Ian Johnson

Dr. Warner

December 5, 2007

                                    Masters of War: History and History Makers Unit Plan

 

"It is just as much a matter of chance that I am still

alive as that I might have been hit [É] No soldier

outlives a thousand chances. But every soldier believes

in Chance and trusts his luck."

(from All Quiet on the Western Front)

 

I chose the unit on History and History Makers: Of People and Places focusing on the topic of war because I feel that it is vital for students to understand the horrors and triumphs people experience in war. Because of our wartime climate, high school and college campuses throughout the country are being flooded with military recruiters who hope to enlist students. Some students may see the military as their only option for a future with promises to pay for education after their active duty. I feel it is important for students to understand that they do have options before they make their decision. Giving them a modern and realistic perspective on war and itÕs affects not only on soldiers but civilians, will give them a more thorough perspective of the pros and cons of being in the military. 

Students may or not have an interest in topics about war, but I feel through the literature of this unit they will begin to create an opinion, become better informed, and spark an interest in human history, current events, and how war affects and shapes the global population with the travesty and damage it can cause. Ken BurnsÕ recent War documentary about World War II reignited my personal disgust for war and reflections upon the current state of affairs between the United States and the Middle East. As a high school teacher, I feel that it is important to present material to educate the students to the realities of war so they can make an educated decision when confronted by military recruiters offering bright futures.

I also hope to inform students that as an American citizen they have the right to become a conscientious objector. They need to know they can voice their opinions by writing letters to their representatives and should become aware of the political process so they are informed when they are able to vote. They need to understand their voice and choices do affect the outcome of their future. Their choices and the image they broadcast has a rippling affect through our entire society and global community.

Under a War torn Sky published in 2001 by Laura M. Elliott is my centerpiece novel. This historical fiction novel concerns a young American man flying a plane in World War II. When the enemy destroys his plane, he is forced to land behind enemy lines and attend to the unknown. Trapped, he is surprised to find help from kind and generous people who help him escape and get back home. The novel, filled with action and realistic situations, allow the readerÕs imagination to understand what fighting in Europe during World War II was like.

It also gives a human face to the enemy and the civilians during wartime.

Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott Meets the standards for a good historical novel. The setting of the novel is integral to the story and displays an authentic rendition of time, place, and people. Evidence that across great time spans, people do share similar emotions. References to well-known events or people or clues through which the reader can place the happenings in their correct framework are within the novel. Readers can come away feeling they know the time and place better as if they had lived in it a few hours.       

I hope this topic opens up interesting conversations within the classroom and gives the students a greater sense of empowerment in a time when chaos seems to rule the world.

 

 

                                                Launching the Unit/Activities:

 

1a) Before reading Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott, have students write a one-page essay about how they feel about war with an emphasis on World War II.

 

2a) After reading Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott, have the students write a one-page paper reflecting on incidents within the book and how it changed their perspective on

World War II.

 

3a) Have the students compare and contrast papers one and two in a one-page analysis.

 

4a) Find three quotes or passages in the novel Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott that moved you (i.e.- did you laugh, cry, were you horrified or grossed out?)

 

5a) Class discussion about the novel and the topic of war.

 

 

Choose one of the following topics for a 1-2 page essay.

 

1b) Write an essay about your opinions on whether or not the draft should be reinstated.

Cite at least three sources (one must be a reference other than a web site) and at least one quote from the text Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott.

 

2b) Research the three criteria required in the United States to be classified as a conscientious objector and why you agree or disagree with this. Cite at least three sources (1 must be a reference other than a web sites) and at least one quote from the text Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott.

 

3b) How do you feel about the current American war versus your understanding of past American wars? Cite at least three sources (1 must be a reference other than a web sites) and at least one quote from the text Under a War torn Sky by Laura M. Elliott.

 

1c) Watch Red Badge of Courage and have a short discussion after the movie.

 

1d) What issues that are in the news concern you. Have a class discussion. With the intention of writing the President, your Congressman, and your Senator about your issue, collect newspaper clippings and Internet information to formulate your facts and opinions on your topic.

Visit www.congress.org for information on your representatives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Young Adult and War Related Selections:

 

1) All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

 

All Quiet on the Western Front is the most famous novel dealing with World War I. The book starts in 1917 after a battle, in which half of Paul BŠumer's company has been killed. BŠumer is mostly the narrator and Remarque goes through his life in flashbacks. Lewis Milestone's film (1930), based on the novel, is a landmark of American cinema. One of the best scenes is when Paul (Lew Ayres) returns to his school and tells new students the truth. "When it comes to dying for your country, it's better not to die at all." The film was denounced by Goebbels as anti-German, but the Poles banned it for being pro-German. In France it was prohibited until 1962. Plot summary from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/remarque.htm

 

2) "War is Kind" poem by Stephen Crane (1899)

     This poem has a morbid sarcasm illustrating the horror and sadness the poet feels about war and those who live through it.

 

4) "Masters of War" song by Bob Dylan (1963)

     DylanÕs haunting assault on the military-industrial complex illustrates the anger he and many have towards war and concern for the casualties of civilians. It is an adaptation, with new words by Dylan, of ÒNottamun Town.Ó

 

6) The Quiet American by Graham Green (1955)

    Set in the early 1950s in Saigon, Vietnam at the end of the First Indochina War. The Quiet American is a love story about the triangle that develops between a British journalist in his fifties, a young American idealist, and a beautiful Vietnamese girl. On another level it is also about the political turmoil and growing American involvement that led to the Vietnam War.

This would be more appropriate for an AP class.

 

7) The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895)

     An impressionistic novel narrated by the fictional Henry Fleming, a recruit in the American Civil War, is about the meaning of courage. Although Crane was born after the war and had never seen battle himself, the novel is one of the most influential American war stories ever written. Crane met and spoke with a number of veterans as a student and he created what is widely regarded as an unusually realistic depiction of a young man in battle.

 

Synopsis from ALAN Review, Winter 2005 by Kaplan, Jeffrey http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4063/is_200501/ai_n13486814/pg_1.

 

8) Almost Forever by Maria Testa (2007)

     A lyrical novel told from the six-year-old daughter's perspective. It is the moving story of one family's experience when the father is sent to Vietnam for a year during the Vietnam War. The young girl believes her father shouldn't have gone to war because he is a doctor and doctors don't fight, they heal. She fears that her father will simply disappear from her life, especially when the letters stop coming.

 

Additional Young Adult and War Related Selections (contÕd):

 

9) An American Hero: The True Story of Charles A. Lindberg by Barry Denenberg (1996)

    "Lucky Lindy" was many things--aviator, grieving parent, fighter pilot, and Nazi sympathizer. Here all aspects of this complex man's life are presented with a fair, even hand.

 

10) Or Give Me Death: A Novel of Patrick Henry's Family by Ann Rinaldi (2003)

      A historical novel about the family members of Revolutionary War hero, Patrick Henry, who must wrestle with a host of family problems as they struggle to bring a new nation to the birthplace of freedom. Central to the novel is the potential strength of the human spirit to conquer all odds. Though historical fiction, it is based on true information and reads like the biography of the family of Patrick Henry.

 

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Crane, Stephen. "War is Kind." War Is Kind and Other Poems. New York: Dover, 1991. 27.

 

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.

 

Denenberg, Barry. An American Hero : The True Story of Charles A. Lindberg. New York: Scholastic, 1996.

 

Dylan, Bob. "Masters of War." BobDylan.com. 2007. Sony BMG Music Entertainment,

22 October 2007. <http://bobdylan.com/moderntimes/songs/masters.html>.

 

Elliott, Laura. Under a War Torn Sky. New York: Hyperion Paperback for Children, 2001.

 

Greene, Graham. The Quiet American. London: Penguin Books, 1973.

 

Joyce, Robert Dwyer. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley." The Celtic Lyrics Collection. 2007. 22 October 2007

<http://celtic-lyrics.com/forum/index.php?autocom=tclc&code=lyrics&id=129>.

 

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Trans. A.W. Wheen. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1929.

 

Rinaldi, Ann. Or Give Me Death: A Novel of Patnck Henry's Family. New York: Harcourt Books, 2003.

 

Testa, Maria. Almost Forever. New York: Candlewick Press, 2002.

 

Photos:

Anonymous. Belfast Graffiti. 2007. flikr.com. 22 November 2007

< http://photos23.flickr.com/33797800_a9ab147008_b.jpg>.

 

OÕShea, Patrick. Midleton. 2007. Irelandscape.com. 3 December 2007

< http://www.irelandscape.com/photos/cork/ireland-1130273103-Barley%20Field%2C%20Midleton%202.jpg >.

 

Picasso, Pablo. Guernica. 1937. National Museum ÒCentro de Arte Reina Sofia.Ó 22 November 2007 < http://www.spanisharts.com/reinasofia/picasso.htm# >.

 

òt, Huỳnh C™ng. Vietnam Napalm. 1972. Associated Press. 22 November 2007 <http://www.gallerym.com/artist.cfm?ID=28>.

 

Music:

Dylan, Bob. ÒMasters of War.Ó The FreewheelinÕ Bob Dylan. Columbia, 1963.

 

Dead Can Dance. ÒWind That Shakes the Barley.Ó Into the Labyrinth. 4AD, 1993.

                                                            Get Involved!

 

No war on Iran http://pol.moveon.org/pac/noiranwar/

 

Dear MoveOn member, 

If you're like us, you've been trying to block out the drumbeats of war coming from the Bush Administration. After all, Iraq is such a mess that it's hard to even imagine the disastrous results if they go through with their plans to attack Iran.1

 

But all signs point to the fact that they are reckless enough to do it, so it's time to do more than just cross our fingers and hope. We've got to act. And quick.

 

Congress can step in and block President Bush from launching a war without approval—there are bills on the table to do that today. But unless our representatives hear from Americans like us that this is a big priority, those bills are unlikely to move forward. Can you take a moment to urge your members of Congress to sign on today?

 

Will you sign the following petition?

"Americans don't want another disastrous war in Iran. Congress must act now and make it clear that President Bush has no authority to strike Iran."

 

Clicking here adds your name: http://pol.moveon.org/noiranwar/o.pl?id=11740-5206230-paho70&t=3

 

After you've signed, please pass the petition on to five friends. MoveOn members will hand-deliver the signatures to Congressional representatives later this month, and we need to be sure we have too many names to ignore.

 

Military and foreign policy experts are looking at options that could contain Iran's nuclear ambitions without stretching our military to the breaking point or risking World War III in the Middle East—options like economic sanctions, diplomacy  and working with allies to stop this  situation from spiraling out of control.  

 

The consequences of a reckless war with Iran are so grave that a group of retired military officers wrote to the Administration earlier this year:

 

"As former US military leaders, we strongly caution against the use of military force against Iran. An attack on Iran would have disastrous  consequences for security in the region, coalition forces in Iraq and would further exacerbate regional and global tensions. The current crisis must be  resolved through diplomacy."2

 

Despite the warnings, Bush and his team have continued to escalate the tension with Iran. Last spring, Bush labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization—a title he believes clears the way for military strikes. And Vice President Cheney started urging Bush to send the military in as early as this summer.3

 

We've got to get our next steps right, or we'll be living through Iraq all over again. We know how that turned out. And our troops are the ones paying the price for Bush's misguided mission.

 

We can find a way to solve the stand-off with Iran—but not if this president screws up again. We need Congress to be clear that the President has no  authority to go to war with Iran. Can you add your name to this important petition?

 

"Americans don't want another disastrous war in Iran. Congress must act now and make it clear that President Bush has no authority to strike Iran."

 

Clicking here adds your name: http://pol.moveon.org/noiranwar/o.pl?id=11740-5206230-paho70&t=4

 

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Marika, Jennifer, Adam G., and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team

   Monday, December 3rd, 2007

 

Sources:

1. "Shifting Targets: The Administration's plan for Iran," The New Yorker, October 8, 2007.

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3097&id=&t=4&id=11740-5206230-paho70&t=5

 

2. "US ex-generals reject Iran strike," BBC News, February 4, 2007.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6328801.stm

 

3. "Cheney urging strikes on Iran," McClatchy News Service, August 9, 2007.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/18834.html

 

 

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