Key Takeaways:
- By teaching your middle school students about the history and heroes of World War II, they’ll better understand why the U.S. got involved and how people all over the world were affected.
- Teaching the history of World War II is only the first part—teaching the war’s lasting legacy and how it continues to shape the world today is just as important.
- Featuring teacher-approved stories, resources, and interactive activities, Junior Scholastic makes the history and legacy of World War II relevant to today’s students.
With these engaging free teacher resources from Junior Scholastic, your middle school students will not only learn about the history and heroes of World War II, but also about its lasting legacy. By building knowledge, skills, and engagement with high-interest non-fiction texts that bring your social studies curriculum to life, Junior Scholastic will ensure your students understand why the United States got involved in World War II and how people all over the world were affected.
Bringing an infamous day to life
This play details the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing this infamous day to life for your students. Featuring accounts from real soldiers your students can connect to, a “Sneak Attack” map, a “Reading a Chronology” activity to help students understand a timeline, and a step-by-step lesson plan, “Attack on Pearl Harbor” is the perfect introduction for teaching students how the U.S. became involved in World War II, and about the lasting effect the conflict had on our country’s relationship with Japan.
Talking code
In our story, “The Code That Couldn’t Be Broken,” your students will learn about a group of young Navajo men who created an unbreakable code during World War II that helped the U.S. military win the war in the Pacific. With a video detailing the story of a Navajo code talker, an infographic featuring examples of code used during the war, and gripping accounts of how the code was devised and put into use, this article shares the story of a group of national heroes whose patriotism crossed all boundaries of language and culture.
Life in internment
This play encourages your students to connect with real Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps during World War II. By taking on the roles in “We Are Americans Too!” and empathizing with these dramatic stories of life in Japanese internment camps, your students will walk away with a much clearer understanding of how World War II affected more than 110,000 Japanese Americans.
Follow our step-by-step lesson plan, then help your students dive a little deeper with our “Behind Barbed Wire” activity that details how to analyze a primary source. Also included are videos highlighting the chronological and historical background of Japanese internment camps in the U.S., a “Locked Away” map showing camp locations, and a timely feature relating the plight of undocumented immigrant detainees currently being held in detention.
A hero of the Holocaust
In this extraordinary story of a shy Jewish teenager, Adolfo Kaminsky, who risked his life to help thousands of victims escape the Nazis, your students will learn about a true hero of the Holocaust and World War II. With a step-by-step lesson plan, a “Know the News” quiz, and more to complement this inspiring tale, you’ll capture the attention of your students and show them the enormous impact young people like them can have on the world.
Try Junior Scholastic for Free
Once you and your students try all these amazing resources, you’ll know why so many teachers use Junior Scholastic in their middle school classrooms. With each issue, we help create learning excitement about curricular topics from history to civics, geography, science, social-emotional learning, and more. Plus, every issue comes with flexible, timesaving print and digital teaching tools to help you meet your instructional goals. Try Junior Scholastic in your classroom and make history relevant to today’s teens. Start a FREE 30-Day Trial!