Transitions in World War II

created by Julie, Kory, RyAnn, Jeremy, Casey, and Amy

The theme that our group has chosen is transitions.  We feel that transitions are an integral part of the middle school experience.  Middle school students are going through transitions every day, both mentally, physically, and socially.  During this time many students are going through puberty which causes many of these transitions to occur.  We feel that our unit helps make connections to the transitions that arise in every aspect of life.

This unit has been developed for middle school, specifically for grade eight.   Many topics could develop from this theme, however we chose World War II.  This is a topic that is covered in most 8th grade curriculums due to Illinois state standards and guidelines.  Goals to be addressed in our thematic unit include: solving problems, communicating, and making connections.

Throughout the thematic unit the students will be solving problems to some degree.  They will recognize and solve various problems given to them.  They will be asked to read, listen and do activities that show transitions during World War II.  They will be asked to develop their own questions about this topic and comprehend questions that are asked to them.

Students will be expected to communicate by expressing and interpreting information and ideas.  Throughout the unit on World War II, students will be communicating both verbally and nonverbally.   By doing this the students will extend their understandings of the transitions that occurred during World War II.  According to the Illinois State Learning Standards, “A strong command of reading, writing, speaking and listening is vital for communicating in the home, school, workplace, and beyond.”

Students will make connections through recognizing and applying important information and ideas throughout the unit.  Students will share and learn ideas about World War II that will allow them to make connections to their own personal experiences.  During this transitional period in the students’ lives, they are becoming the people they are going to be for the rest of their life.  Learning aspects of World War II will help students to realize mistakes of the past and apply them to their decisions of the future.

Transitions not only occur in our students’ lives, but also throughout history.   Using World War II as our topic, we can better connect our theme, transitions, to their lives.  Making these real life connections is what makes this thematic unit part of an integrated curriculum.
 

Subject Area Rationales:

	Health
	Geography
	Mathematics
	History
	Language Arts
	Science

Lessons