Ament NTeQ Lesson 2
NTeQ Lesson Plan
iNtegrating Technology for inquiry
Lesson Title: Tuskegee Airmen – Challenges and Success of WWII African American Pilots
Subject Areas: American History
Grade Level: 9 -10
Time Required: Three to four weeks using one period per week
Author: Steve Ament, adapted from B. Dunfee’s Tuskegee Airmen Webquest
Lesson Summary:
This activity allows the students to use the computer as a learning tool while discovering more
about the progress African Americans made after the Great Depression. The students will watch
to movie Tuskegee Airmen in preparation for this lesson. After an initial teacher-centered lesson
on the basics of the state of aviation at the beginning of WWII and completion of Tuskegee
Airmen, the students will use technology, specifically the internet, to perform a WebQuest. Each
team is assigned the task of researching, writing, and editing a single edition of a newspaper that
focuses on the Tuskegee Airmen. The students will use word processing functions to prepare a
newspaper. The A KWL chart will be created as part of the lesson.
Standards Addressed:
National Standards NSS-UHS.5-12.8, Era 8, Standard 1
Nebraska Standards 8.1
Prerequisites:
Before starting this assignment, the students will be taught the basic state aviation of aviation.
Prior lessons should have covered the Great Depression and the build up to WWII. Students
should be aware of the African American’s relegation to the status of second class citizens in
this country in the late 1930s and early 1940s.. Immediately prior to assignment of the
WebQuest, show the movie Tuskegee Airmen. Before completing this assignment, students
should understand the use of primary sources. Review the website
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/tguide/tguseprimary.html with them. This goes over some
questions that help students feel more comfortable with primary sources.
Materials:

Tuskegee Airmen movie (runs 106 minutes)

Word compatible newspaper template

Computer lab with internet connectivity

DVD/VCR

Flash drives

List of websites to start with:
http://brebru.com/webquests/tuskegeeairmen/tuskegeeairmen.html
http://brebru.com/webquests/tuskegeeairmen/tuskegeeairmen2.html
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Ament NTeQ Lesson 2
http://brebru.com/webquests/tuskegeeairmen/tuskegeeairmen3.html
http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1356
Instructional Objectives:
1.
Students will demonstrate technology capabilities by using the computer as a tool to gather
information, make charts, and type a document.
2.
Students will understand the struggles of the Tuskegee Airmen and some of the forces
affecting their lives through their analysis of the historical characters.
3.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of how the perseverance of the African
American Army Air Corps pilots advanced the cause for African Americans in the post-Great
Depression environment.
Computer Functions:
Learning Task/Application
Computer
Data Manipulation
Functions
Gather Data/Using Bookmark Files
Internet
Navigating Web Sites
Synthesize a KWL Chart/Spread
Spread Sheet
Spell Check, Tabs,
Sheet
Create a newspaper page
Punctuation, Format, etc.
Word Processing
Tabs, Format, etc.
Problem Statement:
You are a team of newspaper reporters, living in the mid 1940s, near the end of the World War II
era while President Harry S. Truman is President. You have just arrived in New York City on a
train from California and saw that German Prisoners of War were allowed to ride in your train
car but Officers of the 332nd Fighter Group were told to leave the car and ride somewhere else.
Your team is assigned the task of researching, writing, and editing a single edition of a
newspaper that focuses on the Tuskegee Airmen. Pick one of the following four choices: (1) a
news article about the airmen; (2) a human interest story; (3) an editorial; (4) and a letter to the
editor from someone about segregation in the armed forces ( from the viewpoint of: military
personnel, relative, activist, politician or some other person). Groups will be assigned different
articles and must collaborate to publish all their articles in a single newspaper edition.
Research and Analysis:
In preparing their newspaper article, the students will research and analyze the environment in
which the Tuskegee Airmen lived and the challenges they faced. They will develop questions
that they would ask the people they fictitiously interview. Additionally, they will come up with
questions regarding the plight of the African American in general from an historical perspective.
Some internet sites are provided to get the students started.
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Ament NTeQ Lesson 2
The process will include five main steps. (Chunking will help students maintain focus)
1.
Establish the needed roles for each member of the group in order to get an edition of the
paper published. For example: editor, news reporter, social or feature writer, a political
cartoonist, a photographer, a obituary writer, or subscriber.
2.
Once the assignments have been given and instructor approval received, students will
research the Internet and other resources for information that will answer the who, what,
where, when and why of the Tuskegee Airmen.
3.
Write the articles.
4.
Edit the articles.
5.
Publish the newspaper.
Results Presentation:
After each group has completed their article, they will collaborate with the other groups to
combine the articles into a newspaper. The newspapers will be ‘delivered’ to the class. KWL
charts and other material used in preparation of the articles/newspaper will be collected.
Activities While at the Computer:
1. Each group will look up different internet sites about the Tuskegee Airmen and the climate of
race relations in the early 1940s. They will be searching for information on historical character’s
situations. Bookmarks will be provided for additional help and for time conservation.
2. Students will research appropriate answers to interview questions they prepared prior to
using the computer.
3. After gathering their research, the students will complete their “Learned” portion of the chart.
4. Each group will write a newspaper article by using a Word Processing tool on the computer.
They will take the information they found during their research, along with their previous
knowledge of their character’s situations, to put the character into historical context.
5. Students will combine their articles using a newspaper template.
6. Evaluation of these tasks will take place when the newspapers are handed in. Some things
that will be looked at are: grammar, content, creativity, and historical significance.
Activities Prior to the Computer:
1. All students will be finished viewing The Tuskegee Airmen and review the mechanics of the
newspaper template.
2. If interviewing people, students will research what would be appropriate questions.
3. This lesson is part of a unit of study on WWII; therefore the students will already have
information and activities completed regarding the causes and consequences of the War.
Students will be given time to review supporting materials.
4. Each group will create a KWL chart summarizing what they know about their article and
about the Tuskegee Airmen including:
a. 3-4 adjectives describing one of the historical character’s personality traits. (K)
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Ament NTeQ Lesson 2
b. 2-3 questions to ask the character to help explain them. (W)
c. 2-3 objects or symbols that you associate with these characters. (K)
d. 2-3 historical questions. (W)
e. 3-4 historical facts about WWII. (K)
5. When preparing to write the articles, advise the students to reflect the conditions of the time.
Use of graphic organizers is beneficial at this point. Here are samples of the kinds of questions
you can give them to start their research:
a. What was life for a soldier like then? (ie. dress, food, medicine, home life)
b. What were typical armaments? (personal and regimental)
c. How did the events of the Airmen affect the war?
d. What was the society like, and did society play any role or have any influence in the
actions of the Airmen?
e. What did the soldiers think of the war at this time? (use diaries, letters home, or
journals)
f. What was the media of the time saying about the Airmen vs. what actually was happening?
g. What part if any did political cartoons play in the war? Analyze the cartoon, decide
what the artist is trying to convey.
h. Who were the military leaders in this War?
i. What were the particulars of the Army Air Force and the Armed Forces in general? (ie.
size of units, casualties, major turning points in the war, participants in the times)?
j. What political events which took place near the time of the Airmen?
6. Ensure each group has at least one member who has access to a computer and internet at
home.
7. The evaluation of these different tasks will take place once the newspaper is published.
8. Class participation and group work will also be taken into consideration during evaluation.
Activities after the Computer:
After the groups are finished at the computer, they will deliver their published newspaper to the
class. They will then answering questions from the teacher and from their classmates about
their articles and their experiences with the 99th Pursuit Squadron.
Supporting Activities:
In addition to viewing the Tuskegee Airmen, they may want to view the PBS documentary The
Tuskegee Airmen – They Fought Two Wars runs about 60 minutes.
Assessment:
1. Students will be assessed by the rubric at the end of this lesson plan.
2. Evaluation of the webquest will take place once the newspapers are delivered.
3. The groups answering of classmate’s and teacher questions will be evaluated.
4. Class participation and group work will also be taken into consideration during evaluation.
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Ament NTeQ Lesson 2
Rubric
Deduction
__________ pts
Organization
__________ pts
Ideas
__________ pts
Conclusion
__________ pts
Diction &
Fluency
__________ pts
A – Superior (20)
Clever and
accurate reporting
which synopsizes
the traits of the
character and the
overall plight of
the pilots.
Has a crafty plan
for the newspaper
article and KWL
chart. Transitions
between ideas.
Makes insightful
observations about
the challenges and
successes of the
pilots.
Conclusion ties
together the points
made, impresses
the audience with
connections.
Superior delivery,
word choice and
sentence variety;
very rare
grammatical flaws.
B – Advanced (17)
Assertive reporting
which synopsizes the
traits of the
character and the
overall plight of the
pilots.
C – Competent (15)
Adequate reporting
which synopsizes the
traits of the
character and the
overall plight of the
pilots.
D – Weak in Areas (13)
Has weak reporting of
the character traits,
failed to make a
connection to the plight
of the pilots.
Has an orderly plan
for the newspaper
article and KWL
chart. Uses good
transitions between
ideas.
Makes very good
observations about
the challenges and
successes of the
pilots.
Has a plan for the
newspaper article
and KWL chart. Uses
good transitions
between ideas.
Organization is
awkward or is not
presented skillfully, may
have sudden shifts of
topic.
Makes some
observations about
the challenges and
successes of the
pilots.
Conclusion ties
together the points
made and produces
audience thought.
Conclusion ties
some ideas together,
may repeat language
from previous parts
of the article.
Competent delivery;
some flaws in
grammar.
Not much proof of
understanding from the
research; observes few
insights about the
challenges and
successes of the pilots.
Poor conclusion; doesn’t
tie ideas together fully
or woefully short.
Demonstrates strong
delivery, word
choice and sentence
variety; may have a
few grammatical
flaws.
Total Points
__________ pts
Grading scale: A: 90 – 100
B: 80 – 89
D: 60 – 69
F: less than 60
C: 70 – 79
5
May show patterns of
flaws in delivery
involving grammar that
distracts the reader.
Ament NTeQ Lesson 2
Adequacy of Lesson Plan in Addressing Student’s needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles
 Needs: The target for this lesson is urban students. The intent is to create some awareness
and pride for the African American pilots who flew for the 99th Pursuit Squadron. Exposure to
The Tuskegee Airmen, the documentary and the sites researched does increase awareness.
 Abilities: These students may not have access to internet and technology. That is why it’s
important to ensure at least one member of each group has a computer and internet connectivity
at home. This demographic demonstrates resilience and they should be able to identify with the
pilots challenges.
 Interests: This lesson plan plays on commonality. Many of my urban students are African
American. They can identify heroes and role models from the historical Tuskegee Airmen.
 Learning Styles: This group of students has likely been exposed to more teacher-centered
learning in elementary and middle school. Be that as it may, student-centered learning is
generally the most effective in getting to the application level of attainment. With some
checklists and modeling, this group should have no problem with this type of lesson plan.
Note: This lesson could be easily adapted for delivery to nonpoor and rural students as well.
Nonpoor students would likely require fewer instructions and modeling. In the rural
environment be aware that these families likely share the same technological limitations as the
urban students.
Reference:
Dunfee, B., Tuskegee Airmen. Retrieved from
http://brebru.com/webquests/tuskegeeairmen/tuskegeeairmenwebquest.html
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