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Planning this Unit
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Slides & Notes
Review Videos
Unit Activities
Opener Questions

America at War & Peace

Battles, Conferences & Peace Treaties

Planning this mini-unit

America at War and Peace is the third mini-unit of Unit 9: World War II. This mini-unit is taught after “The American Homefront” (Second mini-unit in Unit 9: World War II) and before “Cold War Foreign Policy: Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy” (First mini-unit of Unit 10: The Cold War).  Click 🔗HERE to get a copy of my pacing guide.  

Pacing

Teachers should plan three to five days to teach this unit on a traditional schedule with one-hour class periods. However, for those on a block schedule with 1 1/2 hour classes, teachers should plan for 2-3 days. An effective way to structure this unit includes:

Openers

  1. Decoding Morse Code
  2. Eisenhower and the Soviet Front
  3. The Holocaust
  4. Battle of Normandy
  5. Unconditional Surrender
This FREE resource includes 5 openers to use in order to supplement this unit.  Begin each class with an opener question. Opener questions can be found on this webpage as an image (see “opener questions” at the bottom of this webpage) or free on TpT (🔗see link). Give students 3-5 minutes to complete the opener question and allow 5-10 minutes for class discussion.   Instead of openers, teachers may use this as an end of class check for understanding.  
 

Lessons

After the opener, begin the 🔗 Google Slides lesson. Students can take notes on paper using the note-taking guide provided with the Google Slides lesson, or they may take notes digitally with the electronic version (also included with the Google Slides). 

    1. TEACHER TIP: I post a PDF version of the Google Slides to Google Classroom so that students can review their notes if they are absent. To do this, click “File, Download, PDF” on the Google Slide.   
    2. TEACHER TIP: Some teachers post Google Slides in their Google Classroom and digital note-taking guides for students to complete as homework.
    3. TEACHER TIP: When pressed for time, I will edit the note-taking guides to include answers for some boxes or delete boxes and slides entirely. Teachers should feel free to modify the lesson to meet their students’ needs and individual learning targets.
  2. After teaching a concept, take a break from the lecture and show a quick review video to reinforce the concepts. Suggested videos to enhance the lesson are on this webpage.  
  3. Mix up your unit by having the students complete the PROP (Point, Reason to lie or distort, Other sources, Public/private) analysis. For a free resource that reviews PROP, click 🔗 HERE.   
    1. TEACHER TIP: Group students together to complete this activity. This strategy sparks conversation and encourages critical analysis. Discuss as a class. 
  4. Review additional suggested activities found on this webpage:
    1.  FREE:  U.S. Policy and the Holocaust Refugee Crisis: Weighing the Evidence from the National Archives Docs Teach.
    2. FREE:  Dropping the Atomic Bomb from SHEG’s Reading Like a Historian.  Free resources with an account.
    3. FREE:  Was the Use of the Atomic Bomb Justified? DBQ from the Bill of Rights Institute. Free resources with an account.
    4. FREE: The Selfless Defenders of Wake Island from the Bill of Rights Institute.  Free resources with an account
    5. FREE: The Most Decorated Soldier from World War II from the Bill of Rights Institute.  Free resources with an account.
    6. FREE: Louis Zamperini, Iron Discipline and Purpose from the Bill of Rights Institute.  Free resources with an account.
    7. TpT: WWII American Homefront Document Analysis for Groups or Individuals
  5. Print the Prove It activity included in the Google Slides lesson at the end of the unit. Students read statements and determine if they are true or false. If the statement is false, they correct it. This lesson encourages students to review their note-taking guides. 

key terms to know

People to Know

  • Franklin Roosevelt 
  • Winston Churchill
  • Joseph Stalin
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Benito Mussolini
  • General Dwight Eisenhower
  • General Douglas MacArthur

Events, Government & Legislation

  • Casablanca Conference
  • Tehran Conference
  • Yalta Conference
  • Potsdam Conference
  • North Africa Campaign
  •  Invasion of Italy
  • Battle of Stalingrad
  • Operation Overlord: D-Day
  •  Battle of the Bulge
  • VE Day
  •  Doolittle Raids
  •  Battle of Midway
  • Battle of Coral Sea
  • Bataan Death March
  • Battle of Leyte Gulf
  • Battle of Iwo Jima
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima
  • Atomic Bomb: Nagasaki 
  • VJ Day

Key Terms

  • European/North Africa Theater of War
  • Asia/Pacific Theater of War
  •  Unconditional Surrender
  • WACs
  •  Tuskegee Airmen
  • The Holocaust 
  •  Island Hopping
  •  Navajo Code Talkers
  •  The Manhattan Project

Essential Questions

1. Who are the Big Three, and how did their alliance form?  

 

2. What are the two different theaters of war during WWII? What were each major battle’s significant battles and outcomes in each theater?

 

3. Compare and contrast the decisions made at the Casablanca, Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences.

 

4. How did African Americans, Native Americans, and Japanese Americans contribute to the Allied victory?

 

5. Compare and contrast the Allied strategies in the Pacific and European Theaters of war.

 

6. What was the Bataan Death March, and how did it affect America’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb?

 

7. Explain the origins and purpose of the Manhattan Project?

 

8. Outline the arguments for and against dropping the Atomic bomb?

Google Slides & Note Taking Guides

WWII America at War and Peace Slides Preview (1)
WWII America at War and Peace Slides Preview (2)
WWII America at War and Peace Slides Preview (3)
WWII America at War and Peace Slides Preview (1)
WWII America at War and Peace Slides Preview

Click image for link to source

First page of DIGITAL note taking guide

62 Slides (editable) with graphic organizer note-taking guide and summative assessment worksheet. This Google Slides reviews America’s role in war and peace during WWII.  This lesson can be easily broken into 2 different lessons: War in Europe and War in the Pacific.

 

This Google Slides:

  1. Editable
  2. Has checks for understanding/thinking questions throughout the Google Slides
  3. Interesting and varied graphic design
  4. A variety of different sources to catch your students’ attention and engage them with the content: maps, charts, primary sources, quotes, newspapers, etc.
  5. Major Concepts Reviewed:
    1. Review of Key Participants: Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin
    2. Theaters of War: Europe and the Pacific
    3. North Africa Campaign
    4. Casablanca Conference
    5. WACs
    6. Invasion of Italy
    7. Battle of Stalingrad
    8. Tehran Conference
    9. Operation Overlord (D-Day)
    10. Tuskegee Airmen
    11. Holocaust/Death Camps
    12. Yalta Conference
    13. Battle of the Bulge
    14. Deaths of Mussolini and Hitler
    15. VE Day
    16. Island Hopping
    17. Battle of Midway
    18. Battle of Coral Sea
    19. Losing the Philippines
    20. Bataan Death March
    21. Japan’s Kill-All Policy
    22. Battle of Leyte Gulf
    23. Native American Code Talkers
    24. Battle of Iwo Jima
    25. Battle of Okinawa
    26. Manhattan Project
    27. Potsdam Conference
    28. The debate over dropping the Atomic bomb
    29. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    30. VJ Day

✏️ Note-Taking Guide with a Teacher’s Key:

  • Works with Google Classroom (students can type in a document, or handwrite)
  • Includes ideas on how to use this in your lesson
  • Great for IEP, 504, EL students or students who need modifications
  • Helps students be accountable for information during lecture
  • Comes with print and digital notetaking guides.
 

 ✏️ Post-Notes Analysis Worksheet with a Teacher’s Key:

  • Works with Google Classroom (students can type in a document or handwrite)
  • Includes ideas on how to use this in your lesson
  • Has a True/False checking for understanding
  • Includes a document that connects to information from the slides.
  • Comes with print and digital post-notes analysis guides.
  • Students are asked to ” Prove It,” “Analyze It” “Personalize It” and “Explore Limitations.”

Helpful Videos for Your Students

Unit Activities

Click on the images below to access these suggested resources

U.S. Policy and the Holocaust Refugee Crisis 

DOCS TEACH: National Archives

Dropping the Atomic Bomb

SHEG: Reading Like a Historian

Was the Use of the Atomic Bomb Justified? DBQ

SHEG: Reading Like a Historian

The Selfless Defenders of Wake Island

Bill of Rights Institute

The Most Decorated American Soldier of World War II 

Bill of Rights Institute

Louis Zamperini, Iron Discipline and Purpose

Bill of Rights Institute

American Homefront Document Analysis for Groups or Individuals

For a review of the American Homefront download my activity “American Homefront Document Analysis for Groups or Individuals.  I use this as a good review prior to an exam, or after I have completed the Google Slides lesson.  My students enjoy working in groups in a document pass.  During a document pass each group has 5-7 minutes to analyze the document and complete their analysis.  After the timer rings, groups pass the documents clockwise.  This allows the students to focus on one task at a time.  However.  I have used this as a sub plan and assigned it via Google Classroom.  CLICK HERE to see this source on Teachers Pay Teachers.

⭐️ DIFFERENT TYPES of PRIMARY SOURCES for students to analyze.  Some students struggle with text sources, others struggle with data or political cartoons.  This activity allows students to practice their sourcing skills on a variety of types of sources.

⭐️ ANALYZING WORLD WAR II HOMEFRONT GRAPHIC ORGANIZER for students. Students have a graphic organizer to help them break apart the deeper meaning of each source.

⭐️PRINT, DIGITAL, GROUPS or INDIVIDUAL This activity can be tailored to each teacher’s individual needs.  Download comes with a copy ideal for printing, as well as a link to a copy that is ready to immediately push out to Google Classroom.

Tips for Using this Resource


    1. This activity is best done after students have learned about the American Homefront during World War II; if you want a Google Slides lesson on this topic click HERE.

    2. Print 4 copies of each document and place them in separate folders:  4 copies of Document A in a folder labeled Document A.  4 copies of Document B in a folder labeled Document B….etc…. 

    3. Organize the students in groups of 3-4 (there should be 8 groups total, one for each document).  This will allow the students to have a good discussion about the context, purpose and symbols of the sources to be analyzed.

      1. Students should sit in an organized group: Their desks are all facing each other to ensure a good conversation and a collaborative atmosphere.

    1. Review the instructions with them: Review what information they will be looking for in each document: Arguments, captions, symbols, etc.

    2. Pass one document folder to each group.  Give each group 5-7 minutes to analyze each source and complete the document analysis table.  Students should be discussing collaboratively.

    3. After the timer rings, instruct each group to pass their document folder clockwise. 

    4. Reset the timer and repeat step 4.

Opener Questions Free

🔗 Click HERE to access this FREE resource

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