Content Organizer Lesson Plan 2

Content Organizer Curriculum Framework Essential Understandings

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by explaining economic and political causes, major events, and identifying leaders of the war, with emphasis on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Hirohito; Materials and Lesson Preparation

Internet access, textbook, PowerPoint presentation with images, lecture outline and homework grading rubric. Also, contact information with VFW for letter writing/pen pal activity. Library of Congress, Veteran’s History Project: http://www.loc.gov/vets/, web access October 2009. R., Palmer, R., Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer. A History of the Modern World, Volume 2, with PowerWeb. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2006. Print. Content Information and Vocabulary

Economic and political causes of World War II • Aggression by totalitarian powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) • Nationalism • Failures of the Treaty of Versailles • Weakness of the League of Nations • Appeasement • Tendencies towards isolationism and pacifism in Europe and the United States Major events of the war (1939-1945) • German invasion of Poland • Fall of France • Battle of Britain • German invasion of the Soviet Union • Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor • D-Day (Allied invasion of Europe) • Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Major leaders of the war • Franklin D. Roosevelt—U.S. President • Harry Truman—U.S. President after death of President Roosevelt Connections – Cross-Curricular and Real-World

Homework assignment that involves students writing a properly formatted letter communicating with a World War II veteran. The student will gain understanding and knowledge of the subject material by asking questions related to classroom activities, textbook and web resources.