Project+Overview

Important Decisions in World War II ||= ||
 * = [[image:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_vAqFb3FsWx66C4W34Tc86IZ-C2dcJT113ETAgSJjGndIPoF8O7GILunlafhwOqSPzUMg8KoOt0O8Na9Yp2PrAfcy2ey2IndhuxJXIRKE6VJIJzY1Ko width="135" height="175" align="center"]] ||= Alternate History:

French philosopher, Albert Camus, once said, “Life is the sum of all your choices.” Our lives are full of decisions, and some clearly impact the course of our lives: who we marry, what career we choose, etc… Other decisions do not appear to have much significance but ultimately have just as much of a chance to alter our future. Ultimately, one thing is certain: The choices that we make define us and impact the people around us.

In this project, we will take some time to consider “what might have happened.” You have the opportunity to research any event that took place during World War II. You will then identify a decision that was made during that event and compose a wikispace that allows people to see how that one decision impacted the course of history.

Learning Goals:
 * I can evaluate the credibility of multiple sources and compose annotations that will strengthen the credibility of my research.
 * I can thoughtfully analyze historical events by identifying critical decisions in history and hypothesizing realistic alternate outcomes.
 * I can skillfully integrate textual evidence into my writing.

Sample Project - __Battle of the Bulge__

Your “wikispace” will consist of six pages:

(1) Introduction/Home Page This page is the first page your audience will see and should be designed to briefly describe the purpose of this website/wikispace and pull the viewer into your narrative. Please include the following:
 * 1) a brief description of what you are trying to accomplish with this website/wikispace
 * 2) an image (with caption) that engages readers with the event and story you are telling
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a link to the historical background page

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Click on this link to see a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sample Intro Page__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(2) Historical Background Page <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This page should give the audience a context for the decision that could have changed the course of history in some significant way. The best background pages will do the following:
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clearly identify (using italics) several important events that reveal where this specific event fits in the context of World War II.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Provide all important information (who, what, where, when) leading up to some critical decision in the event.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Include several important individuals that had an impact on the event that is explored. Please place these names in bold on all pages.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Include relevant images that help illustrate the background story you are telling. Note: Be sure all images contain complete captions – a brief description of the photo and the date it was taken.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Contain a written transition and a link (at the bottom of that page) that takes your audience to the “Decision Page.”

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Click on this link to see a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sample Background Page__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(3) Decision Page <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This page should clearly announce to your audience that they need to make a decision, which will have a significant impact on the course of history. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Please Note__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: The best and most thoughtful decisions (a) enable the reader to see both the benefits and potential consequences of each choice and (b) are rooted in historical facts. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Be sure to include the following on this page:
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A brief explanation announcing that the audience needs to watch the video to see what decision had to be made and then make their own decision.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A video that dramatizes the point-of-decision through a reenactment. This reenactment does not need to be long (1min 30secs - 3mins), but it should be engaging and entertaining (props, costumes, and good dialogue are <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__strongly__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> encouraged)
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Two links that allow the reader to make their own decision regarding that event. Please include images for both those possible decisions. Please do NOT label these decisions as “Actual” & “Alternate” outcome. That ruins the fun of discovering what actually happened, and should be clearly communicated in those pages.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Click on this link to see a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sample Decision Page__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(4) Actual Outcome Page <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This page should include a narrative (with images that illustrate your retelling) of what actually took place after the real decision was made. The best actual outcome pages will do the following:
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clearly state at the top of this page that this is what <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__actually__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> happened.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">continues the same story you were telling in your historical background page.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">communicates what actually happened and why that was significant in the history of the United States. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Underline__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the portions of the story that reveal the actual significance of the decision and event.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">connects to your alternate history. In other words, use the same terminology (key people, locations, etc…) in both, but use it in different ways. This key terminology should be identified on the web page with ALL CAPS.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Smoothly integrate quotes (with properly formatted internal citations) into the narrative.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Include relevant images to help illustrate the story you are telling. All images should contain complete captions – a brief description of the photo and the date it was taken.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Click on this link to see a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sample Actual Outcome Page__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(5) Alternate Outcome Page <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This page should tell a story that outlines an alternate history. The best alternate outcome pages will do the following:
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clearly state at the top of this page that this is what <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__could__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> have happened.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Continue from the story you were telling in your historical background page.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Write a creative and engaging narrative that shows how significant this event was in the history of the United States and the world. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Underline__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the portions of the story that reveal the significance of the alternate decision and event.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Connect to your actual outcome page. Use the same terminology (key people, locations, etc…) in both, but use it in different ways. This key terminology should be identified with ALL CAPS.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Smoothly integrate quotes (with properly formatted internal citations) into the narrative.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Include relevant images to help illustrate the story you are telling. All images should contain complete captions – a brief description of the photo and the date it was taken.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Click on this link to see a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sample Alternate Outcome Page__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(6) Annotated Bibliography Page <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This page proves that your narratives are rooted in historical research and gives your audience a chance to read some of the same information that shaped your stories. Provide a link to this on your homepage. Be sure to include the following on this page:
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alphabetically organized and properly formatted MLA citations (Note: Noodle Tools can be helpful for this)
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Annotations for all images and written sources. These annotations should contain all parts of a good annotation.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*Click on this link to see a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sample Annotated Bibliography Page__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Other Important Details__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">:
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Be sure you italicize, bold, CAPS, or <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__underlined__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the appropriate information. We will be looking for these things as we grade.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Potential Topics
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">European Front
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">D-Day
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Battle of Stalingrad
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Miracle at Dunkirk
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">U.S. involvement in North Africa
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bloody Anzio
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Holocaust || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pacific Front
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pearl Harbor
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Battle of Midway
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Battaan Death March
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Navajo Code Talkers || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Home Front
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Japanese Internment
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Atomic Bomb
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lend-Lease Act ||