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Volume 3 | Issue 2
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March 28, 2016
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The
Cromwell Column

As you all know, we have begun our unit over World War II! So far I
feel as though this unit is going great and your student is learning a lot

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of new information! At this point, we have covered the causes and

some of the occurrences during the war. As you read on, you will see
some of what we have been doing in class!

German Aggression
Because World History is often a difficult subject for high school students to grasp, I wanted to
begin this unit on a lighter note. Beginning on Monday March 28th, we discussed the rapid
aggression of Germany under Adolf Hitler. The following day, I had the students label a European
map so they could comprehend where and when the advancements occurred.

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The above image shows the Axis advancements in Europe during WWII. It also shows which
areas were controlled by what powers, and which areas were considered to be neutral during the
war. The image also shows the cities that were severely damaged due to constant bombing.

The German Genocide

We have also started talking about the infamous German Genocide, also known as the Holocaust.
Because so many students seem to be interested with this topic, I wanted to spend an adequate
amount of time covering this section. To begin this topic, I had your student analyze a primary
source document from WWII. The image that I gave your student dealt with the liquidation of the
Jewish ghettos. In this activity, your student was able to define Primary Source, identify different
types of primary source documents, and make observations and be able to predict the outcome
based on the primary source. They were also able to relate a journal article that allowed them
draw conclusions as to what was going on in the image. From this, your student was then able to
create a scene in which they acted out what was going on in the primary source document.
I have also developed an activity that will have your student interact with the Holocaust on a
personal level. Each student will be getting an identity card of an actual person who was in the
Holocaust. Your student will research this person using articles that I provide for them, and they
will found out whether their person survived or not. This will give your student an realistic
perception on the Holocaust, and they will learn a large amount from this assignment.

Future Learnings
In this upcoming week, we will finish our unit over World War II. We will continue on with our
notes about the war in the Pacific and the eventual Allied victory. We will take verbal notes as
well as complete a guided reading where your student will be expected to read and interpret one of
the sections in the chapter. From this assignment, your student will gain an understanding of how
to interpret and analyze a text.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or

concerns that you may have!
Meghan Stys
mestys@go.olemiss.edu
678-654-1205

Upcoming dates to keep in mind:

Vocabulary Quiz March 30th
Unit Test April 1st
MAP Testing April 11th 14th