World History

Portfolio Directions

The Twentieth Century Crisis

Technological advancements of the twentieth century had a huge impact on warfare and led to greater damage and casualties. Before World War I, although war was brutal, many romanticized it. To target citizens in battle was considered especially cruel and contrary to the “civilized rules of warfare.” In the twentieth century, however, some brutal leaders purposefully sought to exterminate civilians—men, woman, and children–as part of their total war effort, and considered civilian casualties merely a means to an end. In 1948, in the wake of nearly five decades of atrocities committed around the world, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In this unit, you will study the course of World Wars I and II, as well as the Holocaust. For the Twentieth Century Crisis Portfolio, you will choose a topic to study in greater depth. As you study the causes and effects of this event, you will also explore international efforts to prevent future wars, genocide, and brutal dictatorships. You will read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and determine what influence your chosen event had on the international agreement. Choose one of the following topics:

• Brutal Dictatorship, Oppression of Political Enemies: Stalin

• Ethnic Cleansing: Armenian Genocide

• Inhumane treatment of Prisoners of War: Bataan Death March

• Aggressive Expansionism: Italian invasion of Ethiopia

Resources for each topic are included in unit lessons. To find which lessons contain the resources for your selected topic, use the outline on the following page. You will need to skip ahead and read the section of World History: Modern Times that covers your topic during Lesson 1.

• Note: The links for ALL videos and websites are located in the Activityportion for the respective lesson. The link for all printed documents islocated in the Getting Started portion for the respective lesson.

© 2011 Connections Academy®, LLC. All rights reserved.

Part 1 Resource List You can find resources to begin studying your chosen topic within the lessons recommended below. Keep track of the resources you use because you will submit a bibliography in Part 2 of the portfolio project.

Brutal Dictatorship, Political Oppression: Stalin (Lesson 6) 1. Watch “The Purges” Discovery Education™ streaming video.2. Read the People in World History Activity about Joseph Stalin.3. Read World History: Modern Times, pp. 540–547.

Ethnic Cleansing: Armenian Genocide (Lesson 9) 1. Read about the Armenian genocide by following the Social Studies link in the Tip

box. You may also choose to explore the timeline at the bottom of the page byclicking on specific years. Photographs are also available for you to look at byclicking on the flashing part of the camera at the top left of the page.

2. When you’ve finished exploring the site, click on “Open Journal.” Read thequestions on the right side of the page (click the number 2 to read the secondquestion).

3. Read World History: Modern Times, pp. 563–567.

Aggressive Expansionism: Italian invasion of Ethiopia (Lesson 13) 1. Watch the “Italy’s Invasion and Conquest of Ethiopia” Discovery Education™

streaming video.2. Read either “Ethiopia’s Plea for Help” and/or “Mussolini Justifies His Invasion of

Ethiopia.”3. Read World History: Modern Times, pp. 591–595.

Bataan Death March (Lesson 14) 1. Click on the Special Features link in the left margin of the “Bataan Rescue”

website. Click the Survivor Interviews link to watch “The Story of Corporal Jolley”and the “Prisoner Interviews.”

2. Read the letters included in the section “On the Home Front: Oral and CharlesCheney.” You may want to click on the “View Letter” icon at the top right ofsome of the letters to see their original form.

3. Read World History: Modern Times, pp. 610–611.

© 2011 Connections Academy®, LLC. All rights reserved.

Portfolio Time Line and Point Value

Note: This portfolio involves more independent research.

Part Due Date Point Value Part 1 Lesson 6 15 point Part 2 Lesson 16 30 points Part 3 Lesson 16 15 points

© 2011 Connections Academy®, LLC. All rights reserved.

Part 1

1. Provide a paragraph summary of the event/topic that you researched. Includewhere and when it occurred. (5 points*)

2. Complete the following chart on the people and technology involved in the event.(10 points*)

Who/What Involvement in Event (may include their action or response to

event) Leaders – Who was responsible (leaders or government) for the event taking place?

Casualties – Which group(s) was targeted in this event?

Opposition – Did anyone oppose or try to prevent this event (may be within the nation or another government opposing the event)? What did the opposition do to prevent/stop the event?

Supporters – Who supported or helped to carry out the government orders? What did the supporters do to carry out the event?

Technology – How did technology enable the events to take place?

* Note: Keep track of the resources you use for Part 1. In Part 2, you will submit abibliography of resources you used to complete the activity.

© 2011 Connections Academy®, LLC. All rights reserved.

Part 2: Impact

The leaders involved in these events may have disputed their responsibility or justified their use of force as a necessary act of war.

Use the lesson resources and additional resources to answer the following questions. (5 points each)

1. How did the leaders responsible for the event explain their involvement? What wasthe purpose of their actions?

2. What impact did the decisions and actions have on the leaders responsible? Didtheir power increase or decrease as a result? Did they face repercussions for theiractions? Explain. Consider both the long and short-term impacts.

3. How did the event impact the group(s) targeted? Consider the long and short-termimpacts.

4. How did the event affect the rest of the nation? How did the event affect theinternational community? Consider the long and short-term impacts.

Bibliography Using MLA format, create a bibliography of the resources you used to complete the questions for Parts 1–2. In addition to your textbook and lesson resources, you should have at least two other resources. (You need a total of 4–5 resources.) (10 points)

© 2011 Connections Academy®, LLC. All rights reserved.

Part 3: Reaction

An immediate reaction to the tragedies of World Wars I and II was increased international effort to prevent war. World War I led to the creation of the League of Nations. The League was unable to maintain lasting peace. During World War II, Allied powers formed the United Nations. In 1948, the United Nations drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights* and answer the questions below. (5 points each)

A strong response to each question will include complete sentences, clear explanations, and references to facts to support your opinion.

1. Choose three articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights thataddress the issue(s) you uncovered while researching your chosenevent/topic. Explain how each article reflects the topic you studied.

2. What are some of the obstacles to enforcing and realizing these articles?What are the benefits of an international agreement to address the issue(s)?

3. In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what other actions couldindividuals, nations, and the international communities take to prevent acts like theone you studied from happening again?

*The link for the document is located in the Activity portion of Lesson 1.

© 2011 Connections Academy®, LLC. All rights reserved.