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Interview people about their memories of World War II, then share these memories with students in other states or countries.
With Classport,
you can write and create with classrooms around the world!
Here's how to
get started:
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Review the World War II Remembered project.
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Once you're familiar with this activity,
go to Classport and
join their online community.
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You'll be asked to set up a classroom
profile. You can mention in your profile that you are interested in
participating in a writing activity.
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Once you are a member of Classport,
you can search for classrooms in other countries and contact them.
Classport provides tools such as instant translation, so you can communicate
easily even if you don't speak the same language!
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Cross-cultural
Connections:
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Have an Exchange of World War II Memories
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1.
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Locate someone to interview about what his or her life was like during World War II. Then review the Writing Workshop for important information about conducting an interview. Put the interview in context for your partner class by describing where the person is from and why they have these particular memories.
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2.
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As an alternative to conducting an interview, the class may choose to research and write about their community's involvement in World War II. Their community may have played an important role in the war. It may have been the location of a historic battle, or a large group of community members may have volunteered for the armed forces. The community may have been a home to major manufacturing of war munitions and supplies.
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3.
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As a class, research your partner class's part of the world. How did World War II affect their country? Develop questions to ask your partner class. Here are a few suggestions:
- Was the war fought in their town?
- How did the war affect their community?
- Did any of their relatives fight in the war?
- How did they feel about why they were fighting the war?
- How did the war affect their relatives' day-to-day life?
- What would they say was the worst aspect of the war?
- What happened to their community after the war was over?
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4.
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Find a partner class who wants to share World War II memories and set up a schedule with them. Classes will share their memories and ask the partner class questions about their community's involvement in World War II. Classes will then answer each other's questions. Afterwards, have a final exchange of comments and ideas.
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5.
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Classes can publish their interviews in the World War II Memory Book.
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Extending
the Project
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1.
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Read and review historic literature and nonfiction that are about World War II. Create a reading list with reviews of the books. Exchange these with a partner class and have them send you their book reviews. Choose a new book that neither class has read and start a book club. Classes can then read a few chapters at a time and then schedule time to exchange comments and ideas.
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2.
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Have the class explore Home Life in the American Home Front project. Have them use the Home Life interactive exploration as a model for creating their own informative posters or Web pages about the person they interviewed. Partner classes can share their informative posters by scanning or digitally photographing the images.
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