World War II
7th Grade
Title: Economics in World War II
Materials:
Paper, pencils, computer with projector, “Food is a Weapon” poster, pictures from Winona Historical Society, entitled salvage guide, poster, waste paper, ration coupon, Winona stocking, recipes, and black market.
Goals:
The student will better understand the demand for resources due to World War II, and the effects of this demand on the United States.
Objectives:
The student will better understand the demand for resources due to World War II, and the effects of this demand on the United States.
Objectives:
The student will indentify the resources that became scarce in the United States during World War II, as well as recognize the impact of this scarcity on women’s involvement in the workforce.
Procedure:
Introductory Experiences
Show the “Food is a Weapon” propaganda poster to the class. What do you think this poster means? What is the purpose of this poster? Have students write down answers for an informal discussion, and once every student has gathered ideas, discuss these questions as a class. After discussion, explain that this poster was meant to remind citizens to conserve food because of the soldiers’ needs overseas. (5 minutes)
Procedure:
Introductory Experiences
Show the “Food is a Weapon” propaganda poster to the class. What do you think this poster means? What is the purpose of this poster? Have students write down answers for an informal discussion, and once every student has gathered ideas, discuss these questions as a class. After discussion, explain that this poster was meant to remind citizens to conserve food because of the soldiers’ needs overseas. (5 minutes)
Developmental Experiences
During the war, many items that were once common and plentiful were now in extremely high demand. This is due to the amount of soldiers overseas and their need for many items. Discuss supply and demand, making sure to emphasize that value is directly related to this concept. For example, if a supply is low demand is high for an item, value is also high. So what kind of items do you think the soldiers needed overseas? Discuss as a class. Soldiers needed food, copper for bullet production, ropes and rubber for various uses, metals, paper items, and many other materials. Show “salvage guide” picture, “poster” picture, and “waste paper” picture. Discuss as a class. (10 minutes)
During the war, many items that were once common and plentiful were now in extremely high demand. This is due to the amount of soldiers overseas and their need for many items. Discuss supply and demand, making sure to emphasize that value is directly related to this concept. For example, if a supply is low demand is high for an item, value is also high. So what kind of items do you think the soldiers needed overseas? Discuss as a class. Soldiers needed food, copper for bullet production, ropes and rubber for various uses, metals, paper items, and many other materials. Show “salvage guide” picture, “poster” picture, and “waste paper” picture. Discuss as a class. (10 minutes)
Items like these were so needed during the war, that many items were rationed. A ration is a fixed portion of an item in times of scarcity. U.S. citizens were each allowed only a certain amount of many items like sugar, gas, rubber, or other items. Coupons were issued to everyone, and in order to by some items, a coupon was needed. Show “ration coupon” picture and “Winona stocking” picture. Discuss the impact of rationing to local areas like Winona, and use this picture of Winona to give the students a sense of locality with even national or international problems. Some items, such as beef and pork, were so needed overseas, that people had to rely on other meats for nutrition. Show “recipes” picture, and read aloud some of the unappetizing ingredients in the meals. Discuss as a class. Some items were so needed overseas that people illegally sold extra ration coupons to make money. Show “black market” picture and discuss as a class. (10 minutes)
What other items that we haven’t discussed do you think were in high demand? People! Discuss how many men were shipped all over the world because of the war, and left many jobs unattended. Therefore, many jobs that were traditionally done by men were temporarily given to women. A good example of these are factory jobs. Remind them about views of women in the workplace before the war, and how much of a change it was to allow women to do men’s jobs. Although many women had to leave their jobs and return to homemaking after the war’s end, this was a very important step toward women’s rights and equality. (9 minutes)
Culminating Experiences
Have the students get into groups of 3 or 4. Explain that for the following activity, imagine that there is a flash flood all over the world as we speak!! Thankfully, everyone is alright, but dry land is disappearing fast! With less and less dry land available, certain items are becoming increasingly valuable, while others are losing their value dramatically. In groups, answer the following questions. What items might increase in value in this situation? What items might lose their value? Why would these items change value? After groups have had time to discuss and brainstorm ideas, discuss the answers as a class. There are no right or wrong answers, this activity is just meant to promote hypothetical thinking and discussion. (11 minutes)
Some answers to look for are:
Items with increasing value: boats, scuba gear, rafts, food, drinking water, matches, land
Items with decreasing value: TV, video games, cars, etc.
