Driving Question: Was your life worth the fight for freedom in World War II?
Our 5th graders recently went on a journey through the past with a new identity. As our entry event for World War II, students took on identities of real people chronicling the experiences of their lives in Europe during the Holocaust. The goal of using the identification cards was to personalize the historical events of the time. During our PBL unit students used the perspective of their new identity to answer the driving question again and again while they were learning and researching. This was quite a challenge for them and the students wavered on their stance throughout the unit depending on the events and how they affected the person of which they took on the identity, the military of the allied countries, and the rise of the dictators and death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. For example, even though they knew the severity of the persecution of the Jewish people, they still struggled. This struggle was exactly what made this such an emotional investment for kids and why they are not likely to soon forget the value of every single life, as evidenced by Jake's essay in the slideshow below..
Student-Created Digital Portfolios
Student portfolios for their final presentations were digital. They included any artifacts and evidence that supported their stance including their new identity, maps, a letter to FDR, a description from inside a concentration, camp, a letter as a soldier from the battlefield of Iwo Jima, and piccollages of V-E Day and V-J Day. During the presentation, they were to answer the driving question, show their digital portfolio, and finally give their persuasive argument at the end referring back to the contents of their portfolio to persuade the audience on their stance. We were honored to have several parents and school staff as well as community members from the Henry County Farm Bureau to serve as our authentic audience. Presentations were in small groups to provide the intimacy needed for these poignant conversations.