Unit Plan

9th Grade U.S. History

January March 2015
World War II
Established Goals: Students will analyze the factors that led the world into global war only
twenty years after the most destructive conflict of all time. They will understand the reasons that
war broke out, how it was waged, and the implications of the conflict on the postwar world.
They will examine the societies of multiple nations, focusing on Germany, Italy, the Soviet
Union, Japan, Great Britain, and the U.S. Particular focus will be applied to the wars role in
lifting the U.S. out of the Great Depression and transforming into a global superpower.
Applicable HSCEs:
USHG ERA 7 The Great Depression and World War II (1920-1945)
U7.2 World War II
U7.2.1 Causes of WWII
U7.2.2 U.S. and the Course of WWII
U7.2.3 Impact of WWII on American Life
U7.2.4 Responses to Genocide
U8.1.1 Origins and Beginnings of Cold War
Essential Questions:
1. Why do civilians allow totalitarian leaders to control all aspects of public life?
2. What kind of sacrifices does war require from both soldiers and civilians?
3. How does geography affect the way war is fought?
4. How do innovations change the way war is fought?
5. Why did the Germans, Italians, and Japanese seek to expand their empires?
6. Why did the U.S. elect to drop atomic bombs on Japan instead of staging a mainland
invasion?
Understandings:
Students will understand
1. World War I and World War II are not two separate conflicts, but a single war with a
twenty year armistice.
2. The rise of fascist dictators was made possible by the effects of the Treaty of Versailles,
the Great Depression, and the rise of Communism.
3. The policy of appeasement allowed Hitler to gain enormous power.
4. Despite a so-called isolationist stance, the U.S. made its allegiance very clear long before
they joined the war on the side of the Allies.
5. Through the assistance of several smaller countries in the Allied coalition, the Big
Three (United Kingdom, Soviet Union, U.S.) defeated the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy,
Japan) in World War II.
6. Despite contradictions, much of the world was aware of the Holocaust but did little to
prevent it.

Knowledge:
Students will know
Jan. 20
OBJECTIVE: Introduce the concept of Fascism & show why certain countries
adopted the ideology
WWII Project assigned
WWII vocabulary assigned
Rise of Fascism & the Axis Powers (Italy, Germany, Japan)
Jan. 21
OBJECTIVE: Same as 1/20, as well as showing how Hitler used the 1936 Games to
show off the might of Nazi Germany while hiding its racist, militaristic ideals
Start The World Wars A Rising Threat (33:00)
1936 Berlin Summer Olympics
Homework for 1/22: Read Sudetenland Crisis and Orders to the Gestapo
Jan. 22
OBJECTIVE: Show how Hitler was able to gain power with minimal resistance from
the Allies; present the concept of appeasement and its application to Hitlers rise
Sudetenland Crisis & the Munich Agreement
Kristallnacht
Continue The World Wars A Rising Threat (35:00)
Jan. 23
QUIZ: Causes of WWII
o Fascism, Hitlers Rise, Munich Agreement
OBJECTIVE: Elaborate on Japanese aggression; present a genocide of WWII that
was ignored by most of the world
Japanese Aggression & the Rape of Nanking
Homework for 1/26: Read World Affairs, 1941
Jan. 26
QUIZ: Vocabulary Column 1
OBJECTIVE: Highlight the military advances Germany made in Poland and Western
Europe
German/Russian non-aggression pact
Invasion of Poland
Extra Credit Option
o After school movie: The Kings Speech
Jan. 27
OBJECTIVE: Revisit the concept of American isolationism; review the Lend-Lease
Program and the message it sent
Finish The World Wars A Rising Threat (23:00)
Americas isolationist stance
2

Lend-Lease Program

Jan. 28
OBJECTIVE: Review the factors leading up to the outbreak of war in the Pacific;
detailed play-by-play of the Pearl Harbor attack
U. S. Japanese diplomatic conflicts
Pearl Harbor Attack
America Goes to War
Jan. 29
QUIZ: Germanys invasion of Poland & France, Isolationism, Lend-Lease
Program
OBJECTIVE: Examine U.S. mobilization & the impact of the Doolittle Raid
Conclude America Goes to War
Doolittle Raid
Jan. 30
NO SCHOOL
Feb. 2
SNOW DAY
Feb. 3
SNOW DAY
Feb. 4 (2/5 for 5th Hour, 2/6 for 1st Hour)
Scheduling for next years classes
Feb. 5 (2/6 for 5th Hour)
OBJECTIVE: Recognize how the government mobilized the American workforce,
financed the war, and stabilized the wartime economy; understand how African
Americans felt toward racial discrimination during the war
The American Home Front
Feb. 6
OBJECTIVE: Understand the role which Detroit played in producing the Arsenal of
Democracy
Detroit (Shifting Production)
Conclude Home Front
Feb. 9
QUIZ: Pearl Harbor, Doolittle Raid, Home Front
OBJECTIVE: Discuss the role of Stalingrad in the European Theater and how it was
a turning point for the War in Europe
Battle of Stalingrad
Homework for 2/10: Read Battle of Midway and answer corresponding questions
3

Feb. 10
Research Day for Cereal Project (due: Fri 2/27)
Feb. 11
OBJECTIVE: Discuss the role of Midway in the Pacific Theater and how it was a
turning point for the War in the Pacific
Battle of Midway
Feb. 12
OBJECTIVE: Discuss the impact of battles in the Pacific, North Africa, and Italy
The Pacific Theater
North African Theater
Italian Theater
Feb. 13
QUIZ: Vocabulary Column 2
OBJECTIVE: Follow the events leading up to D-Day; Allied breakout from
Normandy
D-Day Invasion
o Saving Private Ryan
Feb. 16-20
No School (Mid-Winter Break)
Feb. 23
COLD DAY
Feb. 24
OBJECTIVE: Same as 2/13; review
Conclude D-Day Invasion
Feb. 25
OBJECTIVE: Share the experiences of African American women on the Home Front
during the war
African American Poetry during WWII
Homework for 2/26: Answer worksheet questions & compose original poem about a
current social issue that bothers you (5 lines minimum)
Extra Credit Option
o After school movie: Red Tails
Feb. 26
QUIZ: Battles of WWII
o Stalingrad, Midway, North Africa, Sicily, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge
OBJECTIVE: Highlight the roles that African-American servicemen played in the
war
4

Pattons Panthers
Tuskegee Airmen

Feb. 27
OBJECTIVE: Present Battle of the Bulge as Hitlers last-ditch attempt at victory and
as the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army
Battle of the Bulge
Mar. 2
Cereal Box Project DUE
OBJECTIVE: Analyze the causes & effects of the Holocaust; examine citizens
obligations to speak out against crimes committed by their government
Holocaust
o Dr. Mengele
Concentration & Death Camps
Mar. 3-4
No school for Freshmen, Sophomores, Seniors
Mar. 5
OBJECTIVE: Summarize the factors that led to Germanys defeat; assess the
implications of Hitlers decision to take his own life
Hitlers Suicide
Germanys Surrender
Mar. 6
END OF 4th CARD MARKING
OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate why the U.S. military adopted the Island Hopping
technique in the Pacific
Island Hopping
Mar. 9
OBJECTIVE: Summarize the factors that led to Japans defeat; analyze the decision
to drop the atomic bombs; trace the effects of that decision to modern-day
Japans Surrender
The Atomic Bombs Little Boy and Fat Man
Mar. 10
QUIZ: Vocabulary Column 3 (this grade will go on the 5th CM)
OBJECTIVE: Same as 3/9
Homework for 3/11: Complete Atomic Bomb packet (1-2 questions on first page + 510 quotes from Documents A-E to support your stance)
Mar. 11
MAP Testing

Mar. 12
OBJECTIVE: Examine the Nuremberg Trials and the closure that it did or did not
provide to the war
Nuremberg Trials
Conclude WWII
Skills:
Students will be able to...
Compare and contrast the totalitarian regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, etc.
Describe the political ideologies of fascism and communism
Analyze primary sources in various forms, including photographs, written text, video,
and propaganda posters
Collaborate within groups in an activity simulating the Island Hopping strategy
Predict the tactical decisions made in the Pacific Theater and the outcomes of these
movements
Analyze statistical information showing how the U.S. economy performed during the war
Identify, analyze, and evaluate important information shown in a map
Demonstrate greater understanding of a specific historical figure through the creation of a
cereal box project
Decipher an encoded message to simulate the experiences of American codebreakers
during the war