Social Studies: World War II
Enduring Understandings
1) Solving logistical military problems to win World War II required both simple and complex solutions.
2) Breaking military codes was essential for planning and implementation of military strategies.
2) Breaking military codes was essential for planning and implementation of military strategies.
Essential Questions
1) How do Simple Machines help win World War II?
2) What strategies can be used to developing and cracking military codes.
2) What strategies can be used to developing and cracking military codes.
Lessons/Activities
Day One:
Do Now: (Short Journal) What kind of information do you need to solve a problem or break a code? When it has never been done before, how do you find people to tackle the problem? What do you think you will be good at doing someday that no one else has done before?
Lesson: Divide the students into groups and have them research and ask them to research how 1) intelligence helped at the with the Battle of Midway and 2) how intelligence helped with the D-Day Invasion. Have them research their assigned area and put together a tri-fold Power Point Slide with their information. They should share out with the class.
Day Two:
Do Now: (Short Journal) What did you think about the field trip? What simple machines have been used to solve complex and simple problems in the past?
Lesson: Have the students read the article about the Enigma Machine. Afterwards tell them that they are going to create their own code! They have to use one of four methods
Once they have created a sentence or two in code, they need to exchange it with a partner and try and decipher each other's codes.
Do Now: (Short Journal) What kind of information do you need to solve a problem or break a code? When it has never been done before, how do you find people to tackle the problem? What do you think you will be good at doing someday that no one else has done before?
Lesson: Divide the students into groups and have them research and ask them to research how 1) intelligence helped at the with the Battle of Midway and 2) how intelligence helped with the D-Day Invasion. Have them research their assigned area and put together a tri-fold Power Point Slide with their information. They should share out with the class.
Day Two:
Do Now: (Short Journal) What did you think about the field trip? What simple machines have been used to solve complex and simple problems in the past?
Lesson: Have the students read the article about the Enigma Machine. Afterwards tell them that they are going to create their own code! They have to use one of four methods
- Using numbers to represent letters of the 26-letter alphabet
- Reverse imaging (write words backward so they appear correct in a mirror)
- Scrambling the letters within the sentence
- Develop a secret pattern using the alphabet. For example, for each letter of the sentence, move up one letter on the alphabet to develop the code. (i.e., Csfbl uif dpef = Break the code) (From the CIA Website: https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/parents-teachers/teacher-resources#lesson-plan-a-examples)
Once they have created a sentence or two in code, they need to exchange it with a partner and try and decipher each other's codes.
Resources
A documentary about the code breakers in England during WWII
trifold-template.pptx | |
File Size: | 376 kb |
File Type: | pptx |