Teacher's Guide

Education Resources:

HOMEFRONT: South Dakota Stories HOMEFRONT and WAR stories that were shared with us; we are honored to share them with you.

Local Heroes Includes personal stories about the depression era and WWII to the 211th Engineering Company's recent tour in Afghanistan.

A.      Things To Do

1.      Print out the guided notes and distribute to class.

2.      Watch Dakota Pathways Episode #17 and have the students complete the guided notes.

3.      Go online and complete the map “Activity” and “Challenge” quiz.

4.      Student glossary included. 

5.      There is a list of related links that would be helpful for student research projects. 

6.      Print out the crossword puzzle and distribute to class.

7.      Class Activity – Desperate Move

8.      Standards

1. Guided Notes

“Guided Notes” - Teacher
“Guided Notes” - Student

2. Online Episode of Dakota Pathways Episode #17

Episode link.

3.   Online games

a.       Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways.  The card matching game is found by clicking “Activity”.  

b.      Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways.  The online quiz is found by clicking “Challenge”.

4. Glossary

a.       Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways.  We have included a student glossary.

5. Links

a.       We have included an extensive list of related sites.  We preview each related site looking for adult content.  Unfortunately, we cannot find all of the inappropriate material on an individual site.  We include links we feel may be of use in the education setting.  Each site has individual rights and disclaimers.  Please call us Toll Free at 1-800-456-0766 if you find any questionable content and we will remove it. If we have unintentionally linked to your site and we are not allowed to please contact us at 1-800-456-0766 and we will remove the link.  Thank you.

6. Crossword Puzzle

a.       The students may use the vocabulary words and definitions for the crossword puzzle if they need help. 

Crossword - Solved
Crossword - Blank

7. Class Activity – Desperate Move

Introduction:

During WWII the Japanese military sent thousands of large balloons toward the United States.  The large balloons carried bombs and fire starting devices.   The distance between the two countries was approximately 6,000 miles.  The Japanese military had to deal with storms, wind, distance and the United States military shooting down the balloons.  Amazingly, the Japanese had some success even though there were so many variables working against them. Check out the sites below for some war balloon information.

- War Balloon Information

- War Balloon Info (US Air Force)

 Your students need to realize the success of this project was based on the large number of balloons released.  It would have been a waste of time for the Japanese military to send 10 – 20 balloons toward the United States.  They needed to send thousands of balloons to account for the poor success rate.  The following activity will allow your students to see first had how a poor success rate can be masked by a high number of attempts.

Your students will conduct an experiment in which they will release balloons similar to the balloons released by the Japanese during WWII.  Below you will find basic directions to complete the activity. Feel free to make changes to meet the needs of your class.  You may want the kids to dress in WW II military attire or you may want to make cool looking cutouts representing Japan, North America and South America.  The results should be graphed using a computer program like Excel or on graph paper.  The students should compare the number of released balloons for each trial to the number of balloons that make contact with the United States.

 Note: Times are estimations- will vary based on your class size   

 Materials:

Ladder or playground slide (careful – fall risk)
Windy / breezy day
3-5 balloons / student
Data collection maps
Graph paper or computer graph program
Paperclips (Hang from balloons to represent bombs – kids decide how many)  
Poster board / cardboard from refrigerator box (Targets – South and North America) 

Process:

     Preparation:  Targets will need to be made.

Method 1:  Use the map below, cardboard, and an overhead to make a large representation of Japan, North America, and South  America. Map JPG

Method 2:  Use a can of spray paint to make 2 large targets on the grass that represents North and South America.

Day 1: (50-75 minutes) Every student should blow up 3-5 balloons.  The kids must then decide if they would like to hang paperclips from the bottom of their balloons. This should be a judgment call based on the current wind speed and the distance from the launch site to the targets. All of the balloons should be placed in large garbage sacks so they do not break.  

      1. Balloon release

-Release site: tall object like a slide or jungle gym (safety issue)

-Place targets (North and South America) down wind from release site

-The students will need the following map to mark the location where each balloon first hits the ground (1 map / trial)  Map JPG

-Each student should take turns releasing the balloons

-Complete each trial below (extra balloons may be needed if they pop)

Trial #1: release 1 per student

Trial #2: release 2 per student

Trial #3: release 4 per student

Trial #....:  Continue to increase the number of balloons released if time allows.

Day 2: Graph the results and form conclusion (example below)

Example Data Table:

(Hypothetical Results)

Example Graph:

Conclusion: The students should conclude that the number of hits increases because the number of balloons released is increased even though the success rate is fairly constant.   The Japanese Military needed to send thousands of balloons during WWII in order to guarantee some of the balloons would reach the United States.  The average success rate above is approximately 28%. 

A data table should be created similar to the table below using the success rate obtained from your study.  The table reinforces the fact that more hits will be made if more balloons are released.  

FOURTH GRADE CIVICS STANDARDS

STUDENTS WILL:

1. analyze the actions and rights of a responsible citizen, such as obey rules (classroom, family, community), the use of conflict resolution and compromise, voting rights, property rights, civil rights, and human rights.

2. compare the changing roles and cultures of the individuals role according to gender, age, and occupation in various groups, such as family, community, and social class structure.

FOURTH GRADE ECONOMICS STANDARDS

STUDENTS WILL:

2. identify how government pays for the goods and services it provides (taxing and borrowing).

3. summarize the factors that affect economic systems, including family finance, drought, and tourism.

Full Script (PDF)