ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 9 :

9 ) Critique major social and cultural changes in the United States since World War II.

•  Identifying key persons and events of the modern Civil Rights Movement

Examples: persons—Martin Luther King Jr.; Rosa Parks; Fred Shuttlesworth; John Lewis (Alabama)

events—Brown versus Board of Education, Montgomery Bus Boycott, student protests, Freedom Rides, Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March, political assassinations (Alabama)

•  Describing the changing role of women in United States' society and how it affected the family unit

Examples: women in the workplace, latchkey children

•  Recognizing the impact of music genres and artists on United States' culture since World War II

Examples: genres—protest songs; Motown, rock and roll, rap, folk, and country music

artists—Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Hank Williams (Alabama)

•  Identifying the impact of media, including newspapers, AM and FM radio, television, twenty-four hour sports and news programming, talk radio, and Internet social networking, on United States' culture since World War II

[SS2010] USS6 (6) 3 :

3 ) Identify causes and consequences of World War I and reasons for the United States' entry into the war.

Examples: sinking of the Lusitania, Zimmerman Note, alliances, militarism, imperialism, nationalism

•  Describing military and civilian roles in the United States during World War I

•  Explaining roles of important persons associated with World War I, including Woodrow Wilson and Archduke Franz Ferdinand

•  Analyzing technological advances of the World War I era for their impact on modern warfare

Examples: machine gun, tank, submarine, airplane, poisonous gas, gas mask

•  Locating on a map major countries involved in World War I and boundary changes after the war

•  Explaining the intensification of isolationism in the United States after World War I

Example: reaction of the Congress of the United States to the Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations, and Red Scare

•  Recognizing the strategic placement of military bases in Alabama (Alabama)

[SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

Students in each Grade 6 class will work in collaboration to create a class group Google Slides presentation celebrating the Alabama Bicentennial (or Alabama History).  Students will present information on the reasons behind the strategic placement of military bases in Alabama during World War I, identify changes on the Alabama homefront during World War II, or critique major social and cultural changes in Alabama since World War II. Each student will research a different topic to find information to create one or two slides as part of the group slideshow. The finished class Google Slides’ show will be presented, with each student reading his/her own slides.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Learning Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

Students will read, analyze, and annotate a secondary source, World War II POW Camps in Alabama. They will use the information to write one to two paragraph summaries (postcards) from German POW perspectives. The summaries will include information about the camps in Alabama, daily routines, prisoner treatment, educational and work opportunities, and how the cities and people of Alabama were affected by the camps.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ARTS] THEA (6) 3 :

3) Explore a scripted or improvised character by imagining the given circumstances in a drama/theatre work.

[SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

[ARTS] THEA (6) 22 :

22) Identify universal themes or common social issues and express them through a drama/theatre work.

Students will research and analyze a variety of sources related to the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. Students will then write dramatic monologues that testify to some of the injustices of this period. Students will use the digital resource provided as part of their research.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

While teaching a unit on WWII, the teacher will show two video clips to help students understand how the United States government's portrayal of Japanese American internment camps differed from the experience of the Japanese Americans living in these camps. The students will compare and contrast using a Venn diagram graphic organizer.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

[SS2010] US11 (11) 10 :

10 ) Describe the impact of World War II on the lives of American citizens, including wartime economic measures, population shifts, growth in the middle class, growth of industrialization, advancements in science and technology, increased wealth in the African-American community, racial and ethnic tensions, Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G. I. Bill of Rights), and desegregation of the military. [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Alabama's participation in World War II, including the role of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Aliceville Prisoner of War (POW) camp, growth of the Port of Mobile, production of Birmingham steel, and the establishment of military bases (Alabama)

This interactive game from WNET Thirteen, “Prisoner in My Homeland,” puts players in the shoes of 16-year-old Henry Tanaka, in 1941, whose family is forced to leave their home on Bainbridge Island, WA, for a prison camp in Manzanar, CA. Players grapple with the choices and challenges faced by more than 120,000 Japanese Americans as they coped with their unjust incarceration during World War II. Teachers will need to register to play this game.  The game can be played in a whole group setting or individually.  Teachers can also download a teacher's guide.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

[SS2010] US11 (11) 10 :

10 ) Describe the impact of World War II on the lives of American citizens, including wartime economic measures, population shifts, growth in the middle class, growth of industrialization, advancements in science and technology, increased wealth in the African-American community, racial and ethnic tensions, Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G. I. Bill of Rights), and desegregation of the military. [A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.g., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Describing Alabama's participation in World War II, including the role of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Aliceville Prisoner of War (POW) camp, growth of the Port of Mobile, production of Birmingham steel, and the establishment of military bases (Alabama)

In this lesson, students investigate a series of primary documents to address the question: Why did the United States government incarcerate Japanese Americans during World War II? Students will watch a newsreel from 1942 that the government made to explain the internment. Then, students will read four other primary documents about the internment to answer the essential question. 

The website includes lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, primary source documents, and student graphic organizers. Teachers will need to create a free account to access the materials. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

This collection contains videos, articles, photographs, letters, and documents. This collection allows students to explore Japanese American internment and answers the question: What was life like for Japanese Americans in internment camps?

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

In this lesson, students simulate situations Japanese American children faced by creating a list of things that are important to them and choosing what they would take and leave behind to develop empathy for the Japanese American internment camp experience.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] LWT (0) 6 :

6 ) Compare cultural similarities and differences in individuals, families, and communities.

Examples: celebrations, food, traditions

[SS2010] LWT1 (1) 11 :

11 ) Identify traditions and contributions of various cultures in the local community and state. (Alabama)

Examples: Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, Fourth of July, Cinco de Mayo

[SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

[ARTS] VISA (0) 1 :

1) Engage in self-directed exploration and imaginative play with art materials.

a. Use motor skills to create two-dimensional art.

Examples: Finger painting, watercolors, paper collage, and rubbings.

b. Use motor skills to create three-dimensional art.

Examples: Rolling, folding, cutting, molding, pinching and pulling clay.

[ARTS] VISA (1) 2 :

2) Explore and experiment with a range of art materials.

a. Create two-dimensional art.

Examples: Family portrait or gadget printing.

b. Create three-dimensional art.

Examples: Pinch pots or found-object sculptures.

[ARTS] VISA (6) 2 :

2) Formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art.

Example: Make, share, and revise a list of ideas and preliminary sketches.

In this learning activity, students make their own Koinobori (fish kite). These kites were an important way of life for Japanese American children in internment camps during World War II.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

[ELA2021] (6) -3 :

R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

In this learning activity, students will gather information about personal experiences of survivors of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. Students communicate the information they learn by creating their own comic to retell the story of the survivors. Resource links to videos, journals, articles, comic book template and artwork are included in the material. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 6 :

6 ) Identify causes and consequences of World War II and reasons for the United States' entry into the war.

•  Locating on a map Allied countries and Axis Powers

•  Locating on a map key engagements of World War II, including Pearl Harbor; the battles of Normandy, Stalingrad, and Midway; and the Battle of the Bulge

•  Identifying key figures of World War II, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sir Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Michinomiya Hirohito, and Hideki Tōjō

•  Describing the development of and the decision to use the atomic bomb

•  Describing human costs associated with World War II

Examples: the Holocaust, civilian and military casualties

•  Explaining the importance of the surrender of the Axis Powers ending World War II

[SS2010] USS6 (6) 7 :

7 ) Identify changes on the American home front during World War II.

Example: rationing

•  Recognizing the retooling of factories from consumer to military production

•  Identifying new roles of women and African Americans in the workforce

•  Describing increased demand on the Birmingham steel industry and Port of Mobile facilities (Alabama)

•  Describing the experience of African Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, including the Tuskegee Airmen and occupants of internment camps (Alabama)

[SS2010] WH9 (9) 14 :

14 ) Describe causes and consequences of World War II.

Examples: causes—unanswered aggression, Axis goal of world conquest

consequences—changes in political boundaries; Allied goals; lasting issues such as the Holocaust, Atomic Age, and Nuremberg Trials

•  Explaining the rise of militarist and totalitarian states in Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan

•  Identifying turning points of World War II in the European and Pacific Theaters

•  Depicting geographic locations of world events between 1939 and 1945

•  Identifying on a map changes in national borders as a result of World War II

This podcast is a collection of personal stories told from soldiers and family members of Japanese Americans (Nisei) who volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. The podcast describes the experiences of some Japanese Americans and the consequences of World War II.