The United States Home Front during World War II Final Project

I have always loved history, and the process of becoming a teacher has allowed me to explore all areas of history within the world & our nation. I particularly enjoy the World War II era. For my final project, I have decided to focus on the United States Home Front and the effects the war has had on our women and minorities - especially the Japanese.
I made three lessons, each one focusing on a particular event or group of people within our country. The first lesson has to do with rationing. This was a life change for the citizens of the United States, and I think it is important for students to understand the impact it has. Rationing could happen in our future, since history has a tendency of repeating itself.
The activity I have my students do is a Rationing Game. It allows them to experience rationing first hand. I've always liked hands-on activities as opposed to lecturing and note-taking. I think the students will really enjoy this activity as well. I have included the lesson plan and activity sheet in the next entry.
The second lesson I created is teaching the students about the roles of women in the United States during the war. Women's jobs were a huge change during the 1940s, and being able to explain and show the students how women were able to survive on their own while husbands and boyfriends were at war is really important. I have the students do an activity where they create their own recruiting poster for women. It is supposed to aim towards a job opening, such as the air force & factories. I also have attached the lesson plan to this blog.
Finally, the last lesson plan I developed is about the Japanese Internment Camp, Manzanar, located in California at the time. This is a really important event in history that should not go unmentioned. Students should be informed of such cruelty, but also be aware of the times and what situation the United States was in. For this lesson, I have my students read "Farewell to Manzanar". I do not focus too much on the story itself, but I do have them learn the vocabulary from it and learn about the causes and effects of the Internment camps. Any questions they have about the story we will address in class, and the story will inform them first hand about the activity that went on in Manzanar. The lesson plan and activity sheet is attached to this blog along with the others.
Overall, I think I have developed a strong unit on the United States Home Front during World War II. For being the first unit I have written in my life, I think I did pretty well. I know there are things I will have to work on, but I won't be able to know until I try. Enjoy my unit! :-)