Missy Sorhirun
Grade 10
/World War II
This unit carries on from the previous unit on the events and outcomes of the Interwar period. Students will gain an overview of WWII by participating in a group jigsaw presentation and sharing work with each other. The focus of the unit is on WWII in the Pacific with emphasis on the Americans versus the Japanese. The class will watch and analyze the mini-series, The Pacific, to gain an understanding of the effects of WWII on the geography and people involved. Students will participate in class discussion and create maps to illustrate the significance of WWII in Asia.
Unit Overview
In this unit, I gained knowledge on the overview of WWII. Spencer and I had to summerized the Secret War. By learning about the Secret War, I have learned that there are many more outside factors that applies in a war, rather than just on battle field. Furthermore, we watched miniseries, The Pacific, to gain understanding on how the geography and the people who were affected by the war. Lastly, we researched and created a map of the Pacific War.
Personal Overview
How did WWII affect Asia?
Before WWII, the majority of Asia were ruled by the Western. During WWII, most of Southeast Asia were ruled by Japanese imperialism. After WWII, Asian race defeated the Westerners and broke the myth that the Westerners were undefeatable in Southeast Asia. WWII affected Asia because after the war, Asia took the opportunity to declare themselves independent and the nationalist movements took place. At the end of the war, Asia gained confidence that they could beat Westerners.
Enduring Understandings
How did geography affect WWII?
The geography affected majorly in fighting WWII. Japanese attacked America in the battle Pearl Harbor, which was located in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii. For revenge and protection, America then became involved in WWII. For example, there was a battle in Guadalcanal because Japan wanted to cut off America's trade route towards Australia. Geography became part of the problem for both America and Japan. They had to send their soldiers to the battle place which would take days with the transportation of ships. The distance increased the amount of vulnerability. The farther away the war took place, the farther away the food line is going to be. Furthermore, the climate changes and the weather affected the soldiers. For example, the battle on Okinawa was filled with rain and humidity. This puts the soldiers coming from different places into a new, unfamiliar place. Rain would increase the chance of weapons getting wet, and some of the weapons are not waterproof. Furthermore, rain would cause the ground to be muddy, resulting the battle on ground to be harder to fight. Putting soldiers in a new climate would increase the level of diseases and sickness.
AREA OF IMPROVEMENT:
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Interpret the central ideas and provide an accurate summary of sources
I can improve by focusing more in class and not zoning out. I need to be more detailed in providing the accurate summary.
STRENGTH:
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Integrate visuals and/or data to support ideas
I tend to learn best visually and physically. So when we watched the miniseries, The Pacific, I understood how the military were feeling and the conditions they were put under more, compared to when I read. When content is provided visually for me, I tend to connect more with the story.​