Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12
Unit 4: World War II
Goal:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and course of World War II, the
character of the war at home and abroad, and the reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs.
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Big Idea (s):
o War changes a society. Societies make good and bad decisions in a time of
war.
o Civil liberties and basic human rights are sometimes restricted during times
of war.
o Political decisions have implications and consequences on future events.
o The Allied victory in World War II led to the emergence of the U.S. as a
super power. The United States involvement in World War II reshaped
America’s role in world affairs.
o The failures of post-World War I policies led to World War II.
o World War II dealt a catastrophic blow to humanity.
o Cultural, economic and political factors led to the rise of dictatorships.
o World War II ended the Great Depression and caused enduring changes for
women, African Americans, and other minorities.
o Roosevelt defined American struggle during WW II as an attempt to establish
world order based on “four freedoms”- freedom of speech, freedom of worship,
freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
o Policies of Hitler and Stalin led to widespread genocide and
containment/displacement of millions of Europeans. The Holocaust was the
systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of
approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime.
o World War II caused a dramatic increase in both the size and the reach of our
national government.
Essential Question (s):
 Was the road to World War II inevitable? What were its causes?
 What choices and decisions do societies face in war? How did WW II
affect American society?
 How did the role of the U.S. in world affairs change as a result of
World War II?
 What factors led to the rise of dictators? Why do dictatorships
flourish during times of depression?
 How did the role of the national government evolve during World War II?
 Do people (citizens and countries) have a responsibility to respond to
injustice? How could the Holocaust have happened? Could it have
been prevented?
 How are freedom and democracy threatened during times of war?
 What is propaganda? What is rhetoric? How are propaganda and rhetoric
used during times of war?
 Is it ever justified to use a weapon of mass destruction?
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12

How did the end of the war begin to shape the postwar world?
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
Literacy 1. Define and apply key
vocabulary/concepts: Fascism, totalitarianism,
isolationism, neutrality, intervention (limited and
full-scale), aggression, internment, mobilization,
strategies (Allied and Axis), genocide, Final
Solution, balance of power, nuclear, unconditional
surrender:
 Paraphrase/summarize
 Compare/contrast
 Classify
 Categorize
 Discuss/explain
 Illustrate
 Demonstrate
 Reflect/relate
 Infer
As evidenced by oral, written, and/or
performance:
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Vocabulary journals
Narrative descriptions
2-3 Column Notes (i.e.
term/definition/illustrate/paraphrase/rela
te)
Lincs/Frayer
Visual representation (i.e concept
diagram/map, graph, chart, drawing,
poster, comic strip, cartoon)
Discussion
Oral presentation
Short answer
(H) Essay
(H) Make judgments and inferences
related to the historical novel.
11.9 Chart the events in Europe and Asia, which A chart outlining the major events that drew
drew the United States into World War II.
the United States into World War II.
 Rise of Dictatorships
 Events leading to War in Europe
 U.S. Neutrality
 Pearl Harbor
11.10 Analyze the causes and general course
of World War II and its impact on
American society
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Long-term and immediate causes
War in Europe & Pacific
Allied Strategy
Axis Strategy
Turning Points
Participation of minorities
Japanese American Internment
Holocaust
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
An analysis of the causes, course, and
impact of World War II.
(H) Propose alternatives to the use of the
atomic bomb to bring about an end to the
war.
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12

The impact of war on home front.
11.11 Describe the impact of the Holocaust and
evaluate the Allies response to the
Holocaust and war crimes.
Description of the impact of the Holocaust
and a written evaluation of the Allied
response to the Holocaust.
 Genocide
 Final Solution
 Concentration Camps
 Auschwitz
 Kristallnacht
 Nuremburg Trials
 War Crimes
11.12 Assess the significant social, political
and economic changes in the United
States during this time period.
An assessment of the significant social,
political, and economic changes during
the period.
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Outcome of World War II-Europe, Asia,
United States
Costs and Results of WW II.
Resources: Bringing History Alive, TCI United States History Program
WW2
American Nation-Ch. 16
Primary Source Reading 16
Graphic Organizer Activity 16
American History Outline Map 32
America: Pathways-Ch. 24
Great Debates-How Much Should the US be Involved in World Affairs?
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 16
Guided Reading (including Spanish version)-America Moves to War
Primary Sources-FDR’s Quarantine Speech, the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, War Poster
Humanities Transparencies-Nazi Party Poster,
Skillbuilder Practice-Developing Historical Perspective
Geography Transparencies-Aggression in Europe
Geography Application-Japanese Aggression
Critical Thinking Transparencies-Timeline
WW2-England
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/wars/wwii.html
Pearl Harbor
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/RD-PEARL.html
Pearl Harbor-National Geographic
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/
Pearl Harbor Hearings
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pha/
American Nation-Ch. 17
Geography Activity 17
American History Outline Map 19, 20
Graphic Organizer 17
Literature Reading 17
America: Pathways-Ch. 25
Literature Activity-Dispatches from the Battle Front
Literature Activity-Black Boy
Literature Activity-Hiroshima
Primary Source Activity-Experiences of an African American Soldier
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 17
Guided Reading-the War for Europe and North Africa, The War in the Pacific, the Impact
of the War
Outline Map-Crisis in Europe
Primary Sources-the Bombing of Nagasaki
Critical Thinking Transparencies-Human Cost of WW2
Literature-John Hershey’s Hiroshima, Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor Was Devine
Video-Saving Private Ryan
Women in WW2
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/tocCS.html
Japanese-American Internment
http://www.children-of-the-camps.org/
http://www.metrolyrics.com/kenji-lyrics-fort-minor.html (Song is called Kenji by Fort
Minor.)
Telling Their Stories- Oral History Archive Project
http://www.tellingstories.org/internment/index.html
WW2-Hyperwar
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/
WW2 History
http://www.worldwariihistory.info/WWII/war.html
Holocaust
American Nation-Ch. 17, Sec. 3
America: Pathways-Ch. 24, Sec. 4
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12
Why Study History-Genocide Has Happened Again
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 16, Sec. 3
Guided Reading (including Spanish version)-The Holocaust
Literature Selection-William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice
American Lives-Elie Wiesel
Literature-Alicia Appleman-Jurman’s Alicia: My Story, Arnold, Geier’s Heroes of the
Holocaust, Klein Weissmann’s All But My Life, Jayne Pettit’s A Place To Hide, Elie
Wiesel’s Night, William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice, Livia Bitton-Jackson’s I Have Lived
a Thousand Years, Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale
Video-Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List,
America and the Holocaust, PBS Video
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/
PBS-America and the Holocaust
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/index.html
Holocaust Cybrary
http://www.remember.org/
Coming of Age Now in the Holocaust- powerful stories of young people
http://comingofagenow.org/
Telling Their Stories- Oral History Archive Project
http://www.tellingstories.org/holocaust/index.html
Liberators and Witnesses
http://www.tellingstories.org/internment/index.html
Yad Vashem Museum- Holocaust Picture Archive
http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive
http://www.yadvashem.org
Extension Activity:
Teacher(s) Designed Formative
Assessment(s)
Developed at the school-level.
District-wide Trimester Assessment(s)
http://sde-cthsi/DWTA/academic.html
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12
Concepts
Skills
Students need to know about:
Students need to be able to do:
Literacy 1. Fascism, totalitarianism,
isolationism, neutrality, intervention (limited
and full-scale), aggression, internment,
mobilization, strategies (Allied and Axis),
genocide, Final Solution, balance of power,
nuclear, unconditional surrender.
Define and apply(Fascism, totalitarianism,
isolationism, neutrality, intervention (limited
and full-scale), aggression, internment,
mobilization, strategies (Allied and Axis),
genocide, Final Solution, balance of power,
unconditional surrender:
 Paraphrase/summarize
 Compare/contrast
 Classify
 Categorize
 Discuss/explain
 Illustrate
 Demonstrate
 Reflect/relate
 Infer
11.9
Appeasement
Isolationism
Fascism
Communism
Totalitarianism
Dictatorship
Neutrality
Compose (essay on what freedoms are worth
fighting for.)
Compare/Contrast (dictators)
Analyze (speech)
Organize (events in chronological order)
Debate (Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor)
Compare/Contrast (US entry into WW1 and
WW2)
Mobilization
Civil Defense
Internment
Discrimination
War production
Holocaust
Nuclear Weapons
Map (turning points in Pacific and
European theaters)
Compose (diary entry-life on home front)
Compare (advantages of Allies/Axis)
Debate (Japanese American Internment)
Describe the Holocaust
Analyze (battle plans)
Genocide
Holocaust
Anti-Semitism
Final Solution
War Crimes
Debate (US reaction to genocide)
Define (key terms)
Organize (key events into chronological order)
Assess (the guilt of German society for
Holocaust)
11.10
11.11
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 4/23/12
Goal 11.12
Unconditional Surrender
Great Migration
Defense Spending
Balance of power
New nations emerge
Human and financial costs of War
Compose (diary entry)
Analyze (technological changes)
Compose (essay impact of war on American
society)
Map (key changes)
Evaluate (costs/results of war)
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.