1. The Impact of WWII on Americans
What kind of opportunities and hardships did the war create for Americans at home and abroad?

2. In your journal--
Suppose your school cafeteria has a new payment program. You receive a stamp book with 100 stamps a week to purchase your lunches.
In your journal, use the menu to create a table by listing what you will eat each day of the week. Then, tally the daily stamps used and the total stamps used.

3. Rationing on the Home Front
You just experienced a form of rationing, a restriction of certain goods. During World War II, most Americans were affected by rationing and used stamp books like these to purchase goods.
Let’s take a look at how this looked during WWII and what it might look like today. In your groups, work together to fill out your handouts Necessity is the Mother of Invention. Be ready to share out if called upon.

4. Rationing goods was just one hardship Americans faced during World War II.
In this lesson, you will create wartime newsreels that depict the hardships and opportunities of the time.

5. Then answer these questions in your journal:
Day 2
Read the Introduction in the Student Text on Google Classroom-35 The Impact of WW2 on Americans.
Then answer these questions in your journal:
What were some of the wartime clothing regulations instituted by the government? Why might the government have instituted these regulations?
What other hardships do you think Americans had to endure during the war?
What opportunities do you think wartime conditions might have created for Americans?

6. Impact of WWII on Americans
Day 2
Read Section 1 in the Student Text, then complete the following:
The list below presents some of the problems the federal government encountered during World War II. In your journal, write a sentence describing how the government addressed each problem.
• The economy needed to be converted from consumer production to military production.
• The government needed large amounts of money to fight the war.
• Inflation and overconsumption threatened the economy.

7. Newsreels Get into groups of four as assigned.
Your group will create and create newsreel footage documenting how wartime conditions led to opportunities and/or hardships.
During World War II, Americans obtained news about the home front and overseas from newsreels played at movie theaters.
You may use Adobe Sparks or WeVideo for this project.

8. Newsreels often had two stories:
The lead story was the first story in the newsreel and provided an overview of a topic.
A human interest story often came later and focused on the life and experiences of one individual or family.
Answer these questions as a class:
What topic do you think makes a good lead story?
What topic do you think makes a good human interest story?

9. Your teacher will now assign you to represent one of these groups of Americans.
GIs
Japanese Americans
American women
African Americans
Jewish Americans
Mexican Americans

10. To prepare for creating a newsreel:
Get copies of Handout A and Handout B for your group.
Examine this collage. All groups will use this as the opening image for their newsreel.
If your group was assigned to 'Women,' listen to the audio, 'Rosie the Riveter.' You can use this song in your newsreel.

11. Follow the directions on Handout A to create your newsreel broadcast:
Step 1: Assign roles of Chief Researcher, Lead Story Director, Human Interest Director, Producer.
Step 2: Read the section for the topic assigned to you.
Step 3: Brainstorm ideas for a two- to three-minute lead story.
Step 4: Brainstorm ideas for a two- to three-minute human interest story.
Step 5: Write the scripts for the lead and human interest stories and gather props.
Step 6: The Producer should lead the group in rehearsing the newsreel.