Almost Done

Wow!  Time has flown by.  I didn't realize that it's been this long since I last updated the blog.

Last week we held our Nuremberg Trial simulation.  Everyone did a great job keeping cool under pressure and presenting what you had prepared.  We also had five wonderful judges making up our tribunal and we are most grateful for their donation of time to come and help us out.  I think everyone learned much and had a great time.

This last week of class, everyone will be doing a presentation on their WWII interviews.  We'd like the presentations to be 10-15 minutes long.   We love visual aids as well.  I will bring my projector and speakers with the various connection options that I have.  I do not have a VGA cord, so if you need that to connect your laptop/device, you'll have to bring the cord.  I do have HDMI.

As a quick recap of prior weeks that were not blogged, we've covered the following:

• The Pacific Theater
• The Americans in the War
• From D-Day to the Liberation of Europe
• The Atom Bomb and the book Hiroshima by Hersey
• The End of the War
• The Occupation
• The War Crimes Trials

Don't forget to email me if you're going to have all of the class requirements completed in time.  I need to order your awards.  Remember that we removed the Biography requirement and the number of papers required was reduced to how many are actually found in the blog posts.  (As the semester progressed, we realized that we needed to adjust/prioritize some of the requirements.)

See you all on Thursday!
~General Lisa & General Paige

Week 8: The Allied Leaders

General Paige taught the first part of class today.  She shared a little bit about the hairstyles of the 40's.

She also presented "The Big Three" of the Allied leaders -- Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt.  The lesson ended with a guessing game of who said which quote.  Here's some links to the quotes:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/franklin_d_roosevelt.html

 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html

 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/joseph_stalin.html

 

Then we did a document study of a speech that Winston Churchill gave at Harrow School in 1941.  There were several great points of discussion in the speech, but I think the class favorite was:

"Never give in.  Never give in.  Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.  Never yield to force.  Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

Another favorite was: 

"You cannot tell from appearances how things will go.  Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done."

HOMEWORK:

• Keep working on your interviews.
• Keep working on your personal Hero Project
• We're discussing the book Hiroshima by John Hersey in two weeks.
• We're discussing Flags of our Fathers next week if you didn't already finish that one.
• Get started on your biography book.

Next Week:  The Pacific Theater

Week 7: The Holocaust

We opended class with a video of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940.  The collapse happened in our own backyard while America was still at peace but Europe was already involved in WWII.  Even though it had nothing to do with the war, it was relevant to the time period and caused America's engineers to make some significant strides in their designs and ideas that probably had some impact on the structures built for WWII when America joined in 1941.

http://youtu.be/j-zczJXSxnw

Near the end of the video, our class simulation began.  A German authority banged into our classroom and demanded everyone's name, birth date, religion, and ethnicity.  Then gave everyone a gold star they were required to wear pinned onto their clothes.

After the German left, we learned a bit more about the Holocaust.  It was a "systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators."

We learned a little about the concentration camps and the death camps.  Children under 12 were sent to the gas chambers upon arriving at Auschwitz unless they were a twin.  They kept the twins for medical experimentation.  The Nazis used the people in the camps as forced/slave labor in the factories for the German war effort.  Those that were too old, young, or sick to work were sent to the gas chambers and replaced with new arrivals to the camps.  

Then we started our book discussion of The Hiding Place.  As we were discusing, the German came back and scared us enough that we decided we should find a place to hide.  We found our hiding spot and practiced getting to it quickly.  Then we set up General Paige as our lookout in case the German came back.  Then we went back to our book discussion...sort of.  We were all a little nervous and rattled so it was hard to do anything that resembled normal.  When the German came back, we had enough warning that everyone was able to hide and the German found nothing.  That was the end of our simulation and we had a debrief of the simulation mixed with the rest of the discussion of our book.  

We finished up with our journals.  The prompts were:  How were you changed by today's simulation?  What did you learn about yourself?  What are you going to do differently from now on?

HOMEWORK:

• Write a short paper on a "Righteous Gentile."   http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_Among_the_Nations
• Keep working on your personal Hero Projects
• Start reading Hiroshima
• How are those movies coming??
• Interviews??

Next Week:  The Allied Leaders

Week 6: The Japanese Invasions & Pearl Harbor

This week we watched several fun videos from the WWII era while we were preparing for our Pearl Harbor simulation.

Charlie Chaplin -- The Lion's Cage   http://youtu.be/79i84xYelZI

Charlie Chaplin -- Factory Work  http://youtu.be/DfGs2Y5WJ14

Abbott & Costello -- 7 X 13 = 28  http://youtu.be/MS2aEfbEi7s

Bugs Bunny's Debut -- A Wild Hare   http://youtu.be/Hcl2QZWHatA

After we finished making paper airplanes and paper boats, we headed outside to the parking lot where Pearl Harbor was located.  We placed our boats and planes and then walked thru the morning of December 7th, 1941 in Pearl Harbor.  We got a little wet as the weather was misty, but we were at the harbor so that made sense.  :-)

We finished up with FDR's speech asking Congress for a Declaration of War on December 8th.  America wasn't the only country the Japanese attacked on the 7th.  They also attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, and Wake Island.  They attacked Midway Island the morning of the 8th.

It was interesting to note that the Japanese had initiated formal negotiations for the maintenance of peace in the pacific and there ambassadors were still in Washington DC for that purpose when they attacked Pearl Harbor.

HOMEWORK:

• Make a simple timeline of the important events in WWII
• FINISH READING:  The Hiding Place  by Corrie Ten Boom
• Keep working on the interviews.  You can interview anyone that lived during WWII.
• Keep working on you personal hero projects.  You should have 4-6 of them done by now.

NEXT WEEK:  The Holocaust

Week 4: The Germans' Invasions

General Paige taught our lecture on the German invasions leading up to and including the early part of WWII.

Noah and Josh each shared one of the heroes they've studied for their individual hero projects. 

As part of our culture of the era, we shared a video of Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" comedy sketch:  http://youtu.be/J_gSWTQKE-0

Another video we shared was a more general video about the heroes and heroism of Americans:  http://youtu.be/eVecpn3DUHc

We went more in depth on how to do the interviews of folks who lived during WWII.  Please help your scholar to find at least two people to interview.  I'll try to send out a help sheet later when I get home.

We ran out of time for our journal prompt this week so it would be great if students could spend 3-5 minutes answering this question in their journals at home this week:  Make a list of kinds of bondage and their causes.

Writing Assignment:  "What choices do you still have when you are in bondage?"

Keep working on your individual hero reports.  You should have 3-4 heroes now.

Biography Presentations:  (find a biography to read on someone during the depression or WWII era)

March 12 -- Alison

March 19 -- Haley

March 26 -- John

April 9 -- Joshua

April 16 -- Carson

April 23 -- Katie

April 30 -- Noah

Week 3: The Rise of the Demagogues

Hi Everyone!

This week we covered the Axis leaders, especially the big three -- Germany, Italy, & Japan.  We were all surprised by how many other countries were on the side of the Axis powers:  Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Thailand, Iraq, Iran, San Marino, and numerous puppet states.

We discussed the difference between a demagogue and a true leader.  I had to look up the definition of demagogue, so here's the definition in case you needed to look it up too.  :-)

demagogue -- a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.

In learning about the rise of these demagogues before WWII, we learned some interesting facts and trivia about Hitler, Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito.

HITLER:

• Born in AUSTRIA, not even a German citizen until after WWI
• High School drop out
• He spent a year in prison for trying to overthrow the German government in 1923.
• He was an artist.  He supported himself for a time in Munich by painting and selling his artwork.  Below is a watercolor he painted in 1914 called "The Alter Hof in Munich."

MUSSOLINI:

• Founder of Fascism
• Expelled from the socialist party for supporting WWI
• Was a journalist and writer.  He even published a novel in 1910.
• Was imitated BY Hitler in several things -- staging a coup (Mussolini was successful, Hitler was not).  Hitler copied Mussolini's Fascism and gave it his own flavor. Mussolini had "blackshirts",  Hitler had "brownshirts."  Both the blackshirts and the brownshirts performed the same functions for their respective leaders.  The color came from the color of their uniforms.

EMPEROR HIROHITO:

• 3rd largest navy in the world before WWII
• Personally authorized the use of chemical weapons during WWII
• Was not indicted of war crimes and allowed to keep his position as Emperor of Japan
• Has published several scientific papers in the field of Marine Biology

Our Journal Prompt this week was:  Make a short list of leaders that you admire.  Choose one and make a list of his/her most defining character traits.

HOMEWORK:

• Writing Assignment:  What makes a true leader?
• Reading:  Keep working on Flags of our Fathers -- due on 2/19
• Personal Hero Project:  You should have 2-3 heroes done by class on Thursday.
• Come prepared to sign up for your presentation dates:  One date for your oral presentation on the biography you chose to read.  The other two dates to share one of the heroes you're doing in your personal hero project.  (these second two dates are just short little presentations to help keep you on track. 1-3 minutes)
• Keep spreading the word and/or find a couple of people you can interview for your requirements.  We're practicing interviews on Thursday and you'll want to get started ASAP after that.

NEXT WEEK:  The Germans' Invasions

~General Lisa & General Paige

Coming of Age -- the 1930's

This week we started out with a Mickey Mouse cartoon from 1936 and a scene from a Shirley Temple movie from 1934.

Mickey:   https://youtube.com/watch?v=JVBjeUNQoLg

Shirley Temple:  http://youtu.be/WLLSqpYyPD8

General Paige gave us an in depth review of what was happening in the 1930's starting
with the Crash in 1929 and going thru until 1940.  We learned that FEMA was started
in the 30's.  Social Security was also begun in the 30's.  We also learned about protests,
riots, bread lines, bank failures, and unemployment.  

Our book discussion today was on Children of the Dust Bowl.  We all agreed that Leo Hart,
the man behind the Weedpatch School, was an amazing man and definitely qualifies
as a hero.

Our journal prompt today was "Why do we study heroes?"  Some of what was shared
with the class was that we study heroes to learn respect for them, to give us examples
of character traits we want to develop in ourselves, and for inspiration in our own
lives and missions.

General Paige ended class with a hero story about Irena Sendler.  She helped save the lives of several thousand Jewish children by smuggling them out of German occupied ghetto in Warsaw and providing them with false identity documents.  Google her for more information.

HOMEWORK:  

• Writing assignment:  "How does adversity affect my life?"
• Reading:  Start reading Flags of our Fathers  (adapted for young people)  We'll be discussing it in 3 weeks.
• Individual Hero Project:  Keep working on it.  You should have 1-2 heroes done by next class.
• Think about which hero you want to read a biography on.  I'll have sign ups for presentations on your biography hero next week.
• Start spreading the word that you want to interview folks that lived during WWII.

Next Week:  "The Rise of the Demagogues"

See you next Thursday!

~General Lisa & General Paige

Class Requirements

Here's the class requirements...

Please note that there is NO MEMORIZATION!!  :-)

1.)  Individual Hero Project

• Add a Hero every week (minimum of 10 for requirement)
• Choose any medium for you project.  (scrapbook, poster, notebook of quotes, quilt, painting, drawings, movie or power point, etc)
• Put together over time -- don't cram it.
• Bibliography.  At least one source for each hero.  
• Meant to be a personal search for people you can learn and grow from
• Look for heroes that show traits/virtues that you want to develop in yourself
• Only one hero is allowed to be fictional.  (Captain America, Super Man, Frodo, Sam, etc.)
• Heroes can come from history, modern day, core book, or even people you personally know.

2.)  Read the following 5 books:

• Children of the Dust Bowl by Jerry Stanley
• Flags of our Fathers (adapted for young people) by Ron Powers
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Tenboom
• Hiroshima by John Hersey
• Biography of choice -- Someone from the Depression/WWII era -- Some possibilities:  Harry Truman, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt, George S. Patton, Douglas McArthur, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Audie Murphy, Raoul Wallenberg, etc.  (Juvenile Literature section is okay as long as it isn't one meant for really young kids.)

3.)  Watch at least 3 movies:

• REQUIRED -- Tora! Tora! Tora!
• REQUIRED -- Ike-Countdown to D-day w/Tom Sellek OR The Longest Day w/John Wayne
• Life is Beautiful
• Saints & Soldiers
• The Monuments Men
• Captain America, the First Avenger

4.)  Hero Presentation

• from the biography that you chose to read.
• 5-10 minute oral presentation (we love visual aids :-))

5.)  Interviews

• Interview 2-3 people that lived during the Depression/WWII era.
• Presentation in class
• Video the interviews
• One phone interview allowed.

6.)  Writing Assignments -- complete at least 8 writing assignments.

7.)  Prepare for and participate in the Nuremberg Trial Simulation

We Didn't Start the Fire

Hi Everyone!

Today was our first day of Hero Project.  We started out with a fun sample of popular music thru the decades of the 20th century.  It's called "Evolution of Music - Pentatonix" on YouTube if you'd like to go look it up.

We talked about class requirements -- see next blog post or the FILA website.

LECTURE:  "Heroes & Your Generation -- Preparing Yourselves."
      Started out with the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel.  After discussing "What is the fire?" we decided that "the fire" was human nature/natural man.
      Reviewed the cycles of history and the 4 turnings.  Reviewed the Hero generation's role.

      Things millenials can do to prepare for their generation's role:

• values -- return to classic virtues
• pay attention & heed community norms
• build personal relationships of all kinds
• learn & practice teamwork
• develop/maintain good family relations -- immediate and extended family
• be self reliant
• varied education & skills.  Trade AND a Profession??  Broad education.
• learn to work.  learn to work hard
• learn and practice initiative
• public virture

ACTIVITY:  Simulation -- students were members of the English parliament.

JOURNAL PROMPT:  Make a list of all the heroes you can think of.

HERO STORY:  Nadezhda Popova -- WWII Night Witch

• Russian FEMALE bomber pilot who flew 852 missions
• Any German pilot who downed a "witch" was awarded the Iron Cross
• called "Night Witches" because thewhooshing noise their plywood and canvas airplanes made reminded the Gremans of the sound of a witch flying on a broom.
• flew only in the dark, with no parachutes, guns, radios, or radar.  They only had maps and compasses.

HOMEWORK: 

• WRITING: What is a hero?  Write your own definition of a hero.
• READING:  "Children of the Dust Bowl" is due next week.
• INDIVIDUAL HERO PROJECT:  Don't forget to get started on your individual hero projects.  You don't have to decide on your medium just yet, but you should at least start researching personal heroes.

See you all next week!

~Superheroes Lisa & Paige  :-)

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