On monday we started with Pearl Harbor, then for homework the kids read FDR's "day of infamy' speech and compared it to President Bush's speech after 9/11. It went pretty well, I would have wanted a little more discussion, but I was happy with the classes.
Tuesday we went a little back in time and did a whole lesson on Hitler's rise to power. The kids seemed really attentive and wanted to learn a lot about him. I wish I knew the answers to all of their questions, but I was able to hold me own.
Today we talked about the European Theater and five major battles. It was a lot of notes today, but for the most part the kids were receptive.
For homework tonight, the kids are reading a speech by Heinrich Himmler about concentration camps, and then the testimony of the commander of Auschwitz during the Nuremburg trials. We are going to have an in-class text based discussion tomorrow and for homework they're going to be reading an excerpt from "Night."
My hope is that the students will be able to see the huge contrast in the ways the different parties talk about concentration camps, the demeanor, tone, and language will be very different. Hopefully it will spark a good discussion in class.
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