Defining Curriculum Goals
1.) General goals for this curriculum web
· To motivate students to take an interest in the world around them.
· Studying history emphasizes global turning points, especially those events that have had the most far-reaching consequences, for the largest number of people, across the broadest areas of the Earth.
· Students will develop knowledge of World War II and other global turning points in history and advance their understanding of how our contemporary society evolved.
· This unit will lay the necessary foundation for effective thought and action by students about the important political events and public issue in their lives.
· Individual thought and social interaction to achieve a common goal will play a big part in this activity.
2.) Description of Learners
· The learners who will participate in this adventure will be high school level students. They have had experience doing research and possess the technical skills that will be required to complete the assigned tasks.
3.) Description of the Subject Matter
· There have been many debates about what to teach in history and social studies curriculum. However, there is a consensus on the need to emphasize World War II, as it is a major turning point in world history. World War II involved the largest armed forces, the longest battle lines, and the most destructive weapons of any war. It inflicted more suffering, more destruction, and more deaths than any war in modern history.
4.) List of Learning Objectives
· Students will learn to focus on stated topic.
· Students will understand conflict is multidimensional
· Students will know who was involved in World War II
· Students will understand why it is called a World War
· Students will learn to work together to achieve a desired result
· Students will learn to interact with technology
· Students will complete their assigned task
5.) List of Prerequisites
· Students will possess basic research skills
· Students will have the ability to communicate with instructor
· Students will be able to follow specific instruction
· Students will have experience with electronic databases and current technology
· Students will be able to present results
6.) Your Aim
· My aim, to provide students with an exercise that will show them the real story of the hardships and suffering humanity experiences during war. I hope to guide them through or let them guide themselves through many of the reasons countries are willing to send their people to die for what they believe is right. I want them to judge the leaders in the past that made these choices and try to decide if they would choose the same course.
7.) Rationale
· In 2011 we will be marking the 70th anniversary of the United States' entrance into World War II. This is an opportune time to reevaluate and renew the teaching of this cataclysmic event. Most people have been affected by the political, economic, and social consequences of the war, but perhaps the most important reason to rededicate ourselves to teaching about World War II is that the experience is still near enough in time to provide retrospective interest for those who went through it.