World War II Project Options
Battles
1. Read a book from our library that discusses battles of WWII: Ghosts in the Fog: the untold story
of Alaska’s WWII Invasion, American Aces, The Battle of Guadalcanal, The Battle of Iwo Jima,
The Battle of Midway, . Complete one option on the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list,
which can be found online.
2. Research the battles of the European or Pacific theater. Create a large, scaled map of the
battles. Document the locations of 10 major battles in that theatre, as well as other pertinent
information (dates, difficult aspects, importance of the battle, # of casualties, damage to
equipment, victor, etc.) Alternative: Choose one large, long lasting battle and map 10 different
events within that battle with other pertinent information. Incorporating technology: Place the
map in PowerPoint and hyperlink from the map to information on separate slides/webpages.
European Battles to Consider:
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Battle of Britain
Battle of the Bulge
Operation Market Garden
Battle of Tobruk
Operation Barbarossa
Battle of Stalingrad
Operation Torch (Battle of the Atlantic)
Battle for Normandy (D-Day)
North African Campaigns (Tunisia, El Alamein)
Pacific Battles to Consider:
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Aleutian Islands
Coral Sea
Guadalcanal
Iwo Jima
Marshall Islands
Midway Islands
Okinawa
Pearl Harbor
Philippine Sea
Philippines (Leyte, Bataan, etc.)
Solomon Islands
Truk
Wake Islands
Holocaust
3. Obtain parental permission to watch “Schindler’s List” – evaluate the movie in a 1 ½ to 2 page
movie review. Address what new information you learned about the Holocaust from the movie,
scenes you liked, what you didn’t like, the number of stars you would rate it and why, and
whether or not you would advise others to watch. Conclude with a statement/ opinion about
the importance of individual people in history.
4. Read a book about the Holocaust, from our library: Schindler’s List, Holocaust, Four Perfect
Pebbles, Surviving Hitler, In My Hands, Raoul Wallenberg, Witnesses to War, We Are Witnesses, I
Have Lived a Thousand Years, The Big Lie, Fragments of Auschwitz, Darkness over Denmark,
Rescue, Hidden Child, Smoke and Ashes, The Grand Mosque of Paris, Maus, Survivors, Escape,
Destined to Live, Hidden Child of the Holocaust, Because of Romek, Surviving Hitler, Parallel
Journeys, Valkyrie, Upon the Head of the Goat, Tunes for Bears to Dance to, One Eye Laughing
The Other Weeping, The Cats in Krasinski Square, Torn Thread, After the War, Yellow Star,
Milkweed, Behind the Bedroom Wall. Complete one option on the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book
Report” list, which can be found online.
5. Research Hitler Youth. What was the typical “day in the life” like? – find at least one primary
source and one secondary source. Conclude with any connections you can make in the world
today or recent history.
6. Research the assassination attempts on Hitler’s life. How many? What were the plans? Why did
they fail? Devise a “no fail” plan to replace the failed attempts.
Name:
7. Research the Japanese Ofura camp and compare and contrast to a German concentration camp
– display your findings. Conclude by judging which would be the worst situation.
8. Compare Doctor Kitamura from Japan to Doctor Mengele from Germany. Who, what, when,
where, why? Actions? Reasons? Purpose? Speculate on how this could actually take place.
9. Research the Nuremburg Trials. Highlight the proceedings for some of the “big names” and their
sentencing. Discuss the pros and cons of these proceedings. Was this sentence justified? Why or
why not?
Home Front
10. Compare the costs of common consumer goods during the 1940s and today (approximately 2530). Analyze the percentage of change in the costs of goods. Formula: (cost today-cost
then)/cost then x 100. Categorize items: which items are actually more affordable now? Then?
11. Interview a “real-life” Rosie the Riveter. Share her story in a creative way; perhaps in a tribute to
her contributions to the war. Conclude: how would you portray her? What does she represent?
12. Interview a WWII veteran. Share his story in a creative way; perhaps in a tribute to his
contributions to the war. Conclude: how would you portray him? What does he represent?
13. Read a book about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, from our library: Desert
Exile, The Journal of Ben Uchida, Weedflower, The Fences Between Us, A Boy No More. Complete
one option on the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list, which can be found online.
Military Leaders
14. Pick a military general from any country during WWII. If you would like to choose another individual, you
will just need to check with Mrs. Hibbs. The “usual” Hitler and FDR are not options.
 Bernard Montgomery
 Erwin Rommel
 George Patton
 Charles De Gaulle
 Hideki Tojo
 Mark W. Clark
 Chester Nimitz
 Heinrich Himmler
 Omar Bradley
 Douglas MacArthur
 John Wainwright
 Dwight D. Eisenhower
 George Marshall
Research the leader, and imagine this leader is applying for his next position in the military or
government. For any job, one must have an impressive résumé. Your task is to write the résumé for this
leader. Identify the job he is seeking, 10+ accomplishments, applicable education, what was
accomplished, how it was accomplished, as well as the impact it made on the war. To create the résumé,
decide how you are going to manipulate the research information to make this leader look appealing for
his next job.
15. Read a book about the military during WWII, from our library: Flyboys. Complete one option on
the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list, which can be found online.
Patriotism
16. Research the 1936 Olympics in Berlin: Hitler’s attitudes and actions, Nazi propaganda, discussion
of boycott, Jesse Owens, Jewish athletes on the German team and their fate after the Olympics.
Critique the Olympics: what went well, what didn’t go well, should the U.S. have boycotted?
17. Read Triumph, the untold story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics. Complete one option on
the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list, which can be found online.
18. Research Bob Hope and the USO, and other performers of the USO – what was its purpose, how
was it accomplished, who performed, can you incorporate clips of shows or songs? How is the
USO still active today – who are recent performers, where did they perform? Share your
opinion: is the USO and other similar organizations a necessity? Why or why not?
Mrs. Hibbs
Name:
19. Research WWII memorials in the United States and around the world. Showcase your findings;
Materials used? Cost? Symbolism? Details about the person/event, and its significance. Explain
the importance of memorials; who or what do you think should have a memorial that currently
does not?
20. Compare and contrast the bombing at Pearl Harbor to the attack on 9/11. Judge which event
was more heinous, and defend your reasoning.
POW Camps
21. Research American POWs from WWII – find at least one primary source and at least two primary
sources – share the experiences of the POWs. Devise a way these POWs could have been saved.
22. Research POWs and the Geneva Convention – compare the actual treatment of POWs to the
way they were supposed to be treated.
23. Research the Omori POW camp – what was it like, who was in charge, what diseases were
rampant, how many died, acts of sabotage. How would you grade the camp in terms of its
treatment of soldiers? Living quarters? Food? Etc.
24. Research the Bataan Death March – find at least one primary source and two secondary sources
– document the experiences of those POWs. If you had been in this situation, would you have
survived to see liberation? Explain your reasoning.
Weapons, Medicine and Technology
25. Compare and contrast the B17 to the B24 to the B29 in terms of capabilities, crew
requirements/jobs, safety, nickname. Rank each in terms of the war effort.
26. Read about Operation Little Vittles in The Candy Bomber from our library. Complete one option
on the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list, which can be found online.
27. Research the Los Alamos Laboratory and the Trinity test. Major players, timeline of
development, testing procedures, decision to use. What choice would you have made as
president in this situation?
28. Research and rank weapons that made a marked impact on the outcomes of WWII. Why was
each so effective? Who invented? How has each been improved upon/replaced by since?
29. Research medical breakthroughs that reduced the death rate of wounded soldiers during WWII.
What was available prior to WWII? What was developed during WWII? How have these
advances been furthered since?
30. Research the practice of eugenics in the United States. Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Examples? Compare and control this to Hitler’s plan for a perfect race. What is your opinion on
the practice?
31. Read a book about the atomic bomb: Sadako and the thousand paper cranes. Learn how to
make an origami crane and teach the class.
32. Read a book about the atomic bomb: Hiroshima, or The Bomb. Complete one option on the
“Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list, which can be found online.
Women
33. Research “Flygirls” in WASP (Fifinella, Bessie Coleman, etc.) – their training, roles, jobs, impact,
and the museum devoted to them. Display your findings. Conclude with: How would you portray
these women? What do they represent?
34. Research the women’s baseball league during WWII and the memorial in their honor. Display
your findings. Conclude with: How would you portray these women? What do they represent?
What should they have done after the war ended?
Mrs. Hibbs
Name:
35. Read a book about the women in the military during WWII, from our library: Flygirl. Complete
one option on the “Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report” list, which can be found online.
36. Research Rosie the Riveter, real life “Rosies,” and their impact on the war – maybe incorporate
the Rosie the Riveter song in your project. Conclude: How would you portray these women?
What do they represent?
37. Research 1940s fashion, and how rationing impacted fashion. Model or sketch similar fashions.
Consider zoot suits made and contrast this with the idea of rationing. What statement were zoot
suiters making? Were the zoot suit riots justified? Why or why not?
Miscellaneous
38. Research companies that “supported” the Nazis by giving or selling them goods. Display this
information. Should U.S. citizens have boycotted these companies? Why or why not?
39. Research camouflage techniques used during WWII. Think beyond clothing; weapons, ships,
factories, cities…Rate the effectiveness of each.
40. Research the Nazi theft of valuable art during WWII. Who? What? When? Where? Why? What
art has been recovered? What art is still missing? What is the value of the missing art? How
would you generate a plan to recover what is still missing?
41. Research Swiss neutrality and the Nazi use of these Swiss banks. Who was involved? What banks
were involved? What was deposited there? Does this make the idea of Swiss neutrality “a
myth?” When will this be settled? What would you suggest should be done about this situation?
Mrs. Hibbs