With so many countries involved in World War II, there were an incredible amount of pivotal battles. In this activity, students will be assigned one of the numerous battles of World War II and create a storyboard to summarize the causes of the battle, the events that transpired throughout the battle, and the outcomes.
It's helpful for students to be assigned a battle or to have them select battles as a class, in order to ensure that there are few duplicates. This way, students can share their research with each other digitally or present them to the class. As another option, students can create a poster instead of a frayer model. If this is the case, add some poster templates to the assignment and adjust the instructions accordingly!
Extended Activity
Students that wish to engage in this extension activity will participate in a theoretical history assignment. Students will be required to complete an additional storyboard that argues why the losing side of their researched battle lost and re-create a strategy that they believe could have resulted in a victory. Students should be encouraged to research prior wars and battle tactics throughout history to incorporate into their arguments and battle plans. Students may present their arguments to the class and may invoke a respectful debate among other students in the analysis of the proposed plan of victory.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a frayer model that examines a battle from WW2, focusing on what it was, why it happened, the outcomes, and the conditions/tactics.
Build a shared visual timeline of major WWII battles by assigning each student or group a different battle. This helps everyone see how events unfolded and connect the sequence of key moments in the war.
Prevent overlapping topics by carefully distributing battles among students or groups. This ensures diverse research and presentations, giving everyone a broader view of WWII events.
Encourage focused investigation by having students pinpoint the causes, main events, and outcomes of their battle. Summarizing findings helps develop critical thinking and synthesis skills.
Promote creativity by asking students to design a visual entry for their battle—including dates, key facts, and images. Visuals make the timeline engaging and memorable for the whole class.
Foster collaborative learning by assembling student entries into a chronological display. Lead a discussion to identify patterns, turning points, and how each battle influenced the course of WWII.
Assigning each student or group a specific WW2 battle and having them create a storyboard or poster summarizing the causes, events, and outcomes helps students understand key conflicts in an engaging, visual way.
Have students research and present different battles, then facilitate a class discussion or digital sharing session where students compare causes, tactics, and outcomes of each conflict.
Try activities like Frayer models, storyboards, poster presentations, or debates on battle strategies to make learning about WW2 battles interactive and memorable.
Encourage students to research the losing side's tactics, identify mistakes, and propose new strategies by drawing on historical examples, then present and discuss their ideas with the class.
A comprehensive WW2 battle project should include the name of the battle, causes, major events, outcomes, and key tactics or conditions, illustrated with images or drawings.