American Centuries

Pocumtuck Valley
Memorial Association

American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers > A Day In The Life. . . The World War II Homefront

A Day In The Life. . . The World War II Homefront

Details

Author
Laura Edgin
Topic/Subject Area
Home Life, Household Items, Furniture; Politics, Government, Law, Civics; Military, Wars, Battles
Historical Era
Great Depression and World War II, 1929–1945
Grade Level
Elementary (K–5), Middle School (6–8)
Creation Date
2009
Last Revision Date
2024

Related items

About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

Students will understand that the lives of civilians on the homefront changed during World War II. The students will examine ration cards as well as other sources to discover the actions necessary for daily life and the “war effort”. The students will identify the purpose of items presented, how such items helped civilians aid the “war effort,” and how such items affected the daily life of those left at home.

Materials & Resources

Collection Items:
Posters from the Library of Congress

Teaching Plan

  1. The students will have prior instruction on life in the United States during World War I. They will have discussed some of the underlying basic hardships which were faced during World War II.
  2. Pre-Activity: The teacher will read selections from the following books: V is for Victory by Sylvia Whitman – chapter 2 ‘The Home Front Goes to Work’ and chapter 3 ‘America Tightens It’s Belt’; and World War II for Kids by Richard Panchyk – chapter 3 ‘The Home Front and Life During the War’. Also available for personal reading should be books such as: Rachel’s War by Molly McCaslin Robinson and The 1940’s, Secrets (part of the ‘Century Kids’ series) by Dorothy and Tom Hoobler.
  3. Main Activity: Divide the students into three discussion groups and give each group a copy of one of the following documents. (Each discussion group will have a different set of documents.) (## denotes documents from the Collections of this site.) Group 1 – ## WWII Ration books and case; ## WWII War Ration Book 2; ## WWII War Ration Book 4.   Group 2 – ## WWII Fuel Ration Identification Folder; ## WWII Class 3 Fuel Oil Ration coupons; ## WWII Application for Renewal of Fuel Oil ration.   Group 3 – ## WWII Air Raid Warning Instructions; “Air Raid Precautions: Keep cool, don’t scream, don’t run, prevent disorder, obey all instructions.” (poster – see Materials & Resources); “Air Raid Protection – This is your air raid protection, get it now.” (poster – see (poster – see Materials & Resources); ## WWII Blackout Memo Deerfield Residents; “Blackout means Black” (poster – see Materials & Resources)
  4. As each group examines and discusses their documents, they will answer the following questions: 1) What are these documents? 2) For what purpose were these documents used? 3) How did these help people at home help with the “war effort”? 4) How did the actions required (of these documents) affect how people at home lived daily?
  5. Gather again as one large group. Each group should discuss their items by using the answers from the questions in #4. Encourage other students from other groups to ask further questions.
  6. Post Activity: Students will create a week of diary entries written from the viewpoint of a boy or girl their age during World War II.