Inquiry Project


Part 1:  Driving question:  

  • What are your three initial driving questions?


    • In your opinion, during WWII, which nation’s leader (Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo) was able to unify, mobilize, and rally their entire nation to arms the best and why? (Final Question I will use for rest of project)

    • In your opinion, what was/were the turning point(s) of WWII? Defend your answer with evidence.

    • How was the United States able to make such a remarkable comeback after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that killed thousands?


  • What is your one, final driving question?


After entering the war, how was the United States able to make such a large impact, even though they had join the side that was without a doubt the losing side? Defend your answer.


  • Background information of this driving question:


What grade level are you working?

We are planning on working with students between grades 9-12 who are enrolled in U.S. History.


Which standard are you targeting?

         We are targeting multiple standards in the U.S. History section.                               

  • USH.5.2  Compare and contrast President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s worldview with that of Germany’s Adolf Hitler, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin, and Japan’s Hideki Tojo. (Government; Individuals, Society and Culture)                                        

  • USH.5.3  Identify and explain key events from Versailles to Pearl Harbor that resulted in the United States entry into World War II. (Government, Geography)

  •                        

  • USH.5.4  Identify key leaders and events from World War II and explain the significance of each. (Government)

  •                        

Provide any background information the reader should know about this project, such as time span, schedule and so on. Provide a brief introduction to your question as well  and an overview to what you envision your lesson looking like.


We will be looking at several articles about military leaders, wartime manufacturing and production, and some of the more iconic battles during the war. Then, students will have to conduct some of their own research to make decisions on why they think some of these events occurred the way that they did and gain a better understanding of what all goes into a war other than the soldiers and guns, such as military strategy, leadership style, soldier moral, and several other important aspects of wartime back in America and how the entire U.S had to mobilize for war.


  • Why do you think this is a good driving question?

    • Does the DQ warrant in-depth study?

Yes, as students learn about the facts of the war, they will have to apply what they learn and analyze how each military/nation operated during the war.


    • Is the DQ an authentic and relevant issue/problem for my students?

Yes, students should know as much about one of the largest wars to ever occur and all of the social, economic, and political aspects that affected the aftermath of the war and the world they live in today.


    • Is there more than one plausible solution to the DQ?

Yes, when deciding what turning points were most influential or which nation had the most influential wartime leader that successfully mobilized their country to the best of their abilities allows for each student to have their own opinion as to why they think certain events took place and analyze what these leaders might have been thinking.




    • Does the DQ provide opportunities for students to evaluate, analyze, present, and defend their solutions?

Yes, students will have to defend their choice for which wartime leader they thought was most influential based off of their analysis of each individual's’ military strategy, motives for fighting, how they motivated their troops, etc.



Part2: Grabber

  • What is your grabber?

Hitler - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrPifPy-L0U

Tojo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mTECUWP0Hk

Roosevelt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7hc0oyEfgE

  • Why do you think this grabber is beneficial and how it  align with your driving question?

Try to answer these questions. (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • Does the story, article, video, announcement, role play, or other resource hook the learner into asking more questions about the topic?

The three videos I have chosen as my grabbers show small glimpses of some of the leaders and gives the students somewhat of an idea of what they were able to get their citizens and soldiers to do. All three videos, I believe, and interesting showing sides of each of these leaders that no one really thinks about and will make the students excited to learn more about each one of them.


  • Does the grabber capitalize on novelty and / or high emotion situations?

Yes, each one shows some of the passion that the leaders spoke with and others showed just what it would have been like to have actually been present during some of these situations.


  • Does the grabber establish authenticity & relevance?

Yes, each one of the videos are either actual videos that have been restored or historically accurate movie clips.


  • Make sure to explain in detail how this grabber would be used.

After we cover most of the basics about WWII, I think it is important to understand more about the leadership aspect of the war because it often times is pushed to the wayside. Once the students understand some of the basics of the war and are able to understand the what, when, and where, I want to take a day or two to focus more on the who and why. I would show these video clips after another small activity I would do as students walk in that is more informal and not really an actual grabber, but I will explain in my activities section.


  • Culminating activities: List all your activities here:

    • Pre-class activity

As each student walks in the door, I will hand them a sticky note and tell them to jot down a couple words that come to mind when they think about what it takes to be a leader, and then stick them on the board. I will open class with a simple, small discussion about what we look for in good leaders and read some of the sticky notes, then I will show my grabbers.


1) Activity 1

  • Small Group Research Presentation

I will assign students to small groups (3-4 students) and will assign them a nation’s leader during WWII and they will construct a 3-5 minute presentation on what attributes and specific situations made them such a successful leader.


  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

Try to answer these 4 questions.  (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • How is the activity authentic?

The students will be separated into groups and they will research political, social, military roles and attributes their leader possessed that made them great leaders. These are often times aspects of the WWII leaders that are pushed aside in order to talk about some of the more popular topics; however, I feel it is very important to know what each of these leaders was like in order to understand why the war unfolded the way it did.

  • Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

Students will bounce facts and ideas off one another to form an argument about why their leader was a great leader that they will share with the class in their research presentation

  • Does the activity require student collaboration?

Yes, students will have to come together and make sure that they develop a strong argument for their specific leader.

  • How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?

Students will receive a grade on how well they present their information about their leader (not as important), how accurate their information is, and how well they structure their argument around solid facts and research (most important).



2)  Activity 2

  • Large Group Debate (Still in Small Groups)

Description:

  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

Try to answer these 4 questions.  (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • How is the activity authentic?

Students, as a group, will research their specific leader and assess what really makes them a great leader. They will use this research to create an argument  as to why their leader is the best.

  • Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

The students must create a solid argument as to why their leader is the best and defend it during the discussion.

  • Does the activity require student collaboration?

The students will have to bounce ideas off of one another in order to create and defend the most solid argument.

  • How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?

Students will be graded on how well they present their argument and whether the facts are correct. They will also be graded on the strength of their argument during the discussions.



3)  Activity 3    

  • Large Group Debate (Individual)

Description:

  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

Try to answer these 4 questions.  (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • How is the activity authentic?

Students may be assigned to a group where they must defend a leader that they do not agree was the best; however, during the large group debate (individual), each student will be able to choose which they thought was the best and based off of the information presented, have facilitated arguments with their classmates who may disagree with their ideas.

  • Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

We will do an individual student debate just in case a student was assigned to a group that had to defend a leader that they may not have agreed was the best. This will give them an opportunity to defend the leader they actually believe was the best and give specific reasons as to why they feel that way.

  • Does the activity require student collaboration?

As students begin to form individual opinions, they may find themselves teaming up with other students that were not in their assigned groups in order to defend a specific leader.

  • How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?

This section of the project will be simply based off of student participation. I want to hear what everyone’s thoughts are on WWII leaders. The main portion of the grade will come from the arguments made in Activities 1 and 2.

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