Hands-On WWII Lesson #2

**GIZMO8Z** · 04-25-2012, 01:47 PM

Hello, all!

The time of the year is finally here!

My class still has a little bit to go until we reach our World War II unit, but another teacher will be starting his WWII unit shortly (he has to first finish his unit on totalitarianism). The other day at track practice (we coach together), he asked me to team teach with him either this coming Monday or Tuesday and share some pieces of my collection with his students.

Last year, I brought in mostly helmets and a few medals. I spoke about the tough times and sacrifice that "The Greatest Generation" faced. I also spoke about total war in general and how very few consumer goods and pleasure items were being produced while the population was mobalized to either fight or contribute to the war effort...

SO! I am looking for more suggestions for the hands-on lesson I will conducting in the next few days.

I really want to touch on the fact that most of these kids would probably be in the service if we were back in the 1940s.

Also, I have a few war ration books I will bring in... I really want to touch on how difficult every day life could be back then... The kids I work with on a daily basis are VERY materialistic... I think it will blow their minds that if we had the same rationing system in place today. They couldn't go to the mall on a daily basis to buy their Hollister, Banana Republic, Ipods, XBoxes, snapback hats, etc...

**milmuseum** · 04-25-2012, 03:28 PM

Joe,
You might add a bit on the Victory Gardens and the scrap metal collections going on too. I also make it a point when I am showing my guns at schools to tell them about my IBM and Singer M-1's, my Remington Rand .45 and my Rock-ola M-1 Grande. I think everyone switched to wartime production during the war.

Burt

**GIZMO8Z** · 04-25-2012, 03:54 PM

by milmuseum

Joe,
You might add a bit on the Victory Gardens and the scrap metal collections going on too. I also make it a point when I am showing my guns at schools to tell them about my IBM and Singer M-1's, my Remington Rand .45 and my Rock-ola M-1 Grande. I think everyone switched to wartime production during the war.

Burt

Hi Burt,

Excellent suggestions. What you mentioned are some of my major talking points for total war. Also, mentioning IBM is huge because the factory where they built M1 Carbines and BARs is right down Rt. 9 from my high school (it's a massive tech complex now...). In fact, a lot of the students in our school district have parents or relatives currently employed by IBM.

I also mention local companies like the Lumb Woodworking Co. made rifle stocks, the Standard Gague Co. made all sorts of read-outs for airplanes and submarines, and the Sedgwick Elevator Co. made the lifts for airplanes on aircraft carriers. Although these companies are no longer in business, Lumb and Sedgwick are still common family names in the area.

I should also mention that the F.D.R. Presidential Library and Mansion are only about 5miles away from my highschool... One of the major reasons I started doing these hands-on lessons is because the school district does not have the budget to send students to these historical sites!

**Wolfe1165** · 04-25-2012, 03:56 PM

It sounds like you already cover it, but the civil defense operations might interest them.

**António Fragoeiro** · 04-25-2012, 03:57 PM

Dont take any weapons to school Joe

Kids would love it, i know.
But better not .

**GIZMO8Z** · 04-25-2012, 04:06 PM

by NunoGTI

Dont take any weapons to school Joe

Kids would love it, i know.
But better not .

Ohhhhh, I know!

I asked the principal if I could bring in the foam rubber M1 Garand that I had... even that was a no-no!

Last year a mauser bayonet and dummy grenade snuck their way into the box of goodies I brought in... I wont make that mistake twice!

**milmuseum** · 04-25-2012, 04:40 PM

That's too bad your principal won't allow you to take any of the weapons to your school

. I have taken my entire collection to about 20 different schools. Guns, knives, swords, grenades and artillery. Oregon state law allows it as long as the school says OK. I used to give the local law enforcement officials a call too in case someone called them. They enjoyed my collection too.

Burt

**ObKrieger** · 04-25-2012, 05:20 PM

Well, when I show my friends my collection they really don't understand what most of it us until I explain it to them and show it in its original context. For example, if you were going to show your Japanese helmet, it might be a good idea to get ahold of a photo of a Japanese soldier wearing a similar helmet.

Back when I wanted to be a history teacher, I used to imagine how great it would be to teach WWII. An interesting way to go about it would be to cover each of the major countries individually and in chronological order. It might be easier to follow for the students, and you could show that part of your collection every time you get to each country.

If all else fails, and if you have the time, you could perhaps show movies or parts of movies at each time as you move through WWII chronologically. For example, you could show early scenes from 'The Pacific', then move on to 'Stalingrad' (1993) when you get to it, and then later show parts of 'Band of Brothers', and then finish off with a few important scenes from 'Downfall'.

I would love to be in your position. I would try out soooo many things...