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| WHAT WOULD YOU BE LIKE IF YOUR WORLD WAS AT WAR? |
| Imagine that you are 13 years old on December 7th, 1941. Your world is shaken when you hear that Pearl Harbor is attacked. Friends and family members soon leave home to fight in the second world war. Your own brother wants to sign up for the Army, but so far your mother has kept him home because of her fears. Your goal is to start a scrapbook that will help you remember this unique time in history. It should be detailed with pictures, artifacts and journaling that explain how you lived and how you feel about each of the items you have included. Use the following websites as resources: |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC-REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR Click on "Multimedia Map and Timeline" to view photos, footage and firsthand accounts of the battle of Pearl Harbo. BEYOND THE MOVIE "PEARL HARBOR" Compare the characters and events from the movie to the real life people and events of the time. THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF WWII What kind of music would you be listening to during those times? A HISTORY OF FASHION AND DRESS Check out the bottom of this website where the author talks about fashion changes that were due to wartime rationing practices of the 1940's. Click on the links to find pictures and more info. LIFE ON THE HOMEFRONT: Read some of this family's stories to get an idea about what the people at home were doing during the war. Also be sure to check out the link for the posters... very interesting! PERSONAL STORIES FROM WWII Did you know that dogs were recruited for service during the war... or that the speed limit was reduced to 35 mph in order to save gas and rubber? How long would it take you to get from Oak Forest to the city of Chicago if you couldn't drive 55 mph like we do now? RATION BOOK EXAMPLES Look at these examples carefully to figure out how things were rationed during WWII. What do you think you would do if you were asked to limit your use of soap or sugar to support the current war against terrorism? WHAT IS NITROGLYCERIN? Can you find the connection between soap rationing and nitroglycerin, the main ingredient in WWII explosive devices? ALFRED NOBEL INVENTS DYNAMITE When Alfred Nobel was a teenager, he came across a dangerous chemical that changed his life and the lives of every soldier in WWII. Find out how he tried to make amends after he died. ORIGIN OF SOAP How can two dirty ingredients come together to make soap, a commodity of very short supply during WWII? HOW SOAP WORKS Take a look at these diagrams of soap molecules so you can figure out what makes it so great for cleaning up greasy dirt. Can you imagine what it would be like to have to ration, or limit, your use of soap like they did during World War II? EXPERIMENT AT HOME: MAKE AN ANTI-BUBBLE What's an anti-bubble? Check it out to find out and learn how to do it yourself at home. EXPERIMENT ONLINE: PH PANEL You can test 12 common household substances at this website to find out whether they are acids or bases. |
| "Flag Raising on Iow Jima," Photo by Joe Rosenthal, http://www.ap.org//pages/Rosenthal.html |