Grade 5

How Did World War II Impact the Social

Advancements of Women and African

Americans?

Document-Based Question for the

South Carolina Social Studies College- and Career-Ready Standards

South Carolina Department of Education

Office of Standards and Learning

2019

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

Introduction to DBQ

This DBQ has students analyzing primary source documents to explain the social impacts of World War II on women and African

Americans. This DBQ will require students to analyze and evaluate information from the documents to synthesize evidence of

continuity and change in relation to the advancements of women and African Americans during World War II. The Profile of the

SC Graduate is supported in this work through the critical thinking the students undertake when analyzing the documents,

collaborating with peers, and communicating their analysis via the composition of a historical summative presentation. It is

estimated that this DBQ will take 7 days of 60-minute class periods.

Standard(s) and/or Indicator(s)

Targeted:

Standard 4: Demonstrate an understanding of the conflicts, innovations, and social changes in the United States, including

South Carolina, from 1950–1980.

5.4.P Summarize the economic, political, and social changes in the U. S. after World War II.

5.4.E Analyze multiple perspectives on the economic, political, and social effects of the Cold War, Space Race, and Civil Rights

Movement using primary and secondary sources.

Embedded:

South Carolina English Language Arts

5.I. 3.1 Develop a plan of action for collecting relevant information from primary and secondary sources.

5.I. 3.2 Organize and categorize important information; collaborate to validate or revise thinking; report relevant findings.

5.I.4.1 Draw logical conclusions from relationships and patterns discovered during the inquiry process.

5.MC. 5.1 Quote accurately from a text to analyze meaning in and beyond the text. 5.LCCS.8.2 Apply knowledge of text features in

multiple sources to gain meaning or solve a problem.

5.LCC.10.1 Compare and contrast a primary and secondary account of the same event or topic.

5.LCC.11.1 Apply knowledge of text structures across multiple texts to locate information and gain meaning.

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

5.LCC.11.2 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points, identifying which reasons and evidence

support which points.

5.RC.12.3 Read and respond according to task and purpose to become self-directed, critical readers and thinkers.

5.W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the

effective selection, organization, and analysis of content

“I Can” Statements

Day 1: I can explain how print media was used to influence people to “Do Their Part” during the WWII. (5.4.P) Day 2: I can summarize the transition of women from home to the workplace. (5.4.P)

Day 3: I can identify challenges and rewards women and African Americans encountered in the workforce during WWII. (5.4.P)

Days 4-5: I can collect and analyze data from editorials and oral histories to explain how WWII impacted the social advancements

of African Americans. (5.4.P, 5.4.E)

Days 6-7: I can synthesize information to identify examples of continuity and change and explain how WWII impacted the social

advancements of women and African Americans. (5.4.P, 5.4.E, 5.W.2)

Historical Question

How Did World War II Impact the Social Advancements of Women and African Americans?

Domain of Knowledge

Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

Level 3- Strategic Thinking

Level 4- Extended Thinking

Academic Vocabulary

Some students may need extra support with the following academic vocabulary in order to understand what they are being asked to

do. Teaching these terms in an instructional context is recommended rather than teaching the words in isolation. An appropriate

time to deliver explicit instruction for the terms is during the modeling process. Ultimately, the student should be able to use the

academic vocabulary in conversation with peers and teachers.

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

● Propaganda

● Wartime industries

● Ration

● War bonds

● Auxiliary

Historical Thinking Skill(s)

Periodization is the process of structuring historical periods. Periods are artificial historical constructs created in order to group

information and better understand similar phenomena. Further, the comparison and connection of different periods and the process

of establishing key events as turning points in order to construct one’s own unique time periods.

Utilizing historical evidence, especially, primary sources to effectively support arguments.

Prior Knowledge

In grade four, students summarized the positive and negative effects of Reconstruction in South Carolina, including the

development of public education; the establishment of sharecropping; racial advancements and tensions; and the attempts to rebuild

towns, factories, and farms (4.5).

The concepts associated with the United States’ involvement in World War II are new to students in fifth grade.

Subsequent Knowledge

In eighth grade, students will compare South Carolina and U.S. wartime contributions and demobilization after World War II.

(8.5.CO)

In United States History and the Constitution, students will examine the continuity and changes on the U.S. homefront surrounding

World War I and World War II. (USHC.4.CC)

Historical Context (Background Information)

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

World War II had a profound social impact on the United States that would have long term political effects. The nation came

together as each American was encouraged to “Do Your Part” in the war effort. Each and every American was called upon to

conserve scarce materials by contributing to scrap metal drives and planting “Victory Gardens.” However voluntary conservation

was not enough and Americans were required to use ration booklets. The economy was finally pulled out of the Depression by the

war efforts. Everyone went to work to help win the war.

Women, as homemakers, were responsible for rationing and victory gardens. More women also began to work outside the home.

They took the place of husbands, sons, and brothers in factories and built airplanes, trucks, and ships. Although women faced

discrimination, ‘Rosie the Riveter’ became an icon of the period. Women were expected to return home when the war ended and the

soldiers returned to their jobs. Despite hardships, such as discrimination and lack of child care, many women missed the workplace.

This wartime experience helped lay the foundation for the women’s movement of the 1960s.

African Americans demanded the right to wartime jobs and President Roosevelt ordered that they be given opportunity. Many more

African Americans moved to cities in the north and on the Pacific coast to work in wartime industries. African Americans made

some strides in the military during the war, such as the Tuskegee Airmen; however, they still served in segregated units, as was the

experience in previous wars, and were often assigned duties of lesser importance because of racial prejudice that often led those in

power to doubt in their capabilities.

The role played by African American soldiers in the war and the treatment by whites on the home front during and after the war

ended prompted President Truman to order that the army be desegregated after World War II. The experiences of African

Americans proving themselves by serving their country at home and abroad, called the double victory campaign, helped lay the

foundation for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Sources for the DBQ

Document A World War II Propaganda Posters Compilation Sheet

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

Document B

A journal excerpt from an article written by several individuals in the VA health care system. The document highlights the social

atmosphere of women in the military during World War II.

Document C

This newspaper article recognizes the contribution Martha “Tish” Barnum made to the wartime industry. The article gives insight

into her family background and her views on working.

Bright, M. (1942, November 20). "Running 10-Ton Arsenal Crane A Delight for 'Tish' Barnum, 19" The Boston Herald. Retrieved

from https://www.archives.gov/files/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10-scrapbook.pdf#page=8.

Document D This newspaper article recognizes the achievement of Grayce Grace whom may be the first woman chauffeur.

Boston Traveler. (1942, September 2). "West Newton Grandmother New Chauffer at Arsenal". Retrieved from

https://www.archives.gov/files/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.01-10-scrapbook.pdf#page=1.

Document E

This political cartoon depicts the challenges African Americans faced in wartime industries.

Poster-208-COM-13; "He's Willing, He's Capable, and We Need Him - Use Him!!"; 1943; Artworks and Mockups for Cartoons

Promoting the War Effort and Original Sketches by Charles Alston, ca. 1942 - ca. 1945; Records of the Office of War Information,

Record Group 208; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version,

https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/we-need-him, July 17, 2018]

Document F

This is a letter from President Roosevelt reminding Joseph Curran, the President of the National Wartime Union, that racial

discrimination was no longer acceptable in the military.

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

Roosevelt, F.D. (n.d.) [Letter written January 14, 1942 to Joseph Curran]. Retrieved from

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/content-images/06686p1.web_.png.

Document G

This is transcript of Dorothy Dugan’s appeal hearing for being denied the ability to change jobs for higher pay.

Dungan v Prosper Shepenell and Sons Company (1944). Retrieved from

https://www.archives.gov/files/boston/exhibits/homefront/4.13-case-728.pdf

Document H

This is a letter to the editor that set the tone for the “Double V” campaign.

Thompson, J. G. “Should I Sacrifice to Live ‘Half-American?’” Pittsburgh Courier, January 31, 1942.

Retrieved from https://www.pcsb.org/cms/lib8/FL01903687/Centricity/Domain/7034/james-thompson-letter.pdf

Potential Instructional Strategies

Day 1 “I Can” Statement: I can explain how print media was used to influence people to “Do Their Part” during the WWII.

(5.4.P)

1. Students will students brainstorm ways that an individual can get an important message out to a mass group of

people and persuade them to take on a specific belief.

2. The teacher will define the term propaganda and have students identify propaganda techniques.

3. The teacher will model how to analyze print media and identify propaganda techniques.

4. Students will examine WWII posters (Document A) to identify propaganda techniques that are present.

5. Students will complete the Poster Analysis worksheet. See Appendix

Day 2 “I Can” Statement: I can summarize the transition of women from home to the workplace. (5.4.P)

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

1. Students will engage in a whole-class, teacher guided reading of an excerpt from Women and War: What Physicians

Should Know to familiarize them with challenges and advances women experienced in the military as they

transitioned from their domestic roles. (Document B)

2. The teacher will use the video “Flashback: The Hidden Army of Women that Helped Defeat Hitler”

(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii/videos/flashback-the-hidden-army-

of-women-that-helped-defeat-hitler?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false) to introduce the next part of

the lesson. 3. Students will engage in cloze reading activities while analyzing information from newspaper articles. (Documents C

and D)

4. Students will participate in a mini-oral debate to explain if it was better for a woman to get a military or non-military

job during World War II. Evidence must support their answer.

Day 3 “I Can” Statement: I can identify challenges and rewards women and African Americans encountered in the workforce

during WWII. (5.4.P)

1. Students will evaluate and analyze primary source documents to determine the challenges and rewards that women

and African Americans experienced during World War II.

Documents E-G

Days 4-5: “I Can” Statement: I can collect and analyze data from editorials and oral histories to explain how WWII impacted the

social advancements of African Americans. (5.4.P, 5.4.E)

1. Student will evaluate and analyze James Thompson’s “Double V” editorial. Document H

2. Students will listen to oral history interviews (https://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-desegregation.html) from

African American World War II participants. Students will use a graphic organizer to record information that

identifies the following:

● Gender of the interviewee

● Role during WWII

● Positive social experiences

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

● Negative social experiences

3. Students will analyze the collected data to compare and contrast the social advancements amongst African American

males and females.

*See appendix for accompanying activity sheets.

Day 6-7: “I Can” Statement: I can synthesize information to identify examples of continuity and change and explain how WWII

impacted the social advancements of women and African Americans. (5.4.P, 5.4.E, 5.W.2)

1. Students will create a final product that demonstrates their ability to identify the social advancements of women and

African Americans that occurred as a result of World War II.

Possible Scaffolding and Differentiation

● Instead of specifying the posters to be used, the teacher can provide a selection of posters from World War II and allow

students to choose the ones they would like to analyze

● Students can conduct oral history interviews of family or community members

● Integrate the use of historical videos to provide background knowledge as needed

● Re-word/rewrite material as needed to accommodate varying Lexile levels

● Alternate the grouping of students by ability level encourage full class participation

● Have students analyze songs and poetry written during this time for signs of social change

Potential Assessment Task/Final Product

Students will be given the option to choose from the activities below for their final project assignment.

· The student will write an expository essay using the evidence from the sourced documents to generate their response.

· The student will create a collage to answer the question.

· The student will create a PowerPoint presentation to answer the question.

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

· The student will create time traveler’s journal that answers the question.

· The student will create a video response as a news reporter to answer the question.

Materials

· Access to or copies of the documents

· Paper and pencil

· Chromebooks, laptops, or desktop computers

· Chart paper

· Poster board

· Markers

Resources

“Advertisement for women to drive streetcar during World War II, Twin City Rapid Transit,” Digital Public Library of America,

Retrieved from https://dp.la/item/904945cf2bc2ce4b6a268c4ea0bc8397.

Delmont, M.(2017). African-Americans fighting fascism and racism, from WWII to Charlottesville. The Conservation. Retrieved

from https://theconversation.com/african-americans-fighting-fascism-and-racism-from-wwii-to-charlottesville-

82551?xid=PS_smithsonian

“Equality of treatment and opportunity”: Executive Order 9981 (Experiencing War Stories from the Veteran’s History Project).

Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-desegregation.html

Gates. Jr, H. L. What was black america’s double war. The African Americans Many Rivers to Cross. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-was-black-americas-double-war/

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019

Powers of persuasion: Poster art from World War II. The National Archives. Retrieved from

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/man_the_guns/man_the_guns.html

Rosie the Riveter Song Lyrics (n.d.) Retrieved from http://jackiewhiting.net/US/RosieLyrics.html

Simkins, C. (2009). African-American Soldiers in World War II Helped Pave Way for Integration of US Military. VOA News.

Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2005-05-10-voa47-67929177/396374.html

South Carolina Department of Education (2015) Profile of the South Carolina graduate. [PDF document}. Retrieved from

http://www.eoc.sc.gov/Home/Profile%20of%20the%20Graduate/Profile%20of%20the%20SC%20Graduate.pdf

South Carolina Department of Education. (2011). South Carolina social studies academic standards. South Carolina Department of

Education. Columbia: SC Department of Education.

Instructional Worksheet Resources

Poster Analysis Worsheet Retrieved from

https://www.archives.gov/files/education/lessons/worksheets/poster_analysis_worksheet.pdf

Teachers Guide to Analyzing Oral History. Retrieved from

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/resources/Analyzing_Oral_Histories.pdf

South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina

2019