Today we participated in a field trip to Lyon Air Museum where we viewed amazing WWII aircraft and met some REAL HEROES of the Greatest Generation! I was excited for this field trip as we're beginning to study WWII, but I didn't realize we were going to spend the morning with these amazing veterans.
Showing posts with label World War II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World War II. Show all posts
Friday, March 02, 2012
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Book Study: Number The Stars Week 4
Teaching the history and overwhelming magnitude of World War II and The Holocaust to 5th-9th grade students can be a daunting task. I REALLY want them to experience what we're reading and not just take the information and answer questions. Reality is, we cannot even begin to grasp the enormity of it, but we can do our best to learn about the era, those involved, the events and the heroes who risked lives for others.
Sadly, too often students hear dates, statistics and facts and it's in one ear out the other. I know first hand this type of learning. Along with elementary education, I majored in history in college. I learned a lot, regurgitated it for a test, and then went onto the next course. I really can't say I had a professor who made an impact on my learning or that I fell in love with learning in college. This is sad. I imagine it's the same for many students.
Working with our kids has taught me to LOVE learning. I LOVE thinking about being a pioneer girl on the open plain. I love wondering if I'd have what it would take to help with the Underground Railroad. Would I have the courage of Harriet Tubman or Corrie Ten Boom? I've walked trails in our home state imagining I was Christy heading up through the Appalachian Mountains to teach. Even tonight as I was completing a grueling workout running 400 meters, in the dark, carrying a 35 pound weight, I was imagining I was running from the Nazis carrying one of my children. Perhaps, I've been reading a little too much about World War II.
I'm currently teaching a book study on Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. When planning to teach on the Holocaust, I found the National Holocaust Museum a GREAT resource. They have informative guidelines for educators. The guidelines point out that it's important to discuss the four types of groups involved: victims, perpetrators, rescuers, and bystanders. We've discussed "The Final Solution" and that 6 million Jews were killed, but I had a sense the enormity of six million wasn't being translated into people. One activity we did this week was to try to provide a visual representation for six million.
Forgive me if rice seems trivial, but I thought it would represent the magnitude and enormity of the number.
I brought a two pound bag of rice to class.
I divided our small class into three groups. I asked each group to count the grains of rice I measured out to them. I gave one group one cup of rice. The two other groups received one teaspoon of rice. The one cup of rice proved to be too much to count manually so we did our own calculations. The two groups who had one teaspoon of rice counted out about 250 grains for their one teaspoon of rice.
There are 48 teaspoons in one cup, so we multiplied 48 X 250 equaling 12,000.
There were 5 cups of rice in the two pound bag. This calculates to about 60,000 grains of rice in the 2 pound bag!
In order to count to six million, the students would need how many two-pound bags of rice? ONE HUNDRED!!
With each grain of rice counted I tried to visualize each one as a person. This is beyond comprehension! Unfathomable!
I hope the lesson made an impact for the students. It hit my heart...HARD!
Sadly, too often students hear dates, statistics and facts and it's in one ear out the other. I know first hand this type of learning. Along with elementary education, I majored in history in college. I learned a lot, regurgitated it for a test, and then went onto the next course. I really can't say I had a professor who made an impact on my learning or that I fell in love with learning in college. This is sad. I imagine it's the same for many students.
Working with our kids has taught me to LOVE learning. I LOVE thinking about being a pioneer girl on the open plain. I love wondering if I'd have what it would take to help with the Underground Railroad. Would I have the courage of Harriet Tubman or Corrie Ten Boom? I've walked trails in our home state imagining I was Christy heading up through the Appalachian Mountains to teach. Even tonight as I was completing a grueling workout running 400 meters, in the dark, carrying a 35 pound weight, I was imagining I was running from the Nazis carrying one of my children. Perhaps, I've been reading a little too much about World War II.
I'm currently teaching a book study on Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. When planning to teach on the Holocaust, I found the National Holocaust Museum a GREAT resource. They have informative guidelines for educators. The guidelines point out that it's important to discuss the four types of groups involved: victims, perpetrators, rescuers, and bystanders. We've discussed "The Final Solution" and that 6 million Jews were killed, but I had a sense the enormity of six million wasn't being translated into people. One activity we did this week was to try to provide a visual representation for six million.
Forgive me if rice seems trivial, but I thought it would represent the magnitude and enormity of the number.
I brought a two pound bag of rice to class.
I divided our small class into three groups. I asked each group to count the grains of rice I measured out to them. I gave one group one cup of rice. The two other groups received one teaspoon of rice. The one cup of rice proved to be too much to count manually so we did our own calculations. The two groups who had one teaspoon of rice counted out about 250 grains for their one teaspoon of rice.
There are 48 teaspoons in one cup, so we multiplied 48 X 250 equaling 12,000.
There were 5 cups of rice in the two pound bag. This calculates to about 60,000 grains of rice in the 2 pound bag!
In order to count to six million, the students would need how many two-pound bags of rice? ONE HUNDRED!!
With each grain of rice counted I tried to visualize each one as a person. This is beyond comprehension! Unfathomable!
I hope the lesson made an impact for the students. It hit my heart...HARD!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Navajo Code Talkers- A Study for May
May, 1942. World War II. An amazing group of 29 men were gathered for a highly classified mission. They were to develop an indecipherable code that not even the best Japanese code breakers could crack.
Who were these men? How were they discovered? What was their code? We're on a homeschooling quest to find out more about these elite dedicated men and their important role in American history.
In the early part of 1942 America had only been involved in WWII for a couple of months. Message transmissions between US and Ally forces were consistently intercepted and deciphered by the Japanese causing loss of life and failed missions. The US needed a foolproof code, but where and how could one be developed?
A son of a missionary, by the name of Phillip Johnston learned of the situation. He had been raised on the Navajo reservation and was one of only a few outsiders who knew the native language. This language was never written so there was no record of it for outsiders. Johnston proposed using the Navajo language as a code and presented his idea to military officials. The Navajo test program was born.
Today we read The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter. It's a beautifully illustrated (done by Julia Miner) picture book for children. It tells the story of one Navajo code talker. The grandfather, telling the story, shares with his grandson how he was sent away to government schools and was not allowed to use his unique, native language. He must only speak English. If he didn't he was made to chew on squares of soap. (My own grandmother was sent away to a government school for Native Americans. I'm sure she received similar treatment.)
At the age of 17, he heard of a request for young, healthy Navajo men to join the Marines for a special assignment. He was under age, but there was no birth records on the reservation so he went.
This special assignment was the top secret Navajo code talkers mission. The story continues with the training and then duty of these elite personnel. It tells the vital role the code talkers played in the invasion of Iwo Jima.
By the end of the story the grandson asked his grandfather,
This book was given to us by my mom. She met some of these amazing men who developed the only unbreakable code in American history. Our book is signed by some of these heroes. What a treasure!! Thanks Mom!
We will continue to learn more about the Navajo Code Talkers. They have a great website at http://www.navajocodetalkers.org/ On the site you can see photos of the heroes. Some of these men signed our book. What an amazing story they have to share!
Great words to ponder.
Who were these men? How were they discovered? What was their code? We're on a homeschooling quest to find out more about these elite dedicated men and their important role in American history.
In the early part of 1942 America had only been involved in WWII for a couple of months. Message transmissions between US and Ally forces were consistently intercepted and deciphered by the Japanese causing loss of life and failed missions. The US needed a foolproof code, but where and how could one be developed?
A son of a missionary, by the name of Phillip Johnston learned of the situation. He had been raised on the Navajo reservation and was one of only a few outsiders who knew the native language. This language was never written so there was no record of it for outsiders. Johnston proposed using the Navajo language as a code and presented his idea to military officials. The Navajo test program was born.
Today we read The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter. It's a beautifully illustrated (done by Julia Miner) picture book for children. It tells the story of one Navajo code talker. The grandfather, telling the story, shares with his grandson how he was sent away to government schools and was not allowed to use his unique, native language. He must only speak English. If he didn't he was made to chew on squares of soap. (My own grandmother was sent away to a government school for Native Americans. I'm sure she received similar treatment.)
At the age of 17, he heard of a request for young, healthy Navajo men to join the Marines for a special assignment. He was under age, but there was no birth records on the reservation so he went.
This special assignment was the top secret Navajo code talkers mission. The story continues with the training and then duty of these elite personnel. It tells the vital role the code talkers played in the invasion of Iwo Jima.
By the end of the story the grandson asked his grandfather,
"But why did you leave in the first place?"
His grandfather lifted him gently onto the horse. "The answer to that is in the code," he said. "The code name for America was 'Our Mother.' You fight for what you love. You fight for what is yours."At this point of the book, I was in tears. The kids were trying to fan me and asking why I was crying. The words of the grandfather were so powerful to me.
"You fight for what you love. You fight for what is yours."As I think on these words, those things I'd fight for...God, family, country, honor.
This book was given to us by my mom. She met some of these amazing men who developed the only unbreakable code in American history. Our book is signed by some of these heroes. What a treasure!! Thanks Mom!
We will continue to learn more about the Navajo Code Talkers. They have a great website at http://www.navajocodetalkers.org/ On the site you can see photos of the heroes. Some of these men signed our book. What an amazing story they have to share!
"You fight for what you love. You fight for what is yours."
Great words to ponder.
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