Additional Classroom Activities
Essay Questions
This was the first combat mission for the young aviators flying in the Doolittle Tokyo Raid. How do you think they felt? How would you feel?
How did the fliers get from a point 800 miles off the coast of Japan all the way to East China, a journey of roughly miles? What tools did they use to find their way?
Has anyone in your family ever served in the military? What was their experience?
Newsreel Script Exercise
Before the invention of television, people could only "see" the news in so-called "newsreels." These were short films shown at movie theaters, either before or after the main feature. Highly stylized, they were sometimes written more for impact than accuracy.
Prior to the start of this exercise, the class watches a portion of a typical World War II newsreel. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/38907
Next, the class is divided into four-member "production teams." Each team will be assigned a specific World War II topic and write the script for a 60-second newsreel story. In addition to scripted narration, the teams will also indicate on a supplied script template the appropriate pictures to accompany each segment of their story.
At the end of the allotted time, one member from each group will read aloud the script they have written.
Debate
American writer Studs Terkel once said that World War II was "the last good war." By that he meant it was the last war which almost all Americans agreed should have been fought. But can any war be called "good?" That is the theme of an in-class debate.
The Affirmative Team will argue there are times when a nation must go to war. While the Negative Team will argue that war should be avoided at all costs.