Project Planning Document

Teacher &
Course Name

Dayna Laur U.S. History

Unit of Study

War and Conflict

Duration of
Project

8 Weeks

Description of
Your Project

Students will use the lessons from the 20th Century wars in
US history to create a plan to withdraw US troops from
Afghanistan. Students will also experience the emotional
impact of war through the creation of an oral history of
veterans from WWII-present day conflicts.

Significant
Content

Causes of war, war at home, battle strategies, weapons of

war, psychological impact of war, economic impacts of war

Formative
Assessments

Checkpoint: timeline of each war to include 10 major

events
Checkpoint: Wallwisher posts to describe examples from
each war that exhibits nationalism, militarism, alliances,
and imperialism
Checkpoint: Daily journal reflection on the DQ

Need to Know/
Engagement
Factor
AKA Entry
Event

Skype with brother-in-law currently stationed in

Afghanistan to discuss experience during first and second
tour and include a comparison of Desert Storm experience.
--- Will introduce students to the DQ and goal of the
project.

Driving
Question

How can we create a plan for a withdrawal of US troops in

Afghanistan?

Focus
Questions

1. What are the causes of war?

2. How does propaganda factor into how wars are won or
lost?

Laur
Educational Consulting

3. How does the war effort at home impact US citizens?

4. How do weapons of war change how wars are fought?
5. What is the impact of war on soldiers?
6. How were battle strategies factored into the success of
the US military?
7. What is the economic impact of war?
8. What are the stories of veterans, years after the
conclusion of the war in which they served?
In-Depth
Inquiry

Students must use their understanding of the significant

content to apply it in the justification for their plan.

21 Century
Skills

Critical Thinking: Creation of the plan requires students

to apply their understanding of the core concepts from
each of the wars to the present day. Students must justify
their plan after evaluating possible routes to take.
Communication: Prezi of overall plan, final individual
essay (summative assessments), interviews with veterans
Collaboration: Creation of Prezi is a collaborative effort,
Documentary compilation

Voice and
Choice

Final plan is open-ended choice for each group

Revision and
Reflection

Peer Critique from other groups

Teacher feedback
Journal entries for personal reflection

Public
Audience

US Special Forces First Group stationed in Afghanistan

Library of Congress Submission to Veterans History
Project

Summative
Assessment

Individual Essay using a minimum of two examples

from each of the 20th Century wars to justify their plan for
ending US troop involvement in Afghanistan.

Laur
Educational Consulting

Group Prezi describing their plan for troop removal,

group production of veteran oral history

Laur
Educational Consulting