Introduction
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 1940s to learn what it was like to grow up during this turbulent time.
As a group you're going to explore the topic of A Separate Peace. 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?'
Task
The Question - The main questions you will be asked to find an answer for are:
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 research about life on the Home Front 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 1940s.
Background Information - Before becoming an expert on one aspect of this topic, let's 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 three 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 the 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
World War II - Historical Text Archive - Very useful for study of WWII
http://historicaltextarchive.com/links.php?action=sub&cid=16
World War II in Europe - Timeline with photo and text
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm
A World at War - A military history site
http://www.euronet.nl/users/wilfried/ww2/ww2.htm
Causes of the War - Explores causes of the war related to WWI
http://www.teacheroz.com/WWIIcauses.htm
WWII History
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/?scrlybrkr=3cc37ebc
Process
Individual Roles
Now that you have some overall background knowledge, it's time to return to the main question for this WebQuest. Questions this big and important are better answered when a few people are working on it at one time. Things work even better when a group of you decide to look at the question from different perspectives. This way team members can become experts on different aspects of the question and then come together to poll their learning. This is where team work pays off. So are you ready to divide and conquer this question?
Home Front Historian
Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:
1) Explain how the role of women changed during the war.
2) Give an example of how women made a difference on the Home Front.
3) Find a personal account of a family's experience on the Home Front during WWII and describe it in your own words.
4) How did the war time posters help mobilize the Home Front for war?
5) What are the posters indicating about living conditions in America during this time?
Produce for Victory - Posters on the American Home Front
http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/index.htm
Propagandist
View the web sites on wartime poster art to investigate how the U.S. government used this medium to rally the support for war efforts.
After viewing the posters, select one poster and answer the following questions:
1) Describe the poster.
2) Does the poster contain a hidden/implied message? What is the desired effect?
3) What emotions do the images convey? What words are chosen for impact?
4) In what ways does the poster glamorize or villainize war or the people involved?
5) What effect would this poster have had on people of different ages and backgrounds in the 40's? For example, how would a teenager react to it? A veteran of World War I? A mother? A doctor? A minister?
6) Design your own time-warped propaganda poster to display in class.
Fighting for an Ideal America - Posters on American Home Front
http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/victory6.htm
World War II Poster Collection - Poster database
https://images.northwestern.edu/catalog?f[institutional_collection_titl…
Powers of Persuasion - Poster Art from WWII
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuas…
Produce for Victory - Posters of the American Home Front
http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/
Omnium-gatherum of WWII
Use the links below to learn more about your role. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:
A variety of sites dealing with life during the 1940s are given below. Explore each site and choose the four that are your favorites. Using these four sites and books complete the following:
1) Create a poster that gives the class a glimpse into what life was like in the early 40's.
2) Find a song from the 40s to play or sing for the class. Explain its significance.
3) Explain to the class what life was like during the early 40s in America. You may present this through whatever medium you would like.
Random facts about American History
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/warsanddiplomacy/u/warsandevents.ht…
A guide to the Oscars of 1942
http://www.filmsite.org/1942.html
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Mueseum
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/
Philips Exeter Academy - Information on the novel by John Knowles
https://www.exeter.edu/libraries/553_4390.aspx
* other ideas to research: WWII movies, FDR & the New Deal
Group Synthesis
Congratulations! Your team is now full of expertise. Each person on your team has become an expert on the topic of A Separate Peace. You've all learned a lot of information. But guess what, gathering useful information isn't the same as truly understanding a topic. What experts in the field of learning suggest is that you now use that information in a new and challenging way. Then you'll really know about this topic.
So with your team members all gathered together, carefully read and try answering the main question for this WebQuest. See where you all agree and where differences arise.
After the discussion each individual on your team will write a minimum of two pages as a journal entry responding to the main question:
What would it have been like to be a teenager during World War II? How would teenagers of today deal with the conflicts of war and friendship?
Evaluation
The two-page response will count as a test grade. Paper must be typed (follow guidelines in syllabus), MLA style, hard copy turned in and it must be submitted to turnitin.com.
Conclusion
Conclusion
At the beginning of this activity, you were asked about the truth. Did you discover it? Was there only one? Did everyone on your team think so? How did you answer the main question for this WebQuest?
You deserve a lot of praise for all the work you've done. And so does your brain. You've sure put that gray stuff to the test. You gained background information, developed expertise in one particular area and got into some pretty expert analysis.
