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Strategy Collection

Krista Shepler

EDU 415

Dr. Wargo

12/4/2023
Strategy #1: Political Cartoons
Standard -
8.1.U.B
Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use of fact versus
opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships.
A. Trade books
Topic: The plight of Jews in the holocaust and the measures they took to survive.
i. Spiegelman, A. (2009). Maus. Emece/Mexico.

This is a graphic novel that is based on a true story of the horrors and struggles the author's father
went through during the holocaust as a Jew. Gives visual understanding and connections that are
easily understood and engaging for students that increase their content knowledge and
understanding of the topic.

A Political Cartoon assignment/strategy is a way to push students into the upper levels of
Bloom’s taxonomy as they have to be creative and critically think about what they are going to
do and the subject/message they are trying to get across. Students have the ability to pick an
issue that either is related to the content, or this could be used to allow students to pick issues
from the current world, local, or school issues. For this specific topic, and to tie in the books
students would have read, I would have students create WWII political cartoons. The content and
art within Maus should prepare them substantially for this assignment and allow them to engage
in greater depth both the book and the content/concepts.
After reading the book Maus, pick out an issue from the book, or from the war in
general, and create your own political cartoon. You may use references to help your
drawing but remember there has to be a focus or point to the drawing you create.
Write a 2-3 sentence summary below your cartoon summarizing what it symbolizes.

Summary: Nothing stood in the way of what the Nazis wanted, not even religion,
knowledge, justice, and truth. Nothing was too much for the Germans to destroy for
them to reach their ‘goal.’
Strategy #2: Pictionary with a twist
Standard -
8.4.W.C
Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the world today. ● Belief systems and
religions ● Commerce and industry ● Technology ● Politics and government ● Physical and
human geography ● Social organization
A. Trade books
Topic: WWII and the vocabulary behind it.
i. Blunt, R. C. (2004). Foot soldier : a combat infantryman’s war in Europe. De Capo Press.

A book of an American soldier's personal story of his time at war in Europe (autobiography). It
shows not only the brutalness of war but some of the mental struggles often not thought about.
Adds a human face to war for students and has students critically analyze if war is worth it or
what they thought it was.

Pictionary with a twist is a vocabulary strategy that has students split up into groups and take
turns pulling vocab words out of a bowl and drawing them. The rest of the students in the group
then have to guess what the vocab word is. Each student will have the full list of terms and
definitions to reference. This ties in with the book as a lot of the terms or figures are either
mentioned in the book, or are a part of the war the book is about. Everything then is tied into
each other and students have the ability to engage in more of the content/concepts of the topic
which are then reinforced by the content in the book.
Vocab List:
Nevill Chamberlain
British Prime Minister (1937 to 1940). Feeling Germany had been unfairly penalized by the
Versailles Treaty and wanting to maintain peace, Chamberlain was the leadership at the Munich
Conference (Sept. 1938) which promoted “appeasement,” granting Hitler’s demands for return of
the Sudetenland in exchange for his promise that he would not seek any more territory.

Winston Churchill
Great Britain’s Prime Minister, Churchill was an eloquent speaker, who steered the British to
defy the Nazis, even as the Luftwaffe bombed London nightly.

Adolph Hitler
The fascist leader of Nazi Germany and the architect of the Holocaust which killed six million
Jewish people.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt


FDR served four terms as the U.S. 32nd president, during the Great Depression and WWII. An
optimist and activist, FDR inspired the country with his broadcast “fireside chats.” He created
the New Deal, social reform legislation that established social security and public works projects
that helped put Americans back to work. During WWII, he argued against isolationism and
maintained a necessary but uneasy alliance between the U.S. and Britain with communist Soviet
Union.

Joseph Stalin
The communist leader of the Soviet Union.

Allies
The “Big Three” were the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Also with the
Allies were Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, France (after the Normandy invasion),
Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, the
Philippine Commonwealth, Poland, the Union of South Africa, and Yugoslavia.
Axis
Germany, Italy, and Japan

Blitzkrieg
“Lightning war,” a surprise attack devised by Hitler, in which land-and-air attacks were
coordinated, quick and brutal. Hitler used fast-moving tanks called Panzers, with infantry
transported by trucks and dive-bombing planes that strafed soldiers and refugees.

Maginot Line
A trench-line of defense along the northern border of France, stretching from Belgium to
Switzerland, that had held throughout WWI but fell to Hitler’s blitzkrieg within six weeks.

Lend-Lease Program
To help Britain, the United States would “lend” weaponry such as ships, trucks, tanks, parts, etc.
in exchange for the use of naval bases and ports, mostly in the Pacific. The U.S. continued to
“lend” supplies without expectation of payment until after the war. We also provided naval
escorts for the ship convoys that transported the materials across the Atlantic.
Luftwaffe
The Nazi Air Force
U-boats
Short for Unterseeboote, German submarines.

Marshall Plan
An American program to repair and rebuild the countries torn apart by WWII. The U.S. donated
$13 billion to reconstruct Western Europe.
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Angered by being excluded from the Munich Conference regarding the Sudetenland, the USSR’s
Stalin negotiated a separate treaty with Hitler, in which both countries agreed to remain neutral if
the other became involved in a war. The pact paved the way for Hitler and Stalin to divide
Poland between them
Example Student Pictionary Drawing Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact:
Strategy #3: Double Entry Journals
Standard -
8.3.U.A
Compare the role groups and individuals played in the social, political, cultural, and economic
development of the U.S.
A. Trade books
Topic: Civil Rights, the murder of Emmett Till.
i. K. K., & Dodson, D. (2021). The murder of Emmett Till. Oxford University Press.

The Murder of Emmett Till, a Graphic novel tells the story of Till's death, but it brings more
depth and visual clarity to a major crime that became a huge leap for civil rights protestors. The
crime committed against Till showed just how turbulent and awful racism was/could be in the
South. Summarizes the story in a way that students can understand and helps them to visually see
the events that happened while also having them read. This gives students a more visual look at
the struggles of civil rights and how the South lagged behind greatly.

Double entry journals are when a page is split into two sides/columns. The student is then given
a question or prompt on each side, where they write down the facts of the event or issue on one
side and state their opinions of the event on the other. This can be used directly with the topic
and book being used as the prompt can be directly related to the issue in the book. For example,
if the prompt reads, “What were the events of and other surrounding issues of Emmett’s murder”
OR “what pieces of Emmett’s story were a part of the civil rights movement?” This allows
students to both learn and review the facts of the situation, but also state their opinion on the
matter which pushes their critical thinking into higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. (Also gives
students an opportunity to review the difference between fact and opinion)
What were the events of and other surrounding issues of Emmett’s murder?

FACTS OPINIONS

● Emmett was brutally beaten before he ● Emmett only whistled at the woman

was killed ● His friends should have done more to

● He was more bold than his family and stop him from acting out

friends in the South because of his ● Southern culture should have accepted

Northern upbringing where racism civil rights and ended racism decades

wasn’t as bad as it was in the South before.

● He was killed by the husband (along ● Double jeopardy shouldn’t apply to a

with his friend) of the woman he trial when it is obvious that the

allegedly ‘harassed.’ accused committed the crime.

● The body was attempted to be hidden, ● His behavior did not warrant death

as it was put in a river with a gin fan

attached.

● The body of Till was so brutally

beaten that it was only identifiable by

his fathers ring that he wore.


What were the events of and other surrounding issues of Emmett’s murder?

FACT OPINION
Strategy #4: Historical diary/journal entries
Standard -
8.1.U.B
Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use of fact versus
opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships.
A. Trade books
Topic: slavery and the physical and mental struggles that slaves went through.
i. Jacobs, H. A. (2005). Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Bedford/St. Martin’s. (Original work
published 1861)

The book is a true story of a slave and her trials and struggles as a slave of which she illustrates
that the abuse faced in captivity is not always physical but can also be psychological. Helps
students understand more of the struggles of slaves and the anti-slavery movement. Students can
therefore have a more personal view into the world of slavery (and hopefully learn some
sympathy/empathy along the way).

Historical diary/journal entries is a strategy where students have to write as if they were living in
the time period being studied. In this instance, students would use the book as their guide and
write as if they were a slave in the early 1800’s and write a diary describing their lives and the
hardships around them. Not only does this directly relate to the topic and build their writing
skills, it also ties the book in well and develops students’ comprehension and understanding of
what struggles people have gone through throughout history.
Use the book we read in class as your guide and write a diary (journal) entry as if you were a
slave in the early 1800’s. Describe your life and the hardships and experiences you’re facing.

November Thirtieth, Two thousand twenty three. .

Today started with an early morning as usual, the dogs were barking loud and I knew

today was going to be another long day. It’s cotton season, and while I am not out in the field

like some of the others, high tensions for profit have the master snapping more easily over

small things. Just yesterday I dropped a single piece of bread on the floor yesterday while

cooking and my master screamed at me for thirty minutes and threatened to throw me out

into the field to pick cotton for a day straight. I don't know how much more I can take, but

there is nothing I can do. My husband was sold a while back, and my master says if I act

out again then he’ll sell my kids too. Through it all I rest in the songs and hymns my mother

taught me when I was young. They give me some peace and comfort and remind me of her

and that there is still hope. I hope someday soon I'll be freed from my bondage, but until I

can find means to escape for me and my kids, I have to remain here and endure this mental

torment.
Use the book we read in class as your guide and write a diary (journal) entry as if you were a
slave in the early 1800’s. Describe your life and the hardships and experiences you’re facing.

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Strategy #5: Graffiti Wall
Standard -
8.3.C.B
Compare and contrast the basic principles and ideals found in significant documents: ·
Declaration of Independence · United States Constitution · Bill of Rights
A. Trade books
Topic: The Bill of Rights and the vocabulary behind it.
i. Tedeschi, R. F., & States, U. (2000). The U.S. Constitution and fascinating facts about it. Oak
Hill Publishing Company.

While this book is just a handheld and portable version of the constitution, students can use and
reference it even after they graduate. Making sure students Know their rights is important as they
can know the rights the government should not be infringing upon. This allows students to
become more independent thinkers that can build up their nation rather than do nothing when it
oversteps its authority. The Bill of rights especially is an important issue and is listed in the
constitution, but the vocab can be tough which is why vocab strategies are important.

A graffiti wall is a strategy where a vocab word is written on the board, students are then asked
to respond with what they think the word means. They can either draw, write synonyms, possible
definitions, or anything else that would help them understand what the word means. The text will
be read beforehand to help students gain context clues, as well as a simpler version of the text
can be read as well. After students complete the activity they would be given the definition and
given the opportunity to build their own graffiti wall in their notes with the correct definitions
and corresponding words/drawings that are helpful to build ther memory on what the word
means. This gives students a greater understanding of the text, and a new tool to help them learn
and remember vocabulary.
due process & double jeopardy
Double Jeopardy the prosecution of a person twice for the same offense.

Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so
all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of
the land and protects the individual person from it.

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