Learners will travel to local seniors' residence to interview individual seniors about their remembrances and participation in activities in support of the war effort. Before actual interview, learners will rehearse interview, talking about language, manners, clarity, vocal tones, and recording of responses. The learners will engage in on-going reflection, evaluation and plan a celebration activity with the seniors.

Anticipatory Set:


Remind learners of the game "Twenty Questions." Review with the learners how the player with the most effective questions usually ends up the winner by narrowing the possible answers with directed questions.

Inform the learners they are going to do a two-minute interview with a classmate. They must first design a list of ten questions which will generate information about the interviewee regarding the classmate's hobbies, sports, or activities at which they excel in the classroom or school. Give learners ten minutes to generate a list of questions and two minutes to do the interview. Discuss the results of the mini interview, as well as what kind of questions were the most effective. Tell the class they are going to develop a questionnaire for senior citizens to obtain information about the role(s) they served in their community during the World War II period.

Instructor's Notes:
Clarify those elements you are looking for in this survey. Instruct learners that they will be conducting this to obtain primary source information. They have already read the chapter in the history text about World War II. If your district curriculum does not include WW II in the middle school, provide materials for your learners so that they have working knowledge of the social dynamics of America, both at home and on the war fronts during this time period. You may use Rosie the Riveter pictures, views of automobile factories producing planes, women's groups folding bandages, USO services and other acts of philanthropic organizations. To tie this lesson into the three prior lessons, have learners include questions about how the seniors found out about the holocaust and their thoughts. Have the learners respond to how their parents and families were affected and what they did to contribute to the war effort.



• Assign learners a partner with whom they will compile 20 questions to ask of their senior.
  
  
• Questions must be written in complete sentences, clearly stated, free of mechanical errors. Final copy should be typed, using a word processor.
  
  
• As a class, each group will reveal the questions they will ask and receive feedback from their classmates as to the appropriateness and sensitivity of their questions.
  
  
• Allow learners to final edit their questionnaires.
  Instructor's Note: An alternate method is to then have the learners select the "best" 20 questions and all groups ask the same questions of their seniors. This method allows for graphing responses and putting them into chart form.
  
  
• Schedule visitation time and secure all proper clearances and parent/guardian permission.
  
  
• Prepare learners for what they will encounter at the senior residence.
  Instructor's Notes: You should visit the residence prior to taking your learners. Survey your own learners as to what they think they may encounter and inform them what they may encounter. Bring up wheelchairs, intravenous bottles, and dementia and allay fears. Make certain that the seniors are selected by the activity director of the home and that the seniors know they will be visited and the purpose of the visit.
  
  
• Learners will analyze and reflect upon information generated from the interview process by making journal entries prior to the activity, during the activity and after the activity.

  Pre-Service: Journal entry on what they think about the project and what their personal goal will be.
  During: Have the learners write in their journals an evaluation of how they believe their project is working or not working and what things they may have to do to improve.
  After: Have the learners write a "note" to next year's class about the activity, what they learned and what the next group should expect.

• Learners will develop a presentation to show results and information from the interview and from the home/school connection responses from family members and friends of the family.
  
  
• Plan the celebratory activity. Schedule a visit back to the seniors and have the learners present their presentation. Every senior should have a page or pages in the presentation. Print that page(s) out and have the learners bind and present it to their senior.

Interactive Parent / Learner Homework:
Learner will write a letter to a grandparent, other family member or friend of the family who remembers World War II, asking them to describe what role they served. Include those responses in the presentation.