Fairfax County Public Schools
Social Studies Program of Studies:
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Suggested time for instruction: two weeks
The student will demonstrate knowledge of World War II by
- Identifying the causes and events that led to American involvement in the war, including military assistance to Britain and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Describing the major battles and turning points of the war in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific, including Midway, Stalingrad, the Normandy landing (D-Day), and Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb to force the surrender of Japan.
- Describing the role of all-minority units, including the Tuskegee Airmen and Nisei Regiments.
- Describing the Geneva Convention and the treatment of prisoners of war during World War II.
- Analyzing the Holocaust (Hitler’s Final Solution), its impact on Jews and other groups, and the postwar trials of war criminals.
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- How did the United States respond to increasing totalitarian aggression in Europe and Asia?
- What were the reasons for U.S. intervention in World War II?
- What was the overall strategy of the United States in World War II?
- What were the pivotal battles in World War II?
- What roles did minorities play in the American war effort?
- What was the purpose of the Geneva Convention and how was it implemented during the war?
- What was the Holocaust and what was its impact?
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NOTE: Red Bolded content in the indicators is considered essential and must be taught in all classrooms. Content which is not bolded goes beyond the scope and sequence of the state standards.
Benchmark 10.1: The student will analyze the rise of totalitarian regimes, global economic instability, and the failure of international institutions as underlying causes of the war.
10.1 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Analyze how the political and economic problems that resulted from the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations led to World War II (appeasement/Munich Conference).
- Identify the acts of aggression of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan that led to World War II (Manchuria, Ethiopia, Rhineland, the Sudetenland, Poland).
- Analyze the reasons and the actions by which the United States and President Roosevelt moved from a policy of neutrality to involvement in World War II (Lend-Lease Act, oil and steel embargo on Japan, Neutrality Acts, cash and carry policy, Pearl Harbor).
Benchmark 10.2: Students will analyze the military strategies, major battles and turning points of World War II.
10.2 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Identify the Allied and Axis powers, and their major political leaders (Churchill, DeGaulle, Stalin, Chiang Kai-shek, Roosevelt, Truman, Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, and Tojo) and military leaders (Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton, Nimitz, Montgomery, Bradley, Rommel, Goering, Yamamoto).
- Identify the strategies of Germany and Japan to defeat the Allies.
- Identify the Allies’ military strategy in the European and Pacific theatres (“Defeat Hitler first,” “island hopping”).
- Describe the significant battles and turning points in the war (El Alamein, Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, Midway, Iwo Jima, Okinawa).
- Evaluate the decision to employ atomic weapons against Japan and assess the later controversies over the decision (Hiroshima, Nagasaki).
Benchmark 10.3: The student will analyze how minority participation in World War II contributed to the Allied victory.
10.3 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Identify minority contributions to the war effort with emphasis on the Tuskegee Airmen, Nisei regiments, the Navajo Indians, and Mexican Americans.
Benchmark 10.4: The student will analyze the violations of human rights that took place before and during World War II.
10.4 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Analyze Hitler’s “Final Solution”, its impact on Jews, Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, and “undesirables”, and the Allied response to the Holocaust.
- Identify the terms of the Geneva Convention and the violations in the Pacific and European Theatres (Bataan Death March), and analyze the postwar trials of war criminals in Nuremberg and Tokyo.
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