Operation Barbarossa Lesson Plan

Content Standards:

10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.

1. Compare the German, Italian, and Japanese drives for empire in the 1930s, including the 1937 Rape of Nanking, other atrocities in China, and the Stalin-Hitler Pact of 1939.

3. Identify and locate the Allied and Axis powers on a map and discuss the major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of conflict, key strategic decisions, and the resulting war conferences and political resolutions, with emphasis on the importance of geographic factors.

4. Describe the political, diplomatic, and military leaders during the war (e.g., Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower). 6. Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan.

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to interpret and analyze political cartoons, and evaluate the significance of

Operation Barbarossa in World War II.

Formal and Informal Assessments:

Students will be informally assessed by their involvement in their groups/partners, and they will

be formally assessed by their completion of the anticipatory set, and their reflection completed

for homework after the second day. They will also be further formally assessed on the human

costs of Operation Barbarossa in the formal unit assessment later on.

Instructional Procedures:

Two 60 Minute Periods:

Day 1:

1. Teacher will begin the day’s lesson with a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation on the

historical background and significance of the Nazi/Soviet Nonaggression Pacts, Operation

Barbarossa, and its significance on the impact of World War II.

2. Students will then complete a five-minute quick write answering the question: “In your

opinion was the battle between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany an inevitable event in

World War II? Why/Why Not?”

3. Teacher will then engage the students in discussion for the remainder of the class

(approximately 20 minutes), with the two following leader questions:

a. What major tactical mistakes did the German Army make when they invaded the

Soviet Union?

b. Does the fact that the Soviet Union emerged as an American ally during World War

II change the way we view Joseph Stalin in history?

Day 2:

4. Students will be placed into pairs, and handed a political cartoon from the set of 5, drawn by

Dr. Seuss, and each pertaining to Operation Barbarossa. Some of the cartoons also include

American reactions to the events going on in the Soviet Union.

5. Each pair will answer the following questions about their cartoon:

a. What is the artist saying about Germany fighting in the USSR?

b. What is the artist saying about America’s role in the battle?

c. Does the cartoon glorify Stalin in any way?

6. After analyzing their cartoon, each pair will join another pair and exchange cartoons. The

newly formed group will then discuss any differing perspectives.

7. In the last fifteen minutes of class, we will come back together as a class and look at each of

the five cartoons and debate any interpretations.

8. Leave the students with the following questions to write a brief reflection on for homework:

a. Considering the way Joseph Stalin was treating his own citizens, is it right for this

artist to present him in any sort of positive light?

Differentiated Instruction/ Accommodation Strategies:

Students will be partnered up with other students, so they can talk and help each other out in

developing their thoughts. They also have a chance to reflect on the assignment for homework with

their own personal thoughts and feelings about what they have learned.

Resources and Materials:

Five Dr. Seuss Cartoons (attached)

List of 3 questions for each group

Pencils/Pens

Paper

PowerPoint