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The Homefront
Heather Brooks
Women were essential in the factories and the military during World War II. However, they were also necessary in the day to day workings of the home. Utilizing various mediums of research, including primary source documents, students will analyze the daily lives of American citizens, especially women, on the home-front. Working in groups, students will synthesize research and compile a time-line of significant events.
Clean Transparencies
Transparency pens
Internet/TV that can display Internet projections
Media Center
Typing paper
Colored pencils
Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. New York Random House, 1998.
Brendan Gill: X, B, & Chiefly A; The Homefront: Rationing, 1942. (pps. 344-351) from:
Reporting World War II: Part One: American Journalism 1938-1944. New York: Library of America, 1995.
James Agee: So Proudly We Fail: American War Movies: 1943 (pps. 658-661) from:
Reporting World War II: Part One: American Journalism 1938-1944. New York: Library of America, 1995.
S.J. Perelman: Take Two Parts Sand, One Part Girl, and Stir. Wartime Advertising: 1944. (pps. 164-169) from:
Reporting World War II: Part Two: American Journalism 1944-1946. New York: Library of America, 1995.
2 class periods
3
What was life like for women on the U.S. home-front?
Frayer Diagram (box divided into 4 equal divisions, with the term circle in the middle). In the first square the students need to write the definition of the word. In the second square, students need to list characteristics of the term. In the third square, students need to list examples of the term and in the fourth square, they need to list non-examples. A suggested term for this lesson would be Rationing.
Poster Activity. Display from a website Norman Rockwell's poster titled Liberty Girl. Display the poster on the TV screen in the classroom. Ask the student to describe the young woman and what she is carrying. What is the relevance of this poster to World War II?
Discuss with the class.
1. Begin the lesson by reading a first hand account of what it was like waiting for news from a loved one overseas and then getting the news that everyone dreaded. Suggested reading: The story of Jeanette Gagne Norton from the book, The Greatest Generation, by Tom Brokaw. Published by Random House, New York, NY, 1998. An excerpt of the piece has been linked to this site titled as Jeanette Gagne Norton.
Ask the students to recall anything that they have heard or learned about life during World War II. Discuss their responses.
2. Place students into 6 groups. Assign each group a topic dealing with daily life at home during World War II. The topics could include: what waiting was like for families, rationing, childcare for working moms, Victory Gardens, War Mementos - Gold Star Moms, and entertainment.
3. Take students to the library to research their topics. They should compile information about their topic and check out books or find Internet sites in order to show representations of their topics. Bring students back to the class and have them to organize their research by putting it on transparencies and compiling pictures to use to illustrate their topics. Guidelines for research: Need to provide pictures, statistics, first hand accounts, magazine articles from the era, newspaper articles from the era, and general information. (Each group must have a minimum of three pieces of research.)
4. Have the students to present their research to the class. Have the students to take notes on the information as a participation grade.
Have the students to create a time line depicting events on the United States home-front during World War II. It should only depict events relating to women and the home-front. It should begin with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and end around 1950 (in order to show how many women left the working world).
Alternative Activity: Point out that all women did not want to remain in jobs after the war ended and were eager to return to the home. Ask students: "What factors might explain this?" or "What type of women had to remain in the work force?"
Suggested Readings:
Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. New York Random House, 1998.
Brendan Gill: X, B, & Chiefly A; The Homefront: Rationing, 1942. (pps. 344-351) from:
Reporting World War II: Part One: American Journalism 1938-1944. New York: Library of America, 1995.
James Agee: So Proudly We Fail: American War Movies: 1943 (pps. 658-661) from:
Reporting World War II: Part One: American Journalism 1938-1944. New York: Library of America, 1995.
S.J. Perelman: Take Two Parts Sand, One Part Girl, and Stir. Wartime Advertising: 1944. (pps. 164-169) from:
Reporting World War II: Part Two: American Journalism 1944-1946. New York: Library of America, 1995.
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