WWII Webquest

World War II Webquest

On the Home Front:

1.  Click on the following links to learn about what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II.  Describe their experience.  Why did this occur?  Was it appropriate?

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
http://www1.chron.com/content/interactive/special/vj/memories.html
This article is about a Japanese-American couple, their lives as newlyweds, and the time they served at the Tule Lake Camp.

LOS ANGELES TIMES
http://voice.bloomu.edu/02-10-2000/Nation-World8.html
This article describes President Clinton's efforts to memorialize World War II internment camps.

The Densho Project
http://www.densho.org/project/
The Densho Project site has a whole archive of personal stories about the Japanese internment experience.

2. The war effort at home was encouraged by propaganda.  First define propaganda.  Then click on the links below and answer the following questions about 6 posters.

• What behavior(s)/values is the poster maker trying to promote? How did that behavior contribute to the war effort?
• What, if anything, is unusual in the poster's design or content?
• In what ways is the poster effective or ineffective in communicating its message?

Posters from The National Archives exhibit "Powers of Persuasion," available through a link from the EDSITEment resource Digital Classroom:

• Have You Really Tried to Save Gas?
• Longing Won't Get Him Back Sooner ... Get a War Job
• United We Win
• Victory Waits on Your Fingers
• Waste Helps the Enemy
• We Can Do It

Posters from The Smithsonian Institution exhibit "Posters on the American Home Front (1941-45)," a link from the EDSITEment resource Center for the Liberal Arts:

• Any Questions About Your Work?
• Grow It Yourself
• Help Bring Them Back
• Never Late Is Better
• Remember Pearl Harbor
• This Is Your America
• Train to Be a Nurse's Aide

From the EDSITEment-reviewed American Memory exhibit "World War II Posters from the WPA":

• The World Has Ears

Posters from the EDSITEment resource At Home in the Heartland Online, exhibit on World War II Posters:

• Bits of Careless Talk are Pieced Together by the Enemy
• Pitch in and Help

3. Click on the links below and list the pros and cons of using the atomic bomb during WWII.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/modernhist/atomicbomb.html#decision

http://www.doug-long.com/hiroshim.htm

4. The Web sites below have information about key battles in the Pacific, as well as the thoughts of respected Americans. Students should summarize the Battle in Malaya and the Death March of Bataan, as well as the Battle of Midway.

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/sfeature/bataan_capture.html
• http://www.users.bigpond.com/pacificwar/
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/timeline/index.html
• http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm

5. Click on the following link and summarize Alabama’s role in WWII.

http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec50det.html