The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British, French, and American armies in finally ending Germany's reign of terror throughout Europe.

Concepts

world war ii, germany, german history, adolf hitler, nazism, primary source analysis, document-based questions

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

social studies

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Allow small groups to use tablets or laptops for each aspect of the task
• Print copies of each document for quick reference when students are planning their news reports

Classroom Considerations

• Requires access to the Internet and the latest version of Flash®
• The first of four lessons on World War II in Eastern Europe

Pros

• Encourages learners to use research skills and critical thinking
• Project-based format makes it easy to assign the lesson as either an in-class assignment or homework

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.3 RH.9-10.9 RH.9-10.10 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.3 RH.11-12.9 RH.11-12.10