INTRODUCTION
With the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States found itself suddenly involved in a war that was raging across nearly every continent of the globe. As the American military ramped up its war effort, support from the American public became crucial. The need for more soldiers, more factory production, more government funds, and less consumption by civilians of crucial war resources led to a public propaganda campaign. In an age before the widespread use of television the two best ways to reach the public were radio broadcasts and print. President Roosevelt was a pioneer in using the radio to sway public opinion, and soon colorful posters promoting the requirements of the war effort began appearing all over the United States.
MATERIALS"Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front,"by William L. Bird Jr. and Harry Rubenstein (abridged from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website; complete essay is here)Graphic Organizer: Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home FrontPROCEDURE
At the teacher’s discretion you may choose to have the students do the lesson individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students.
Hand out "Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front," by William L. Bird Jr. and Harry Rubenstein."Share read" the essay with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English language learners (ELL).Hand out Graphic Organizer Lesson 1: Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front.Using the graphic organizer, the students analyze the secondary source document. This can be done as a whole-class activity with discussion, in small groups, with partners, or individually.Discuss different interpretations developed by the students or student groups.Lesson 2OBJECTIVE
In this lesson the students will carefully analyze ten primary source posters from World War II. These posters come from a variety of sources but all of them reflect the themes developed by the United States government and the Office of War Information (OWI). These themes were introduced in the essay used in lesson one. The students will determine which of the six themes recommended by the OWI the poster best represents. They will use the visual evidence as well as the textual evidence to analyze the theme presented in the poster. A poster analysis sheet will be used to demonstrate their understanding.
INTRODUCTION
The development of posters to promote American patriotism during World War II is an example of propaganda. Propaganda is a form of communication that usually bypasses the intellect and motivates a target group by appealing to their emotions. The posters developed for the home front during World War II were designed to motivate American citizens and develop a sense of patriotism that would turn the United States into an unstoppable war machine. These posters called on all Americans to be part of the war effort, not just by carrying a gun into battle, but in many other important ways. Government programs such as metal and rubber drives may not have meant the difference between winning or losing the war, but the camaraderie and sense of unity generated by such drives was very important to the war effort.
MATERIALSWorld War II Posters #1–#10Analyzing the Poster (each student or group will need five copies)PROCEDURE
At the teacher’s discretion you may choose to have the students do the lesson individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students.
Hand out World War II Posters #1–#2 and Analyzing the PosterThe students answer the questions on the Analyzing the Poster handouts for each poster. For the first two posters this will be done as a whole-class activity with discussion. After analyzing the first two posters with the class, hand out posters #3–#10. These posters will be analyzed by the students in small groups, with a partner, or individually.Discuss different interpretations developed by the students or student groups. Discuss the information in the introduction.Lesson 3OBJECTIVE
In this lesson the students will carefully analyze ten primary source posters from World War II. The students will determine which of the six themes recommended by the Office of War Information the poster best represents. The students will use the visual evidence, as well as the textual evidence, in order to analyze the theme presented in each poster. A poster analysis sheet will be used to demonstrate their understanding.
