World War 2 Project Menu and Activities

Let students demonstrate World War II learning through a choice of projects, from a timeline to a memorial or news report. Each option has directions and a rubric to guide the work.
Grades
Grades 6–8, High School
Pages
13
File type
Microsoft PowerPoint
Editable
Yes

Updated Feb 21, 2024

Subject
Social Studies, History
Topic
World War II, Project choice board
Resource types
Projects
Editable
Yes

Product description

From the author

World War II Project Menu + Activities Engage your middle school students in World War II history with this menu of project options. Students can choose from 9 creative activities about World War II figures and events, from writing letters to chronicling major battles as a news reporter. This resource includes a menu overview and individual activity details, turnkey instructions, and grading rubrics to simplify implementation in your classroom, whether in whole group, small group, or individual settings. With an array of multi-modal projects, this project menu promotes student choice, fosters engagement and creativity, strengthens historical analysis skills, and allows for differentiated learning on this pivotal 20th century conflict.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Research and present historically accurate facts about a World War II figure, event, or topic through a chosen project format.

  • Apply narrative or expository writing skills to a WWII scenario, such as a soldier's letter home or a wartime news article.

  • Self-select and complete a project format that matches personal strengths, from visual (comic, timeline) to written (poem, letter) to oral (expert mini-lesson).

Teaching tips

  • Set the required option, number of additional choices and due date directly on the choice-board slide before distributing, since these fields are left blank for the teacher to fill in.

  • Share the specific rubric for a chosen option before students begin, since the point breakdowns differ meaningfully between options (e.g., the alphabet book totals 110 points across four criteria).

  • Require students to cite real historical facts for the memorial and news-article options, since both rubrics grade a separate 'historically accurate and realistic' category.

Skills covered

  • Historical research and accuracy — students identify real facts about WWII figures or events and are graded on historical accuracy across most of the nine options.

  • Perspective writing — students write a 200-word letter home in the voice of a WWII soldier or nurse.

  • Multi-format presentation — students choose among visual, written, and oral formats (comic strip, timeline, five-minute lesson) to demonstrate the same content knowledge.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Are all project options graded in the same way?

Each option has its own rubric, and point totals vary. Check the rubrics when deciding which choices to assign and how to compare completed projects.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • World War II

  • Choice board

  • Project-based assessment

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