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Activity Two: Women at war, women
at work, and women at home
1. To begin this activity, the teacher should introduce
the students to the lesson's culminating project (see
the attached direction sheet for details). However,
the teacher should be sure that the students
do not select their pictures yet.
2. Dedicate approximately ten minutes to
each of the three phases of women's contributions
(i.e. "women at war," "women at work,"
and "women at home"). For each phase, the
teacher should use a variety of instructional techniques
to allow the students to enhance their understanding.
Such techniques could include lecturing, small group
work, and the investigation of primary sources and multimedia
(e.g. video clips, World War II recruitment and propaganda
posters, photographs). Throughout this activity, students
should be mindful of the tasks they will have to complete
for their project. Consequently, note-taking and the
asking of questions should be encouraged.
While there are numerous excellent websites to assist
in this effort, the website that accompanies Ken Burns'
The War (PBS) is outstanding. Links to this
site and others can be found below:
Resources for "Women at War:"
Resources for "Women at Work":
Resources for "Women at Home":
Activity Three : The Faces of War
1. After the students have experienced an in-depth
look at the three different phases of women's efforts
during the war, they will need to select their "characters"
(i.e. one of the pictures of a woman during World War
II provided by the teacher) for their projects. Regardless
of how the teacher decides to distribute the pictures,
the process tends to be a bit more exciting when the
students select their pictures blindly (presenting the
pictures face down is a simple way to achieve this).
2. While sitting in their seats, each student should
"dissect" his/her picture. To assist with
this, the teacher might find it helpful to present a
number of guiding questions to the students:
- What would you guess is the age of the woman in
your picture?
- How would you describe her emotions at the moment
the picture was taken? Happy? Upset? Serious?
- Given the scene in the picture, to which phase(s)
of the women's war effort would you guess she contributed?
That is, was she a woman at war, at work, or at home?
- What might be some of the challenges she faced
during the war? What might be some of her proudest
moments and/or achievements?
Students might also want to start to brainstorm and
bring their character to life by creating a name, a
hometown, and a family background for their characters.
3. If time and resources allow, students should then
be instructed to use the school library and/or computer
lab to conduct in-depth research focusing in on his/her
character. In essence, this will allow the student to
begin his/her project under the supervision, and with
the assistance of, the teacher.
Extension Activities: Project & Oral History
1. American Women During World War II: The Faces
of War (see attached
direction sheet)
Note : The teacher will need to acquire a
collection of pictures of American women playing various
roles during World War II to distribute to the students.
Each student will receive one picture and it is helpful
if each student has a different picture. The following
websites from the National Archives have excellent collections
of World War II photographs:
http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/ww2/
http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/ww2/experiences.html
2. Students can conduct an oral history assignment
whereby they interview a woman who lived during World
War II. Areas of focus might include how World War II
affected the interviewee's life during the war years
and if/how her life changed in the years and decades
that followed. |
