TTSP Lesson Plans
Transatlantic Teacher Scholar Lesson Plans
Each Transatlantic Teacher Scholar researched and designed instructional kits that emphasize geo-historical inquiry, sourcework, and a global perspective. Each kit includes a background essay, an overview of classroom relevance, instructional procedures, and all related materials (PowerPoints, Question Frames, and Answer Keys). Feel free to teach the entire lesson set or pick and choose the pieces that best fit your classroom and instructional preferences.
To access the each lesson’s materials click on the title of the instructional kit.
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| AUTHOR |
Sharon Mohrmann,Orange County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Upper Elementary |
| OVERVIEW: Animals at War is designed for upper elementary school students in 4th/5th grade. Students will be introduced to the kit with a story about a young child who uses a service dog in her everyday life and why this animal is so important to her survival. Young children are fascinated with animals and superheroes and this unit combines both of these interests into one. Animals played a key role during World War I and World War II and were used in a variety of ways. Countless animals provided tasks that would not have been possible by humans and their stories have been recorded in pictures, journals, legal documents, letters and newspaper articles. During this kit, students will work in pairs or small groups to use a variety of primary source documents to research 8 different animal breeds. Through this research, they will discover how the animal served, when they served, and how they were remembered. Interactive global mapping is embedded in both lessons to enable the students to see the impact that the wars had on the entire world geographically. |
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| AUTHOR |
Bill Daisley,GreeneCountyPublic Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| OVERVIEW: The War of Words or propaganda may be the most understated battle of any war. When we teach wars we focus on the battles and the people. Looking at Propaganda and what they wanted the common man to think or feel. After all it is the common man that propaganda is written to influence. This lesson will reinforce the reasons for World War II as well as look at how the sides all employed propaganda to get their message across and fight the war of words. By completing this lesson students will strengthen their understanding of the root causes of World War II as well as the motivations the countries had for continuing the conflict. |
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| AUTHOR |
Melisa Larson, Albemarle County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
High School |
| OVERVIEW: Students often struggle with understanding the concept of contingency in history. Frequently our study of “turning points” presents information about the event as a fait accompli and we brush over the fact that maybe not everything went as well as it could have. The Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944 is the decisive event in the European Theater and students often take the Allied victory for granted. The purpose of this instructional project is to have students answer the question “Why did the Germans lose at D-Day?” Students will examine the invasion from five different perspectives (Allied Strategy, Allied Cooperation/Coordination, Axis Defenses, Axis Response, and Diversion Tactics) and then develop their own conclusions about the extent of success experienced at Normandy. |
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| AUTHOR |
Kristin Shuman, Orange County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| Cult of Personalityconcentrates on how Hitler was able to convince so many to follow his Nazi ideology. It examines the grim circumstances thatGermany may have been under post World War 1, including the Great Depression and the harsh reparations of the Treaty of Versailles. The lesson also focuses on how Hitler used propaganda to ignite a fire under German citizens to rally and defend their country based on Hitler’s own global prophecies, which would turn out to be false.It is important to teach children why total war was impossible to avoid. Hitler’s reign was spreading throughEuropeand intervention from the western world was imminent. Had they not intervened, Hitler may have been very successful in spreading his NAZI ideals. Children should see how the situation thatGermanywas led to believe they were in (Treaty of Versailles and Great Depression), coupled with Hitler’s use of propaganda was able to convince so many. It paints a bigger picture of the dangerous threat imposed on world peace and whyAmericawas forced to intervene. |
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| AUTHOR |
Melisa Larson, Albemarle County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
High School |
| OVERVIEW: Students often struggle with understanding the concept of contingency in history. Frequently our study of “turning points” presents information about the event as a fait accompli and we brush over the fact that maybe not everything went as well as it could have. The Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944 is the decisive event in the European Theater and students often take the Allied victory for granted. The purpose of this instructional project is to have students answer the question “Why did the Germans lose at D-Day?” Students will examine the invasion from five different perspectives (Allied Strategy, Allied Cooperation/Coordination, Axis Defenses, Axis Response, and Diversion Tactics) and then develop their own conclusions about the extent of success experienced at Normandy. |
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| AUTHOR |
Margi Roache, Charlottesville City Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| OVERVIEW: It is important that our students understand the full impact of war and human conflict. Specifically, what happens when the shooting stops? Where do the people whose homes have been bombed or towns destroyed go? What happens if you are a citizen of a country that you are now afraid to be in? It is by no means meant to completely cover the experiences of all the DPs during the time period after World War II, rather a snapshot of what these people went through during and after the war in an effort to survive. The kit uses personal narratives, documents and historical articles to give students that snapshot of the human impact WWII had. Five different subjects are explored, the Kindertransport, Lithuanian Diaspora, UNRRA, (pronounced un-rah) the ORT and the US Displaced Persons Act of 1948. How did the DPs and refugees put their lives back together? What agencies were there to help? This lesson is designed to be a culminating lesson for the end of the World War II unit. The plight of Displaced Persons after WWII is often overlooked not only in our textbooks but our standards as well. This kit will give students a chance to see what the impact of war can be on civilians caught in the middle of war zones. |
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| AUTHOR |
Sandra McLaughlin,Albemarle County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| OVERVIEW: How is war reported to the public? World War II is different than the wars that came before or the wars that come after because it is everybody’s war. Due to the universal draft and the need to mobilize for war, almost every family in America had a father, brother, uncle, or cousin fighting in Europe or the Pacific. Other family members on the home front contributed to the war effort by working in war industries and volunteering. World War II touched almost all areas of the globe. This world-wide connection made it important not only for families in America, but also for families around the world, to have access to information. According to historian Stephen Ambrose, the author of Band of Brothers, World War II was the greatest event of the twentieth century because “It changed everything. It was also the best reported war, ever. The men and women who covered the war told Americans who was winning, and why, and who did the fighting, and how.”This Reporting Stations activity allows students to analyze how World War II was reported by investigating war-time journalism through five different fifteen minute stations. Reporting Stations will engage students as they move from one station activity to the next by interacting with internet sources, listening to war reports, watching World War II newsreels, and reading the writings of various war reporters. |
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| AUTHOR |
Stephanie Hammer, Greene County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| OVERVIEW: This lesson helps students to understand the historical significance of World War I. Through the examination of primary source documents, students will explore the importance of the war to people at the time, how the war affected their lives, and how it helps to understand life following the war. By answering the leading question of the lesson, what’s so great about the Great War, students will use historical thinking to explain the significance of World War I. By analyzing the significance of World War I, students will broaden their understanding of the war that will them help them understand other events of the 20th century. |
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| AUTHOR |
Jared Morris, Madison County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| OVERVIEW: This lesson dives into the story behind the Zimmerman Telegram. The First World War has always taken a back seat to World War II in American History. This kit explores the details surrounding the intriguing spark that sent theU.S. into the First Great War. Expect a 70-90 minute punch of information and activity that will make a bit of World War I “stick” to the American student and teacher alike. It covers not only the Zimmerman Telegram and its effects but also interesting international relationships leading up to it as well. |
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| AUTHOR |
Lisa Lohr, Orange County Public Schools |
| GRADE LEVEL |
Middle and High School |
| OVERVIEW: War affects our world globally, not just our country alone. It affects men, women, and their families. This lesson is designed to guide students on an investigation into the role of women on the homefronts of WWII. They will look at the role of women in support of the war effort, specifically in the war industries, in The U.S.,England, andGermany. They will examine Primary and Secondary Resources to place events chronologically in regard to the Attack onPearl Harbor. The students will also compare and contrast what they have observed regarding the role of women in the war industries of theU.S.,England, and Germany. |
