Grade Levels: 6-8, 9-12

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic War, and supports the standard of analyzing the various causes of war. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students: 

  • What wars are you familiar with? What do you know about them?
  • How do you think wars in the past affect our lives today?

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

  • Read aloud the description on the War topic page
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Have students read one of the six Related Reading articles. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: ENGAGE

Students express what they learned about war while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

    • Make-a-Movie: Produce a mini-documentary explaining how the U.N. originated and what it does to prevent war. (Essential Literacy Skill: Determine central ideas)
    • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map identifying and describing the main causes of war throughout history. (Essential Literacy Skill: Summarize key details)
    • Creative Coding: Code a digital museum exhibit featuring artifacts representing how war has evolved throughout history. (Essential Literacy Skill: Make logical inferences from explicit details)

Step 4: APPLY & ASSESS 

Apply: Students complete the War Graphic Organizer, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the War Quiz

Step 5: EXTEND LEARNING

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of the causes and consequences of war with these topics: United Nations, Armed Forces, and Memorial Day.  

Additional Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments