[sensitivity warning: World War II]
The Project Path
Hello, and welcome back to another blog post. Today’s project is “Save Juno Beach! ?”, and it’s about WWII. Since this topic is so serious, I’m going to be taking away all of the humour I usually try to include in my blog posts to keep them flowing and light. During the course of this project, we made a mind map, presented on different WWII-related topics (formation of NATO & UN, Canadian industry coming out of WWII, Jews who survived the Holocaust, human rights in Canada, etc.), participated in WWII-themed Kahoots, listened to lectures about WWII, and researched among other things.
Now, I shouldn’t delay it any further, so let’s get right into it. Welcome to World War II.
My Learning Adventure
This project had a lot of talking, learning, and researching. Whether it was memorizing important dates and events during the war, or watching WWII in colour, this was definitely one of the most important projects I’ve ever done research and knowledge-wise. It is extremely important that people learn about WWII, and the horrible events that happened, and experiences that people went through. During one of the activities, we were assigned random groups and told to choose one of the following to present on:
- human rights in Canada (and other “western” nations)
- human rights: Jews who survived the Holocaust
- international cooperation: the formation of NATO
- international cooperation: the formation of the UN
- women who joined the workforce in WWIl
- Canadian identity as a result of WWIl
- Canadian industry coming out of WWII
- Canada’s relationship with the United States
My group (led by my quick and hasty decision since we were first pick) chose industry. Throughout the course of our research, my team and I learned many things, such as the “Baby Boom”, the boost in jobs surrounding infrastructure and suburbs, and how Canadian industry was affected during and after WWII.
The Skills
The main skill associated with this project was writing. Writing and evidence. I managed to further my essay writing skills, and we progressed and learned about the proper format of an essay. We critiqued and revised each other’s (classmates) essays, submitted a final draft. We also got tested with our memory skills, namely the challenging task of getting 100% on 6 different approximately 12 question Kahoots about WWII. We furthered presentation and group collaboration/communication skills with the earlier mentioned “Legacy of WWII” class presentations, and the historical significance Notability sheets.
My Work
“Why is it so important to learn about Canada’s involvement in World War Il? (2 sentences-ish)”
“Canada fought hard, and was a major contributor to ending the war. Honouring the people who fought, discovering how we helped, and finding out why we even celebrate things such as Remembrance Day or receive flowers from Holland each year are all key things.”
“Thesis: WW2 was historically significant because it affected and changed peoples lives semi-permanently, killed millions of people, scarred many more, and led to the creation of new things.”
Driving Question
Why is it so important to learn about Canada’s involvement in WWII?
Canada fought hard in and was a major contributor to ending the war. Honouring the people who fought, discovering how we helped, and finding out why we even celebrate things such as Remembrance Day or receive flowers from Holland each year are all important factors to consider when trying to answer this question. Understanding what we did during those difficult times, and noticing similarities in the past world and today in Canada could be the key to preventing future conflict as well. Overall, Canada was a key player in the war, and we sacrificed a lot to have a comfortable society today.