While I was figuring out how I wanted to teach the Double V Campaign, I came across a letter from James Thompson, a young African American, writing to the Pittsburgh Courier, a major publican in the African American community, saying that he was unsure of his role in WWII and felt conflicted about serving a country that did not give him equality. I knew I wanted to incorporate this letter and to have students grapple with the questions that James Thompson raises. As I continued to look for sources around the Double V Campaign and Thompson’s letter, I came across the National WWII Museum’s website where they were advertising a letter writing competition for high school students to respond to Thompson’s letter. I knew this was exactly the type of work I was looking for to have students tackle this letter, and to boot this assignment had real world implications.
Essential Question: Because this artifact is not a lesson or unit plan, finding the essential question is more difficult, so I am supplying the essential question from the day I handed out the assignment: “Has American society changed since WWII?” While this question seems very historically focused, I believe there are implications for many different fields as well as a diverse student population. I took off two points from this section for being so rooted in history but I believe it is still an essential question with consequences for all areas of American life.
Historical Lesson: The historical lesson is built into the assignment, students were asked to read and respond to James Thompson’s letter. Students were digging into a primary source and analyzing it with the question, “Has American society changed since WWII?’ in the back of their heads. Stearns says it perfectly, “Further, studying history helps us understand how recent, current, and prospective changes that affect the lives of citizens are emerging or may emerge and what causes are involved” (1998). By looking at the Thompson letter, students are able to begin assessing their opinions about the essential question
Modern Connection: Students are literally asked to make connections to the letter for their graded assignment. They were taking a primary source document and responding to it as themselves. The only thing this section misses is giving students the tools to take action against the injustices they see. For some students, writing this letter will be taking action but for others, this is not enough, and I could have provided them with, at the very least, the information to do more in terms of social justice.
Historical Lesson: The historical lesson is built into the assignment, students were asked to read and respond to James Thompson’s letter. Students were digging into a primary source and analyzing it with the question, “Has American society changed since WWII?’ in the back of their heads. Stearns says it perfectly, “Further, studying history helps us understand how recent, current, and prospective changes that affect the lives of citizens are emerging or may emerge and what causes are involved” (1998). By looking at the Thompson letter, students are able to begin assessing their opinions about the essential question
Modern Connection: Students are literally asked to make connections to the letter for their graded assignment. They were taking a primary source document and responding to it as themselves. The only thing this section misses is giving students the tools to take action against the injustices they see. For some students, writing this letter will be taking action but for others, this is not enough, and I could have provided them with, at the very least, the information to do more in terms of social justice.