Note to Teachers

This BuILder represents one component of a much larger 6-week project described below. The BuILDer would be part of the Week 1 activities.

Description: 8^th grade students learn about World War II and the many groups of Americans who made important sacrifices during the war in their Social Studies class. During their Spring Recess, students travel to Washington D.C. where they view many important national monuments and several memorials. Upon return, they begin work on their humanities exit projects in which they work in groups of four in their Social Studies and English classes to research a particular group of Americans deserving of a World War II memorial, read a text about that group’s experiences, use their research and reading to write an essay to persuade a committee that the particular group is deserving of a monument, and also design a prototype for that monument.

Week 1: Students choose their work groups as well as the group they would like to research. Some possible groups include:

Japanese-Americans

African-Americans

Native-Americans

Women in the Military

Civilian Women

Students visit the library to utilize reference materials including at least one electronic and two print resources to create notes on important facts and statistics about the contributions and sacrifices of their group of Americans during World War II.

Weeks 2-3: Students visit the Library Media Center to select a piece of literature which can assist them in their project. Depending on time and copies available, students may read the entire piece of literature, or selections from the book in literature circles in the library and their English classes. They will also take notes on important passages from the book using several orgnaizers. Possible selections include:

Japanese Americans

Houston, Jeanne Wakatuki and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment. New York: Bantam Book, 1974.

African Americans

McKissack, Patricia and Frederick McKissack. Red Tail Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. New York: Walker Books for Young Readers, 1996.

Native Americans

Bruchac, Joseph. Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II. New York: Dial Books, 2005.

Women in the Military

Kuhn, Betsy. Angels of Mercy: The Army Nurses of World War II. New York: Anteneum, 1999.

Civilian Women

Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II. New York: Crown, 1995.

Week 4: Students will utilize the notes taken from their reference materials and literature to write a persuasive essay arguing for the creation of a monument for their particular group of Americans.

Week 5: Students will design and build a prototype of what the memorial will look like.

Week 6: Student groups will present their persuasive essays and prototypes to roundtables of students and faculty.


Home The Task Selected Websites Memorials Information Credits Teacher	Note to Teachers This BuILder represents one component of a much larger 6-week project described below. The BuILDer would be part of the Week 1 activities. Description: 8^th grade students learn about World War II and the many groups of Americans who made important sacrifices during the war in their Social Studies class. During their Spring Recess, students travel to Washington D.C. where they view many important national monuments and several memorials. Upon return, they begin work on their humanities exit projects in which they work in groups of four in their Social Studies and English classes to research a particular group of Americans deserving of a World War II memorial, read a text about that group’s experiences, use their research and reading to write an essay to persuade a committee that the particular group is deserving of a monument, and also design a prototype for that monument. Week 1: Students choose their work groups as well as the group they would like to research. Some possible groups include: Japanese-Americans African-Americans Native-Americans Women in the Military Civilian Women Students visit the library to utilize reference materials including at least one electronic and two print resources to create notes on important facts and statistics about the contributions and sacrifices of their group of Americans during World War II. Weeks 2-3: Students visit the Library Media Center to select a piece of literature which can assist them in their project. Depending on time and copies available, students may read the entire piece of literature, or selections from the book in literature circles in the library and their English classes. They will also take notes on important passages from the book using several orgnaizers. Possible selections include: Japanese Americans Houston, Jeanne Wakatuki and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment. New York: Bantam Book, 1974. African Americans McKissack, Patricia and Frederick McKissack. Red Tail Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. New York: Walker Books for Young Readers, 1996. Native Americans Bruchac, Joseph. Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II. New York: Dial Books, 2005. Women in the Military Kuhn, Betsy. Angels of Mercy: The Army Nurses of World War II. New York: Anteneum, 1999. Civilian Women Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II. New York: Crown, 1995. Week 4: Students will utilize the notes taken from their reference materials and literature to write a persuasive essay arguing for the creation of a monument for their particular group of Americans. Week 5: Students will design and build a prototype of what the memorial will look like. Week 6: Student groups will present their persuasive essays and prototypes to roundtables of students and faculty.
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