A Separate Peace

Grade Levels

Excerpt

WWII Political/Military History

Your task is to prepare a Powerpoint presentation that will teach yourclassmates about the leaders behind the scenes and the events on the battlefronts during the war. Discuss how the war impacts the students in the novel as well. Here’s some questions to start you off:

• List 3 causes of World War II.
• What were the political conditions in Europe in 1940? What countries were at war?
• Why did the United States become involved in the war? What was date that the U. S. entered the war?
• Who were the three main AXIS powers and their leaders? Who were the three main ALLIES and their leaders?
• Explain what role the following people played in WWII: a. Joseph Stalin b. Benito Mussolini c. Adolf Hitler d. Franklin D. Roosevelt e. Winston Churchill f. Hideki Tojo g. Dwight D. Eisenhower h. George Patton i. Harry S. Truman j. Douglas MacArthur

WWII’s Effects on the Homefront

Your task is to prepare a Powerpoint presentation that teaches your classmates about the domestic impacts of WWII in America. Specifically, look for answers to the following questions:

• Explain how the role of women changed during the war.
• Give an example of how women made a difference on the home front.
• Find a personal account of a family's experiences on the home front during World War II and describe it in your own words.
• Explain how wartime posters helped mobilize the home front for the war.
• Discuss what the posters indicated about living conditions in America during this time.

WWII Propaganda

Your task is to prepare a Powerpoint presentation that teaches your classmates about the nature and effects of American propaganda during WWII. View the web sites on wartime poster art to investigate how the U.S. government used this medium to rally the support for war efforts. After viewing the posters, select one poster and answer the following questions:

• Describe the poster.
• Does the poster contain a hidden/implied message? What is the desired effect?
• What emotions do the images convey? What words are chosen for impact?
• In what ways does the poster glamorize or villainize war or the people involved?
• What effect would this poster have had on people of different ages and backgrounds in the 40s? For example, how would a teenager react to it? A veteran of World War I? A mother? A doctor? A minister?

1940’s American Culture/Society

Your task is prepare a Powerpoint presentation that teaches your classmates about American popular culture during WWII. You can include such things as technology, appliances, and automobiles; fads and cultural phenomena; school life; the dating scene; books; sports; and anything else that would give the flavor of living in this period of history.

• Find a song from the 40s to play or sing for the class. Explain its significance.
• Find a poster for a movie from the early 40s. Discuss how the movie reflected this time period.

About

I use this with small collaborative learning groups in the 10th grade. It grounds the reading in historical context that many students would not otherwise know.