Multicultural Unit on WWII

1. Multicultural Unit on WWII An Integrated, Thematic, Transition-Linked, Standards-Based Unit Dr. Pamela Luft Ashley Curtis Ashley Martin And other grant team members Kent State University

2. Problem • Dealing with Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing students who have varied reading abilities • Incorporating state standards and making these meaningful to students through transition-linked activities • Showing multiple and multicultural perspectives on a historical event Transition Services Preparation & Training

3. Solution • Using “Understanding by Design” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) • Incorporating three cross-cultural strands and perspectives of WWII • Using both chapter and picture books focusing on children’s experiences • Incorporating standards through real-life transition activities Transition Services Preparation & Training

4. Who is the unit for? • Designed specifically for students who are D/HH in grades 4 through 8 • Easily modifiable for a high school curriculum • Based on a unit developed by Teacher of the Deaf, Ms. Michelle Fischer • Kent State University Deaf Education majors on OSERS transition grant expanded on Ms. Fisher’s ideas to create this comprehensive, literature-based unit which incorporates ODE and LCCE standards Transition Services Preparation & Training

5. How we created the WWII unit • Selection of age-appropriate picture books focusing on the experiences of three areas: ◦Japan, Europe, and the United States, including: ◦The Holocaust and concentration camps ◦Atomic bomb & effects (Nagasaki/Hiroshima) ◦Japanese-American internment camps and Pearl Harbor • Books aligned with objectives of unit, based on LCCE Daily Living Skills and ODE academic standards, creating activities which incorporate transition skills and themes from the books Transition Services Preparation & Training

6. How we created the WWII unit, con’t. • Focus on three “strands” for literature based-activity groupings, as well as connections among these: -Japan, Europe, United States... ◦experiences of characters AND ◦perspectives of all communities involved • Development of timeline, which can be transferred to multiple tiers, tracing interactions among book characters, nations, and actual events of World War II Transition Services Preparation & Training

7. Examples of books used Transition Services Preparation & Training

8. Sadako by Eleanor Coerr-available in both chapter and picture book form • Ohio Content Standards • Math Standards • Measurement and Geometry • Path of the bombs • Detonation and damage from bombs • Illness and contamination patterns from radiation poisoning Transition Services Preparation & Training

9. Sadako • Ohio Content Standards • Science • Life Sciences • Mutations that happened to children born after the bombing • Mutations that happened to people exposed to the radiation • Cancer’s effect on a person’s body Transition Services Preparation & Training

10. Sadako • Ohio Content Standards • Language Arts • Reading Application C&D • Write a hypothetical letter to raise money for the statue described at the end of the book • Write a letter to help spread Sadako’s story and the importance of peace • Independent Reading Project Transition Services Preparation & Training

11. Sadako – Transition LinksIncludes relevant, interactive websites and group/individual activities Transition Services Preparation & Training

12. Additional Information • Contact Information VISIT OUR WEBSITE!!! http://www.educ.kent.edu/fundedprojects/TSPT/grant.htm Dr. Pamela Luft, Kent State University; Kent, Ohio pluft@kent.edu • Additional Team Members Olivia Chapman Lindsey Cecala Amy Massey-Norton Keady Gundrum Theodore Reeves Erin Royse Laurie Sutherin Transition Services Preparation & Training