts. Also explain
how women started to take the jobs of
men. Many men went to war, and
women filled in for them at factories.
Introduce Rosie the Riveter as an
example. After the students have
become familiar with the effects the
war on Indiana, the students will write
a public service announcement.
Assessment: Pearl Harbor
Grade: Fourth
Unit: World War II
Assessment
Assessment
Abstract
Students will use new and previous acquired knowledge of Pearl Harbor to
create a persuasive video newscast. The students will use resources such as the
Internet and the Ball State digital archives collection to find information regarding
the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Students will cover what happened at the naval base
and who ordered the attacks on Pearl Harbor. The students will take the role of a
news reporter to cover the attacks and get an in depth look of how this attack effects
America to this day. The focus of this assessment is to have the students realize how
the attack on Pearl Harbor effects our daily lives to this day. After the students have
finished their newscast the teacher will hold a discussion to how the attack of Pearl
Harbor affected individuals in that time compared to how the attacks of modern day
affect individual life.
Prompt
Ball State Digital Archives Collection
http://libx.bsu.edu/
Internet Website
http://www.pearlharbor.org/
Directions
Over the past few days you have gained more insight and knowledge about
the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Today we are going to take the role of a news
reporter during the bombing and create our own newscast covering the event. This
artifact will be created using your role-playing, writing, and verbal skills. Students
will be paired into groups of two and will be given a video camera to create their
newscast covering the Pearl Harbor attack. While creating your newscast let the
following questions guide your video:
What is the attack on Pearl Harbor?
Where is Pearl Harbor located?
Who caused this attack?
Are there any casualties or injuries?
What might have caused this attack?
How does this attack affect America? Will it change life for anybody?
Should America retaliate or not? Take your opinion?
You may notice when watching a newscast that the reporters cover different events
in a specific way. It is your job to keep your audience in mind and create a newscast
that fits the event that you are covering. When you have finished your newscast we
will transfer the newscast from the camera to a separate DVD. When the newscast is
transferred to the DVD we will go as a class on a field trip to the public library
present the DVDs to the archives collection so the community can view the DVDs.
Hold a discussion with the students about how the attack of Pearl Harbor compares
to the attacks of modern day.
Procedure
Give each pair of students a sheet with the guide questions and a video camera to
record their newscast. Inform the students that they will be working in pairs and
each member should contribute equally to the project. Inform the students that they
will be taking the role of a news reporter during the 1940’s and cover the story of
the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Explain the scoring rubric to the students and answer
any questions that they have concerning the activity or the rubric.
Scoring Rubric
Benchmark
4.1.11

Growth and
Development: 1900
to 1950. Identify
and describe
important events
and movements
that changed life in
Indiana in the early
twentieth century.
Score
4
3
2
1
Students include
and answer all of
the guide
questions in
their newscast.
The newscast is
set for the
appropriate
audience.
Students include
and answer four
to five of the
guide questions
in their
newscast. The
newscast is set
for the
appropriate
audience.
Students include
and answer two
to three of the
guide questions in
their article. The
newscast is set for
the appropriate
audience.
Students include
and answer one
of the guide
questions in
their newscast.
The article is set
for the
appropriate
audience.
Assessment: Preparation at the home front
Grade: Fourth
Unit: World War II
Abstract
This task is designed to assess student’s understanding of the importance of home front
preparation during World War II. After viewing the film, Ready on the Home Front,
students will write a public service announcement in the perspective of the local air raid
warden during the time period of World War II. In the public service announcement,
students will create a list of precautions that members of the community should follow
in preparation for an air raid. The class will organize their public service announcement
to create one document that can be archived at the local library.
Prompt



The film, Ready on the Home Front found in the Ball State archives collection
Notes taken from the, Read on the Home Front
An example of what a public service announcement looks like
Directions to Students
“During World War II, American contribution was not just on the battle front. Here in
our local communities, people just like you were preparing for a war. Air raids were a
fear in the eyes of many Americans; today we are going to watch a film on how people
in Indiana prepared for air raids. During the film, take notes on the different
precautions people took in case of an air raid. Once we have watched the film, you will
pretend that you are the air raid warden for your local community and you will write a
public service announcement to the community about what precautions they should
take in case of an air raid. Also, you should state why being prepared for an air raid
would be important and what might happen to the community if you are not prepared if
a bomb does strike. “
Your newsletter should include:



Five precautions people should take
o A reason why people should take each precaution
Reasoning for why it is important to have a preparation plan
What might happen if you are not prepared for an air raid?
Procedure
Prepare a sample public service announcement for students to follow as an example. Be
sure students have watched the film before writing a public service announcement. All
the parts of the public service announcement should be written on the board.
Scoring Rubric
Benchmark
4.1.10
Growth and
Development: 1900 to
1950. Describe the
participation of
Indiana citizens in
World War I and
World War II. (Core
Standard)

Score
4
3
2
1
Student creates 5
precautions with
5 reasons for their
precautions.
Student gives a
reason for the
importance of a
preparation plan
and an
explanation of
what might
happen if you are
not prepared for
an air raid.
Student creates 4
precautions with 4
reasons for their
precautions.
Student gives a
reason for the
importance of a
preparation plan
and an explanation
of what might
happen if you are
not prepared for
an air raid.
Student creates 3
precautions with 3
reasons for their
precautions.
Student gives a
reason for the
importance of a
preparation plan
but does not
provide an
explanation of what
might happen if you
are not prepared for
an air raid.
Student creates
less than 3
precautions with
less than 3
reasons for their
precautions.
Student gives a
reason for the
importance of an
preparation plan,
but does not
provide an
explanation of
what might
happen if you are
not prepared for
an air raid.