CONTENT
PARTNERS
Honoring Our Military
Memorial Day is a time to honor those who died while serving our nation and celebrate their brave achievements. Share the stories of war, sacrifice and honor of these heroic women and men with your students with this special collection of lessons, interactives and resources.
Thinkfinity Recommended Resources for Memorial Day:
- The Soldiers Experience: Vietnam versus World War I - after watching first-person accounts and analyzing artifacts, students take on the roles of soldiers and news teams to present newscasts comparing the experience of fighting in two wars. (9-12)
- Images at War - encourages students to examine attitudes toward war as revealed in Civil War photographs and WWII posters. (9-12)
- The Massachusetts 54th Regiment: Honoring the Heroes - teaches students about the heroism of African Americans during the Civil War. (6-8)
LESSON PLANS
African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 9-12
In this lesson, students use evidence from a variety of sources, including firsthand accounts, to evaluate the performance of the 92nd Infantry Division in World War I.
Battle of the Bulge: Americans Respond to the German Surprise
History Explorer | Lesson Plan | 9-12
In this lesson, use a video clip and primary sources to develop an understanding of the challenges facing the ground troops during World War II’s Battle of the Bulge, then take on the role of one of those soldiers and write a letter home.
Comparing Confederate and Union Soldiers in the Civil War
History Explorer | Lesson Plan | 6-9
Use primary sources as the inspiration for comparing and contrasting the soldiers on either side of the Civil War in this lesson. After examining uniforms and viewing two short video clips, students will develop questions and perform short research projects to uncover the motivations behind the Civil War and the conditions for the soldiers who fought.
Women Aviators in World War II: "Fly Girls"
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 6-8
In this lesson, students explore the contributions of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. Students will gain an understanding of the importance of the WASP program, which enhanced careers for women in aviation.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and Escalation of the Vietnam War
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 9-12
(A We The People Resource)
This lesson guides students through an analysis of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and identifies the factors that led to Congressional action authorizing military force. By studying this incident and the debate it has generated, students discuss what we can learn about twentieth century American democracy and military affairs.
Homer's Civil War Veteran: Battlefield to Wheat Field
(A Picturing America Resource)
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 6-8
In this lesson, students consider Civil War veterans' possible memories and emotions as they returned to civilian jobs. Students study symbolism in Winslow Homer's painting, The Veteran in a New Field, and compare it to a photograph of the aftermath of a Civil War battlefield. After reading James Wren's diary entry, they write about and role-play a returning veteran.
Images at War
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 9-12
This lesson encourages students to examine American attitudes toward war as revealed in Civil War photographs and World War II posters.
Lesson 4: Leadership in Victory: One Last Measure of the Man
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 9-12
In this lesson, students examine the leadership of George Washington to determine what made him a good military leader.
The Massachusetts 54th Regiment: Honoring the Heroes
(A Picturing America Resource)
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 6-8
This lesson focuses on Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and teaches us about the heroic sacrifices made by African Americans during the Civil War. This lesson includes links to two videos and an essay from an esteemed American architect on how to read an engraved eulogy, as well as related lessons.
Poetry of The Great War: 'From Darkness to Light'?
EDSITEment | Lesson Plan | 9-12
In this lesson, students explore the historical context of World War I poetry and compare/contrast poems via active class discussion.
POWs
History Explorer | Lesson Plan | 9-12
In this lesson, students analyze news sources from the Vietnam War era to describe how POWs and their families were represented in the media. They then write letters from the perspective of the relative of a POW that describes the concerns of POW families.
Slavery, the Crisis of the Union, the Civil War and Reconstruction
EDSITEment | Lesson Collection | K-12
A comprehensive collection of lesson plans and resources about the Civil War.
The Soldiers Experience: Vietnam versus World War I
History Explorer | Lesson Plan | 9-12
In this lesson, students analyze museum artifacts and first-person accounts of World War I and the Vietnam War and then take on the role of soldiers and a news team to present a newscast about the experience of fighting in these two wars.
