US History Part 2--Reading and Writing Workshop
World War II
Essential Questions:
Session 1: Introduction to World War II
Focus: Democratic Ideals and U.S. Entry into the War
Group Task
Each group analyzes how President Franklin D. Roosevelt framed the war as a moral struggle.
Reading 1: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Four Freedoms Speech (1941)
Excerpt (public domain):
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments…”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=70&page=transcript
Reading 2: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor Address (“Day of Infamy”) (1941)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=73&page=transcript
Group Writing Task
Write a paragraph explaining how Roosevelt used emotion, values, and national identity to persuade Americans to support the war.
Session 2: Causes of World War II and the Rise of Fascism
Group Task
Groups identify political and economic factors that led to global conflict.
Reading: Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (1925, translated excerpt)
Excerpt (public domain English translation):
“The foreign policy of the völkisch state must safeguard the existence on this planet of the race by forming a healthy, viable natural relation between the nation’s population and growth on the one hand and the quantity and quality of its soil on the other.”
URL:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2527
Reading: Benito Mussolini, Doctrine of Fascism (1932)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society… Fascism affirms the irremediable, fruitful, and beneficent inequality of men.”
URL:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/mussolini-fascism.asp
Group Writing Task
Explain how fascist ideology conflicted with democratic values and contributed to global instability.
Session 3: The U.S. Homefront
Group Task
Analyze how ordinary Americans contributed to the war effort.
Reading: Office of War Information, War Production Posters (1942–1945)
Excerpt (poster text):
“Do the job he left behind.”
“When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler.”
URL:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-ii-posters/
Reading: Letter from a Defense Factory Worker (1943)
Excerpt (public domain collection):
“I never imagined myself running a machine, but now I do it for him and for all of them overseas. We are tired, but proud.”
URL:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/voices-of-the-american-home-front/
Group TaskCreate a short analysis explaining how propaganda shaped behavior and attitudes on the homefront.
Session 4: Japanese American Internment and Korematsu v. United States
Group Task
Evaluate constitutional rights during wartime.
Reading 1: Executive Order 9066 (1942)
Excerpt (public domain):
“The successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage… the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to prescribe military areas…”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066
Reading 2: Korematsu v. United States Majority Opinion (1944)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Compulsory exclusion of large groups of citizens from their homes… is not wholly beyond the limits of the war power.”
URL:
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/323us214
Group Writing Task
Write a persuasive paragraph arguing whether the decision was justified, using evidence from both documents.
Session 5: The Atomic Bomb Decision
Group Task
Debate military necessity versus moral consequences.
Reading 1: Potsdam Declaration (1945)
Excerpt (public domain):
“We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces…”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=75&page=transcript
Reading 2: Harry S. Truman, Statement on Hiroshima (1945)
Excerpt (public domain):
“We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor… If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air.”
URL:
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/79/statement-president
Group Writing Task
Compose a group claim supported by evidence either defending or opposing the use of the atomic bomb.
Session 6: WWII Propaganda Analysis
Group Task
Analyze visual messaging and persuasion techniques.
Reading: WWII Propaganda Posters Collection
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html
Group Task
Select one poster and explain its audience, message, and emotional appeal.
Culminating Group Project
Students create a collaborative multimedia presentation focused on one WWII theme:
Assessment
Formative
Standards Alignment
World War II
Essential Questions:
- What were the causes and consequences of World War II
- How did the war affect different groups in the U.S.
- Rise of fascism and causes of WWII
- U.S. entry after Pearl Harbor
- The American homefront
- Japanese American internment and Korematsu v. United States
- The atomic bomb decision and its consequences
- Students work in expert groups for each session.
- Groups rotate roles: Reader, Historian, Analyst, Recorder, Presenter.
- Each session includes:
- Complete primary-source excerpts
- Collaborative annotation and discussion
- Group writing tasks aligned to historical thinking skills
Session 1: Introduction to World War II
Focus: Democratic Ideals and U.S. Entry into the War
Group Task
Each group analyzes how President Franklin D. Roosevelt framed the war as a moral struggle.
Reading 1: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Four Freedoms Speech (1941)
Excerpt (public domain):
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments…”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=70&page=transcript
Reading 2: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor Address (“Day of Infamy”) (1941)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=73&page=transcript
Group Writing Task
Write a paragraph explaining how Roosevelt used emotion, values, and national identity to persuade Americans to support the war.
Session 2: Causes of World War II and the Rise of Fascism
Group Task
Groups identify political and economic factors that led to global conflict.
Reading: Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (1925, translated excerpt)
Excerpt (public domain English translation):
“The foreign policy of the völkisch state must safeguard the existence on this planet of the race by forming a healthy, viable natural relation between the nation’s population and growth on the one hand and the quantity and quality of its soil on the other.”
URL:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2527
Reading: Benito Mussolini, Doctrine of Fascism (1932)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society… Fascism affirms the irremediable, fruitful, and beneficent inequality of men.”
URL:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/mussolini-fascism.asp
Group Writing Task
Explain how fascist ideology conflicted with democratic values and contributed to global instability.
Session 3: The U.S. Homefront
Group Task
Analyze how ordinary Americans contributed to the war effort.
Reading: Office of War Information, War Production Posters (1942–1945)
Excerpt (poster text):
“Do the job he left behind.”
“When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler.”
URL:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-ii-posters/
Reading: Letter from a Defense Factory Worker (1943)
Excerpt (public domain collection):
“I never imagined myself running a machine, but now I do it for him and for all of them overseas. We are tired, but proud.”
URL:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/voices-of-the-american-home-front/
Group TaskCreate a short analysis explaining how propaganda shaped behavior and attitudes on the homefront.
Session 4: Japanese American Internment and Korematsu v. United States
Group Task
Evaluate constitutional rights during wartime.
Reading 1: Executive Order 9066 (1942)
Excerpt (public domain):
“The successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage… the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to prescribe military areas…”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066
Reading 2: Korematsu v. United States Majority Opinion (1944)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Compulsory exclusion of large groups of citizens from their homes… is not wholly beyond the limits of the war power.”
URL:
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/323us214
Group Writing Task
Write a persuasive paragraph arguing whether the decision was justified, using evidence from both documents.
Session 5: The Atomic Bomb Decision
Group Task
Debate military necessity versus moral consequences.
Reading 1: Potsdam Declaration (1945)
Excerpt (public domain):
“We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces…”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=75&page=transcript
Reading 2: Harry S. Truman, Statement on Hiroshima (1945)
Excerpt (public domain):
“We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor… If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air.”
URL:
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/79/statement-president
Group Writing Task
Compose a group claim supported by evidence either defending or opposing the use of the atomic bomb.
Session 6: WWII Propaganda Analysis
Group Task
Analyze visual messaging and persuasion techniques.
Reading: WWII Propaganda Posters Collection
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html
Group Task
Select one poster and explain its audience, message, and emotional appeal.
Culminating Group Project
Students create a collaborative multimedia presentation focused on one WWII theme:
- Civil liberties
- Propaganda
- Women and labor
- Moral decision-making in war
- At least three primary sources
- Written analysis
- Visual evidence
Assessment
Formative
- Group annotations
- Paragraph responses
- Discussion participation
- Atomic bomb argumentative writing
- Group multimedia presentation
Standards Alignment
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7