WW II Webquest

You are a teenager living in the United States during World War II. You read the newspapers and hear the radio broadcasts, but it is hard to make sense of this war that involves so many countries and people. This webquest will take you back to the Home Front of the 1940's to learn what it was like to grow up during this turbulent time.

Each member of your team will become an expert on one part of the topic. Then you'll have to come back together to answer a question that gets to the heart of 'what's the truth and who says so?' You will also complete an essay over President Franklin Roosevelt's speech "Four Freedoms." We want you to do a good job, so why not read the evaluation rubric for this WebQuest?

1) Answer all questions and terms

2) Create a timeline (with pictures) with at least 10 of the most important events that you think happened.

3) Honors- Write a 5 paragraph essay defending FDR'S "Four Freedoms" Speech.

You will use the websites listed below each section or on the specific page to help you find your answers.

The main question you will be asked to find an answer for is:

What would it have been like to have been a teenager during World War II? How would teenagers of today deal with the conflicts of war and friendship?

You are going to begin by researching some resources to learn about life in the United States during World War II. Using the information that you learn you will:

1. conduct reasearch about life on the Home Front and Europe during World War II.

2. visit the poster galleries to investigate how the U.S. Government used wartime posters to rally support and answer questions about the posters, and you will create an original time-warped poster to be displayed in class.

3. Gather various types of information on the 1940's and present this to the class.

4. Create a timeline of at least 10 of the events that you think are the most important of WWII.

5. Write an essay on FDR's "Four Freedoms speech".

Background Information

Before becoming an expert on one aspect of this topic, we'd better make sure that everyone on your WebQuest team knows the basics. 

Read the following premise:

It is December 6, 1941. The United States is beginning to emerge from the Great Depression and war is raging in Europe. Every day you hear the reports of how it is spreading to other parts of the world. You have heard of the Nazi atrocities, but it all seems so far away. Is war the best thing for the nation? Should the U.S. get involved with such a costly effort?

Use the links below to answer the following questions:

1. List 3 causes of World War II.
2. What were the political conditions in Europe in 1940? What countries were at war?
3. Why did the United States become involved in the war? What was date that the U. S. entered the war?
4. Who were the three main AXIS powers? Who were the three main ALLIES?
5. What was the Maginot line?
6. Who were the Big Three (leaders) who set overall Allied strategy?
7. What was D-Day?
8. Explain what role the following people played in WWII:

a. Joseph Stalin
b. Benito Mussolini
c. Adolf Hitler
d. Franklin D. Roosevelt
e. Winston Churchill
f. Hideki Tojo
g. Dwight D. Eisenhower
h. George Patton
i. Harry S. Truman
j. Douglas MacArthur

The History Place	World At War	Causes of the War
WWII History	Military Leaders	WWII Leaders
Animated Maps of WWII (click on parts of maps for animation)	Chronology of WWII	Allied and Axis Powers

Now that you have completed your webquest, you must have the following items to turn in:

1) All questions and terms answered

2) A timeline of at least 10 of the things you think are most important in WWII

3) Honors Students- Essay on FDR's "Four Freedoms" Speech.