Lesson 7

Lesson: WWII Geography (Europe, Africa, and the Pacific)

Objective: Students will be able to identify the major countries of Europe, North Africa,
and the Pacific during WWII, particularly the ones that played a large role in the war, i.e.
Germany, Britain, Italy, Soviet Union, France, and Japan. They will be able to identify on
the map which countries belonged to the Axis Powers, and which belonged to the Allies.
Common Core Standards:
10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative
analysis in print or digital text.
Materials: Tablets, unlabeled maps, pencils/pens, colored pencils
Directions: Tell students that now that they understand what led the world into another
world war, its time to learn about where each of these countries, and the places they
fought, are. Pass out the unlabeled maps of Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific Ocean.
Students are to access the internet on their tablets and find maps of the relevant locations
as they were during World War II. They use these online maps to label each country and its
capital. They are to use colored pencils to color the Axis Powers one color, the Allied
Powers another, and neutral countries yet another. They will create a color-coded key at
the bottom to show which colors represent which groups. The maps are due at the end of
the period.
When there are just a few minutes left in the period (most students should be done), have
students look at their maps as you review some of the events (bombing of Pearl Harbor,
Rape of Nanking, invasion of Poland, etc.) already covered, so students can see where these
events took place.