Lesson Plan 3: American Power Tips the Balance

Name: Kevin Buss Class/Subject: American History Date: December 3rd, 2012 Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: - Upon comparing and contrasting the Civil War and WWI, students will understand the
static, defensive nature of the war as due to incompatibility of nineteenth century strategy with twentieth century technology. After viewing the Snoopy clip and Uncle Sam poster, students will appreciate the wars influence on American culture. By partaking in the draft activity, students will grasp the scale of mobilization and impact of the war on American society

Content Standards: - Significance of the Past: Impact of the war and wartime images on past and present culture (Snoopy, Uncle Sam recruiting poster). - Historical Empathy: Emphasis on the draft and American role as morale-boosters. - Change and Consequences: Connection between changing technology and its effect on warfare. - People Make a Difference: Appreciation of the contributions of individuals like Rickenbacker, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, and Admiral Sims. Materials/Resources/Technology: - Textbook: The Americans. Reconstruction to the 21st Century McDougal Littell - YouTube video Baron versus Beagle- The Original Dogfight - World War I Draft Registration Card A - Chart of US military personnel as a percentage of national population - White board and markers - WWI gas mask Teachers Goals: I want this lesson to demonstrate how World War I was truly the first modern war, and all the implications which go along with that. I want students to grasp both how U.S. involvement influenced the war and also how deeply the war affected the nation and the world in general, including all of the changes it wrought.

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Start of Class: Teacher will hand out World War I Draft Registration Cards as students enter the class, and ask them to fill in their names, and as much of the rest of the form they feel comfortable with. While they are doing that, teacher will pose the question: Why has there never been a Call of Duty game set in World War I? with the intention of driving home the nature of the war- static and defensive (which would make for a dull game). Introduction of Lesson: Teacher will show Snoopy vs. Red Baron Video to class, and explain that Charles Schulz was born four years after WW1 ended. Teacher will then ask critical thinking question Why would Snoopy be fighting the Red Baron if Schulz never served in WW1 (let alone flew an airplane at all)? Emphasize how much of a cultural impact the war had, that it got into cartoons and all other kinds of media, and the image of the WWI fighter pilot endures to this day. Lesson Instruction: Popcorn reading of Section 2: American Power Tips the Balance (pg. 381-385). Pause after paragraph 1 of Raising an Army. Students turn in their Draft Registration Cards, and teacher randomly selects 1/8 (2 or 3) of the cards as those who got picked for the draft. Teacher asks for any patriotic volunteers to join the draftees, and has all the soldiers stand up. will never see combat and will sit down. Emphasis on just how much America mobilized for the war effort. Resume popcorn reading, and ask critical thinking questions throughout. How was this war different from those America fought in the past? What new sorts of problems arose with fighting a war overseas? - How does the convoy system resemble a football play? Assessments/Checks for Understanding: Students will divide into groups of four or five to read pg. 384 and 385, and be tasked with making a list of changes to warfare technology (weapons, vehicles, etc.) between the Civil War and World War I. They will list the Civil War technologies on the right side and WWI technologies on the left side. Teacher will reproduce answers as a list on the white board. Goal of trying to make students understand how the stagnant, defensive nature of the war was due in part to the fact that strategy had not yet caught up with technology. Closure/Wrap-Up/Review: Students will be given the remainder of class to finish reading Section 2, and get a chance to look at authentic WWI gas mask (provided by Teacher). Self-Assessment: If students are able to accurately describe the different technologies and their impact on the changing nature of war, the goal of the activity will have been achieved.

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