Unit Plan

Specialized Methods and Practicum

Ottawa University
Amy Beckis
Brent Seager
April 5, 2015

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Title & Subject Area: World War II. High School Social Studies/American History.
Grade Level: 11th.
Time: This unit will require six weeks, as there are five major topics, a unit test, and a
collaborative group project in this unit.
State Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a
whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3
Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation
best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters
uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a
text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and
media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or
solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9
Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent
understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
(Common Core Standards, 2015).
Unit Rationale: World War II was one of the most significant events of the twentieth century, as
it transformed the United States and other nations. This unit will show the students exactly how
the war brought the United States out of the Great Depression, and helped transform the United

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States into the nation that it is today. This unit will transition the students from the previous unit
over World War I and the Great Depression era into the World War II era. This unit will also
allow the students to transition into the Cold War era following the conclusion of the Second
World War. Also, World War II is a requirement for American and World History courses in most
high schools, and this unit will help the students meet their requirements, while also learning
about the significance of World War II on the United States and other nations.
Goals: Lesson One will cover the appeasement period and the events that led to the outbreak of
World War II. Lesson Two will cover the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the United
States into the Second World War. Lesson Three will cover D-Day and its significance in
helping to change the tide of World War II. Lesson Four will cover the use of the first atomic
bombs and the controversies and implications of using this new weapon. Lesson Five will cover
the end of World War II and the origins of the Cold War, which will help to transition the
students into the next unit. Lesson Six will be a collaborative group project, in which students
will be assigned to groups and be given a topic from one of the five units to research and
complete a power point presentation over. Students will then be given a unit test to assess
knowledge and comprehension of the information covered in the unit.
Objectives: Lesson One will allow the students to summarize the many different causes that led
to the outbreak of the Second World War, as these causes are imperative to describing the goals
of both sides in the war. Lesson Two will allow the students to evaluate the attack on Pearl
Harbor and the entrance of the United States into the Second World War, and how this event
changed the United States. Lesson Three will involve the students evaluating D-Day and how
this event would change the course of the war into the favor of the Allied Forces. Lesson Four
will allow the students to criticize and evaluate the different reasons for the use of the first
atomic bombs in war, and the consequences that resulted from using this weapon. Lesson Five
will involve the students analyzing the end of World War II and how this would set the stage for

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the Cold War. Lesson Six will allow the students to evaluate and determine which information
and resources to use for their collaborative group research projects. The unit test will help to
assess student comprehension of the information and events of the World War II and post-war
eras.
Lessons/Activities: There are six lessons contained in this unit plus a unit test at the conclusion
of all lessons and activities. In Lesson One, the students will work independently to define
vocabulary terms, and then will participate in whole group instruction with the classroom lecture
and notes over the materials of the appeasement period and the outbreak of World War II. In
Lesson Two, students will watch the attack on Pearl Harbor video and the speech of President
Roosevelt seeking a declaration of war. The students will then divide into two groups, one group
supports going to war and the other is against going to war, and they will debate over the issues
about getting the United States involved in World War II. The Third Lesson will be an
independent activity in which the students read the section in their books over D-Day and
complete the worksheet. Students will then be given a quiz over the first three lessons, and this
will help to assess student knowledge and comprehension of the information and materials.
Lesson Four will involve the students working independently to analyze primary source
documents about the use of the atomic bomb, primary sources include support and opposition
into the use of atomic weapons. The students will watch a video of the dropping of both atomic
bombs on Japan, and then will be divided into two groups and debate their arguments for and
against the use of atomic weapons. Lesson five will be whole group instruction and classroom
lecture and notes to cover the ending of the Second World War and the transition into the Cold
War era. The students will also complete the required textbook readings for each of the five
lessons, as this will help to reinforce the information contained within the lessons. Lesson Six
will involve assigning students to collaborative groups to research an assigned topic over the first

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five lessons, students will present their projects to the class. The unit test will be given
independently, as this is to assess student knowledge and comprehension of the unit and the
lessons within the unit.
Assessment Measure for Unit: Sound assessment will be used throughout the entire unit, as
expectations and directions will be clearly stated for the students. This will ensure that students
are working towards completing the goals of the unit and classroom. Formal assessment will be
used in the quiz, unit test, and evaluation of the presentation of the projects by the collaborative
groups. Informal assessment will be used in asking questions to students throughout each lesson
to check for knowledge and comprehension, and observation of the students during activities and
lessons in this unit.
Differentiated Instruction Anticipation: In Lesson One, students who have difficulty will be
given extra time to complete the activity, also a copy of the notes and vocabulary terms can be
given to the student to study for the quiz. In Lesson Two, students who are unable to work in
groups will be allowed to complete an alternate assignment, students will also be given the
option to participate in a one-on-one debate with the teacher before or after school and this will
count as their participation and completion of the activity. In Lesson Three, students who are
unable to complete the worksheet and reading will be allowed to receive a modified worksheet,
and will be provided a read aloud of the text. Students who are unable to complete the quiz will
be provided a read aloud and/or a modified quiz. In Lesson Four, students will be provided a
read aloud of the primary source documents and will be allowed to complete an alternate
assignment or come into the classroom before or after school to participate in a one-on-one
debate with the teacher. In Lesson Five, students who are unable to take notes will be given a
copy of the notes to study for the unit test. In Lesson Six, students who are unable to participate
in the collaborative group activity will be assigned an alternate assignment that will be handed in

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or presented to just the teacher. The students who have difficulty in taking the unit test will be
given a read aloud and modified tests.
Materials: White board overhead display, computers, paper, pencils, worksheets, textbooks,
flash drives, reference books, and notebooks.
Resources:
Common Core Standards. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.corestandards.org/ELALiteracy/RH/6-8/
Eisenhower Presidential Library. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/
The History Channel. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/
Petition to the President of the United States. (1945). Retrieved from:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php
Press release by the White House. (1945). Retrieved from:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php
Ricsil2037. (2012). This 1946 film shows actual footage of the atomic bomb destruction of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan [Video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3oSS_FP-cA
Roosevelt, Franklin, D. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/topics/uspresidents/franklin-d-roosevelt/pictures/franklin-d-roosevelt/men-eating-soup-duringgreat-depression
Translation of leaflet dropped on Japanese. (1945). Retrieved from:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php
Truman Presidential Library. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/
United States History. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1661.html