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! :-)

Lakeland Beating

There was an awful story in the newspaper a few weeks ago involving the beating of a high school cheerleader by some of her peers. The news article states that she was coaxed by friends to a girl's house, where she was beaten unconscious, and then beaten again once she woke up. This all supposedly happened because the victim was making negative comments about the girls on her MySpace page. I guess the attackers wanted to prove to the world how 'tough' they are by posting this video of the beating on YouTube.

Knowing that students have the capabilities of commiting such acts, as well as posting them on the internet for all to see, is frightening. Teaching students about cyberbullying is important, especially when something like this incident occurred not too long ago.
Along with this idea, we should be teaching students about the appropriate ways to talk & express their thoughts online. Social networking is a new concept for many teachers today, so they should take time investigating these sites, so they are able to see what their students are capable of doing with the internet at their fingertips. YouTube can be a great resource for teachers, but as you can see, anyone has access to the site, and can post any video they choose.
All in all, I believe it is imperative for teachers to guide their students when it comes to searching the internet. Also, teachers may want to let them know what is appropriate and inappropriate when it comes to sharing information online for the world to see.

Cheerleader, Other Girls Beat Up Teen Girl , Tape the Crime
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=60657

*The video of the beating can be found on the website above. I didn't want to post something so graphic in my blog.

Comic Books - A Negative Influence on Youngsters

To be honest, I had not heard of this being an issue in our society. This is probably the case because my parents were born in the 1950s, and both sets of my grandparents have passed on. I guess this topic of conversation never made it to the dinner table!
I always thought of comic books dealing with superheros, ladies needing rescuing, and the eliminating of some ferocious beast or enemy. I also remembered the beloved Archie & Friends collection as well.



To hear about these comic books depicting images of abuse, cruelty and x-rated material is mind blowing. Personally, I do not find this topic appealing. From my own knowledge, however, I do recall boys being more prone to reading comic books as opposed to their female counterpart.
A main point I continually read, had to do with comic book reading and juvenile delinquency. Boys who read the violent stories often ended up as a delinquent. With this correlation at hand, many people came to the conclusion that these comic books promoted vicious behavior. What reminded me of this issue, were the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton. The students who went on a rampage shooting teachers and fellow classmates at random, were stimulated by a video game. Video games today seem to be the new-age version of the comic book. Usually, there is some sort of story behind the video game, or at least a goal one wishes to achieve. There are many violent video games on the market, and boys tend to be the ones to navigate towards them.

Anything violent - comics, video games, movies, etc. - will always be available to children. I'm not sure if eliminating or banning them is the answer. I also feel as though lecturing them about the possible negative outcomes can be useless as well. Children are going to find out for themselves if they like something or not. Parents are not always able to hide their kids from harmful things. I think explaining and showing students the potential harmful effects of any type of material is a way to get their attention. But the question still remains, will this draw them more towards the material, or less? My only solution is to continue to think of ways we can teach our students to make intelligent and ethical decisions about certain issues in our society.

Computer Games

As an elementary school student, one thing I remember looking forward to the most, was playing games on the computer. Some of the popular games I played as a kid were:

-Kidpix
-Oregon Trail
-Devil's Lake
-Number Munchers

I know there were more, but those are the only ones I remember by name. I would love to use Kidpix to make different pictures. This tool was so fancy back then. I'm sure it has advanced greatly since I was in elementary school.



Oregon Trail was the most popular game in school. I loved playing this. It was very entertaining. I remember having to make big decisions while playing the game, like how much food to buy, how to help a sick family member, or how to get across a river. I had no idea as a child, that the Oregon Trail was such a huge event in history. Having games like this, can increase the intelligence of students, even if they do not realize it.
Looking back on this game, I thought it was simple. Nothing was really that intense about. Only a few clicks on the keyboard, and that was it. It is interesting to see how amused children can be by the simplest games. Sometimes I wonder if this is the case anymore. Many games today are very complex, since there are gaming systems now like XBox 360 and the Wii. The games I see my brother playing, like sports games for example, seem intense. I feel as though he would be bored with the game Oregon Trail at the young age of 10. To be honest, I'm not sure if he has even heard of the game, Oregon Trail.
Overall, I believe games can be implemented in the classroom, when they are educational. I didn't know the historical background behind Oregon Trail as a kid, but now I realize why my teachers would allow us to play this game. These games are greatly increase a student's knowledge and interest in a certain academic area.

Websites for Teachers, Parents, & Students

In my technology for teaching & learning class, we have been asked to search the internet for websites that could possibly be implemented within our classroom. Many websites had extensive lists of activities, lessons, classroom decor, etc. Others, like You Tube, which many would not consider to be a learning tool, does have informative video clips that teachers are able to use within their classroom.


The first one is http://www.crayola.com/. I loved how there were so many different craft ideas for children. I can see myself, as a future teacher, implementing these ideas in my classroom. I would be able to decorate my bullent boards in my classroom, as well as my school's hallways with my students' artwork. I particulary liked the holiday crafts, because that is my favorite time of year. Having a certificate maker online is useful. I would be able to easily print these off when a student were to perform well in reading, for example. The lesson plans offered is another area of this website that I would be able to utilize. I love Social Studies, and there are numerous possibilities on this website.

The second website is http://www.youtube.com/. I would like to be able to show my students short video clips to introduce lessons. Being a visual learner myself, being able to see things helps students grow as a learner. I think it is important to use video clips to aid in your lesson planning. For example, if I were teaching a unit on WWII, I would use a video clip such as this one, with Donald Duck being a Nazi.



After watching this movie, we could have a discussion about Nazis, and what was going on in Germany at the time of WWII.

I see many possible resources on the internet. I know once I become a teacher, I will be referring to many of these to assist in my teaching.

Coaching vs. Teaching

i especially enjoyed the article discussing the differences between coaching and teaching. i found this to be extremely interesting because i had never heard about this idea before.
i find it a little sad that coaches spend more time planning their practices than the lessons going on in the classroom. i can recall from experience, that positive feedback is associated with sports & coaching, whereas negative feedback is connected to teaching. When a person is both a coach and a teacher, often times he/she will chose to spend more time on coaching than teaching. This is frustrating for me. If you chose to be a coach & a teacher, you should be able to juggle both, without one suffering due to time or effort.
the main areas covered in this study were planning, instruction, environment, support, and recognition. i found the instruction category to be interesting, & yet true. coaches spend a great deal of time preparing for their lengthly 2 hour or more practices. they will often have discussions about strategy and skills that could be used. in gym class, however, the majority of the 50 minute period is spent playing games, without any true meaning behind it.
the ratio of students to teachers is 30:1. this is tough when conducting lessons in the classroom, but you are prepared for this when completing your degree in college as well as the licensing program. it can be frustrating at times. i can see why coaches may spend more time on their practices since the ratio for coaches to athletes is 4:1. i know many teachers would perform better if they classroom sizes were smaller.
the support one attains for coaching is also much higher than that of teaching. usually, sporting events draw large crowds, & the pressure to perform well is high. in school, there isn't an audience to entertain. this is a huge difference that i did not think about until after reading this article.
i believe, & i'm sure others as well, that physical education is an essential part of school. physical education is something all students should be aware of, since it relates to their health, and well being. teachers should still take the time to create effective lessons in the classroom, even if they feel their practices are more important. teaching is still their job too. i feel this is an important topic to discuss in the classroom as well. i'm not sure i would make an assignment from this particular article, but i would love to have an open discussion with my students. i would like to present them with photos, diagrams, and facts of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. a q&a session, i think, would be beneficial here.

98 Degrees: 90s Boy Band

I grew up listening to boy bands. They were one of the most popular types of bands in the 90s. I particularly loved the Backstreet Boys, but for this assignment, I wish to conduct some research on another popular boy band known as 98 Degrees.
The band, 98 Degrees, is made up of four singers, 2 of which are brothers, all from Ohio. They are Nick & Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre & Jeff Timmons. After deciding to create a band, they moved to Los Angeles, and waited for their chance at fame. At a Boyz II Men concert, the group finally received that chance. The R&B group saw talent in these 4 boys, & they were invited to tour with Montel Jordan. In 1997, 98 Degrees signed with Motown Records (98 Degrees Official Website). The band had created five albums together, before splitting apart to pursue their solo careers. In 2002, they had reached 10 million records sold for their album, The Collection (Wikipedia).
As you can see, the boy band was rather successful from 1997-2002. They had numerous songs that landed in top positions on many musical charts. Some include, Invisible Man, Because of You, I Do (Cherish You) and Thank God I Found You with Mariah Carey and Joe (Billboard Charts). All of these songs are expressions of love – either those they have lost, or those they currently have. I know when listening to Backstreet Boys back in the day, I loved hearing how sensitive boys could be when it came to loving or caring for a girl. I think this is why so many girls adored these boy bands. Also, with each song being played on the radio, a girl somewhere was able to relate to the feelings 98 Degrees was confessing in their songs.
After reading “Bread and Butter Songs: Unoriginality in Pop” by Ann Powers, I remembered this being an issue while growing up. Many of my friends refused to listen to pop music, specifically boy bands because they were unoriginal and did not write their own lyrics. 98 Degrees actually did this same thing. They took the country song by Mark Wills, titled I Do (Cherish You). As Ann Powers states in her article, in the pop music industry, it is ok to take others’ song lyrics, as long as they present it in a different manner (Powers 238). This is what 98 Degrees did. They turned a slow, twangy country song, into a pop song with some R&B smoothness in the beat. It makes the song more appealing to many people, especially the teen girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4wirSuglyc
^I Do (Cherish You) By 98 Degrees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEKMZybABk
^I Do (Cherish You) By Mark Wills

I have always loved boy bands, some a lot more than others. I knew many people thought the unoriginality label made them the worst type of music out there, but I still enjoyed listening to them. How they presented themselves in concerts and/or on their music videos goes along with the lyrics in the song – and 98 Degrees did a nice job of putting these two things together. They performed and carried themselves in a way that made them appealing to their young teen audience. I know this, because at one point, I was one of those teen girls who loved these boy bands. I too was experiencing all these feelings. Each one of their songs expressed how I felt at many turning points in my young life.

Lesson:
I had an interesting assignment in one of my high school English classes that I really enjoyed, and I hope to use it in my classroom some day. I had to choose a song where the singer was expressing their hardships within an environment they could not escape from. The song I chose was, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. We had to use some main ideas given to us, and show where in the song these ideas were being expressed and why. I really enjoyed this assignment because my song really nailed the overall idea. This assignment pertained to me, and what type of music I liked, which made it more worthwhile for me to do.
I would do a similar assignment here with my students. I would have them choose a song and write about how this song affected their life in some way. They should be able to reference a turning point in their life, where they felt happy, sad, etc. and turned to music as medicine. It would be a short 2-3 page paper, in a journal type format. This assignment could be used as an introduction for me at the beginning of the year to help me learn about each of my students.