Subject Area: Language Arts or Social Studies

Reading Level: Advanced

Book Summary
Stephen E. Ambrose, one of the most prominent historians of our time, takes young readers on a guided tour of the events that transpired during World War II. Filled with personal anecdotes and beautiful photographs, Ambrose brings to life the places and the people who lived and died during this period in history. From the hollow eyes of a concentration camp victim to the words of the men on Omaha Beach, the pain and courage of a time gone by becomes clear. Ambrose eloquently imparts a history of the horrific and heroic, making clear the importance of remembering our past.

Objective
Students will learn about a particular event during WW II and write a script based on a picture from the book.
Standard: Student conveys a clear main point when speaking to others and stays on the topic being discussed. Student evaluates strategies used by speakers in oral presentations (e.g., persuasive techniques, verbal messages supported by nonverbal techniques, effect of word choice, use of slanted or biased material)

Warm-up Activity
Read page 56 out loud and show students the picture of the men marching down the Champs-Elysee. Ask students:

• What do you think these men were thinking?
• How do you think they felt?
• Pick a particular soldier and look at his face. What do you think he is thinking about?

Teaching Plan

1. Have students pick a photograph that touches them.
2. Tell them to describe the setting of the photograph in a paragraph.
3. Ask the class to focus on one person in the photograph and tell them to "get inside that person's head." They should briefly describe:
   • What is this person thinking?
   • What was person's life like before the war?
   • What does this person think his/her life will be like after the war?
   • What does this person fear? What does this person dream about?
4. Have students show the photographs they have chosen and present their script to the class.

Other Books About World War II
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
by Eleanor Coerr
A young Japanese girl living in Hiroshima is a survivor of the atomic bomb. She finds out she has leukemia and creates a thousand paper cranes so that the gods will grant her one wish.

Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
During WW II, a family hides a young Jewish girl to protect her from Nazis.

Other Books by Stephen Ambrose
Citizen Soldiers
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II
Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869

Teaching plan written by Gabrielle Nidus