Author: Francesca Duncan

Target Student Group

The target group for these lessons is a 9th grade Modern World History class during the first unit of the year: Geography.

Context for Learning

The first form is an activity that teaches the students about different geographic regions of the world. This would be given to the students at the beginning of the unit to briefly introduce several different locations around the world (including our own city of Portland!) The goal is just to get the students thinking about ways that geography affects history and how humans interact with their environment.

The second form, a self-graded quiz on geography map skills, will serve as a formal formative assessment for the students to apply their map skills and clarify any misconceptions they might have about the content. This form requires the student to review and apply the Five Themes of Geography (Movement, Region, Human Environment Interaction, Location, and Place), consider the cartographer’s motive in creating the map, apply latitude and longitude skills, and identify hemispheres.

Direct Links to Google Forms

Geographic Exploration Differentiated Form Link

Map Skills Self-Graded Quiz Link

Geographic Exploration Differentiated Form

Geography Map Skills Self-Graded Google Form

Target Student Group: 11th Grade United States History

Lesson Context: This activity would serve as part of an introduction into a unit entitled “The Emergence of Modern America,” which I would begin by discussing the United States’ transition into an imperial power after the Spanish-American War.

Lesson Delivery in a Virtual Classroom: After providing a brief overview about Spain’s involvement in the Americas, US public opinion about Cuba, and the political situation of the US government at the time, I would give this activity to students to complete during asynchronous class time. The expectation is that they use their knowledge gained during our synchronous class period to further explore all the possible reasons for US involvement in the Spanish-American War.

How Google Forms will be used to achieve this goal: The Google Form allows the students to have the necessary background information on the same screen during asynchronous learning, which is beneficial because the student would not have the teacher for this information during asynchronous time. The format of Google Forms also easily allows for a direct comparison to be made between the two documents, and it give the teacher immediate feedback on the student’s progress due to the questions.

Direct Link to Google Form

Background

The Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was the regiment of soldiers sent by their countries to serve the British Empire during WWI. They fought most notably in the Battle of Gallipoli, where they faced crushing defeat by Ottoman forces in 1916. Although the ANZACs were defeated in this battle, the memory of those who lost their lives in the war is remembered each year on ANZAC day. Pride and honor of the ANZACS has formed a significant part of Australia’s national identity

Image 1: Caption Writer

Caption Writer Icebreaker: Does this photo have a caption? If so, how successful is it in providing context to the photo? Then, create your own caption for this photo.

Context: Many ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers travelled through Egypt during WWI, especially on their way to Gallipoli.

Expected Student Response: The caption of this image reads “Troops resting in the desert.” This caption seems a bit vague. It helps me to understand that these are soldiers (supported by the many guns in the photo), but it does not give much context as to who these men are and why they in front of the Egyptian Pyramids. I would recaption this photo “ANZAC troops rest near Egyptian Pyramids during WWI.”

Image 2: Anomalies

Anomalies Icebreaker: Analyze this image. What surprises you about it? What seems out of place?

Context: The ANZAC forces brought a young kangaroo with them from Australia as a mascot. This was primarily to lift spirits and remind the soldiers of their home. This photo depicts the mascot with the soldiers while they travelled through Egypt.

Expected Student Response: Is that a kangaroo? With the Egyptian pyramids in the background?? This seems like an anomaly because kangaroos are only native to Australia. Also, the people in the photo are carrying arms and dressed in soldiers’ uniforms, yet they are stopping to play with the kangaroo. It is very interesting that a small animal like this would be on its way to a warzone!

Image 3: Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces Icebreaker: Analyze this image. What seems to be missing from this siege photo? How do the missing pieces affect how we understand the context of this image?

Context: This photo is a print from a WWI ANZAC book dated 1917.

Expected student response: This photo shows several ANZAC soldiers preparing to fire a Howitzer. It takes at least 7 men, and several others are watching vigilantly. What is not pictured in this photo is who/what they are firing at. We cannot see their enemy forces, which would provide context to the photo. The setting of the image also seems unclear, as there are no clear indicators of the terrain besides the large trees overhead. Also not pictured is the aftermath of the blast. I do not think these things were left out intentionally. The soldiers are focused on their high-stress task and probably did not have time to consider what was left out of the photo.

Comprehending the meaning of historical photographs can be a difficult task, especially from periods of war where photos are often chaotic and disheveled. But within each photo, there are context clues that give insight into the true meaning of the image. The Spanish Civil War serves as a key example of a war with a murky historical record, but imagery and symbolism from both the Republican and the Nationalist side allows us to get a better picture of the identities of the people in these photographs.

Image 1: Oil painting of General Francisco Franco (circa 1936-1939)

Question: What does this symbol mean?

Depicted on Franco’s shirt pocket is a yoke with five arrows, the symbol of Falagism, which was a conservative fascist ideology promoted by the Nationalists during the war. This clearly indicates Franco’s political alignment, ideology, and the side of the war he promotes.

Question: What is the significance of his hat?

Franco is also wearing a Carlist red beret, which also became part of the uniform for Nationalist soldiers. As their leader, Franco is exemplifying the clothing this soldiers wore throughout the war.

Image 2: Republican Soldiers Resting in France (1939)

Question: Who are these men? What do they stand for?

These soldiers are all holding up their fists to indicate the Communist salute. Communists were one of the biggest groups in support of the Spanish Republic. In addition, the lack of a common uniform– such as Franco’s Nationalist uniform– further indicates that these are : Republican soldiers.

Image 3: Comparing Republican and Nationalist flags

Question: What does each flag symbolize?

On the left is the flag of the Second Spanish Republic, which was replaced after the Spanish Civil War by the flag of Franco’s dictatorship, pictured on the right. These two flags were used simultaneously during the war to differentiate between sides. Spotting these flags (or variations of them) in photographs can be useful for providing context of the identity, ideology, location, and time of people or items pictured.