Mike's+Lesson+Plan

World War II Picture and Poster Analysis​ Grade Level- High School U.S. History Students

Objective- Students will be able to compare and contrast (2) pictures and posters taken/created during World War II. Students will get a better understanding of how posters were used as propaganda to promote enthusiasm and support for the US war effort in Europe and Asia. They will also be able to critically analyze pictures to determine what might be happening in each photo.

Length- One class period (50 minutes)

Materials- 2 pictures and posters from World War II 1- [|Hitler Photo] 2- [|President's Truman] 3- [|Anti German Poster] 4.[|Conservation poster] - Venn Diagram sheets - SEA sheets - NARA photo analysis worksheet.

Background- The students will need to have been taught what the word "propaganda" means and how it was used during wartime. They will also be taught about the many ways propaganda was used to convince Americans to do the right things such as conserving materials, not telling of soldier whereabouts, purchasing war bonds, etc. Examples of posters will be shown in previous classes to allow for student comprehension. Students will also have to learn how to critically analyze photos using both the SEA method and NARA worksheets.

Introduction- In an opening exercise, the students will be asked what we could put on a poster promoting the Philadelphia Phillies chances of defeating the evil empire known as the New York Yankees. It must be in good taste and also promote the Phillies and their fans but also could degrade New York(in a tasteful manner of course). Using this analysis would act as a springboard into the propaganda poster analysis.

Activities- Students will be again be broken into groups after the Introductory activity. They will be given copies of 2 World War II propaganda posters. Using a Venn Diagram they will compare and contrast each poster. We will go over each groups analysis as a class. Then the students will be given 2 actual photos taken during World War. In their groupd they will be asked to analyze both pictures. One they will use the SEA method. The second they will use a NARA photo analysis worksheet. As a class we will then discuss the results.

Closure/Homework-. Students will create their own propaganda poster using any rivalry they can think of in sports, retail products(Coke vs. Pepsi?), entertainment, politics, etc.

Analysis: The students will hopefully come out of this lesson with a better understanding of how the US used propaganda posters to get the nation behind them in the war effort. The propaganda was used in many ways from recruitment of women and men, buying of war bonds, conservation of materials or just the general degrading of the opponent. Studenst should see that this was seen as a way to energize and unite the country during wartime. The picture analysis will also allow students to look at photos and determine on their own what may or may not be happening. This could be tied into other areas of the curriculum by having the students do more research on the topics or tie in a certain piece of literature that corresponds with the pictures.