Teachers!

This lesson will be a primary source based look at the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Through the sources you should be able to fully explore the isolated conditions that the soldiers felt both physically and emotionally. Furthermore, many of the sources provide visual examples of contempt and hatred for the Japanese race, a trend that does not start here, but its presence here does not help to quench the similar feelings back home on the western United States. The lesson is designed for an Honors level 11^th grade US History class, but can be adapted to suit on-level or AP classes.

Student Learning objectives:

• Understand the importance of the Aleutian Islands  in WWII
• Describe and identify the isolated conditions of American soldiers
• Describe the possible uses of media during the war
• Explain how the Japanese are portrayed, both in media and by the soldiers themselves

Standards Covered:

SSUSH19 The student will identify the origins, major developments, and the domestic impact of World War II, especially the growth of the federal government.

b. Explain the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the internment of Japanese-Americans, German-Americans, and Italian-Americans.

f.  Compare the geographic locations of the European Theater and the Pacific Theater and the difficulties the U.S. faced in delivering weapons, food, and medical supplies to troops.

SSWH18 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the global political,

economic and social impact of World War II.

a. Describe the major conflicts and outcomes, including Pearl Harbor, El-Alamein,

Stalingrad, D-Day, Guadalcanal, the Philippines, and the end of the war in

Europe and Asia.

Why historical thinking? 

If it is our goal as teachers to engage students in learning and inspire them to be life long learners, then it is important to expose them to the “process” of historians’ work as they write history.

Teaching students to create history on their own through analysis of primary sources can develop their critical thinking skills and give them agency in the process of learning about the past.  While we cannot bring our history classes to an archives every day, we can bring primary sources into the classroom to enrich our lessons or deepen student content learning.

Students who are trained to analyze primary sources and use them as a basis for learning about an event, theme, or person can become more sophisticated thinkers – with practice.  This blog is designed to present students with a simple idea, the men and women who fought in World War II in the Aleutian Islands were isolated in every sense of the word, and develop it to show how isolation help to create and reinforce racial contempt towards the Japanese.  By experiencing the history of the campaign through the collection of primary sources here, students will find that they can participate successfully in the practice of “making history” as they craft their own understanding of the topic at hand. 

The advantage of the internet-based design is that it allows students to view a collection of sources in a dynamic format; when students find something particularly interesting, they can revisit the source, or further pursue knowledge on their own through the various resources available on the internet. 



As teachers, we are facilitators of knowledge. Let this blog be facilitating for both you and your students. Please contact me if you have any questions, comments, ideas, or concerns. Thank you for your interest in the Aleutian Islands Campaign!