The Art of Modern War

The middle school students had an interesting Skype interview this week with Mr. Mackenzie's brother, Specialist Saad Almomory, stationed in South Korea. He is a Forward Observer (F-13), one of the most dangerous jobs in the army. He scouts out locations from above for firing weapons, especially necessary when there are obstacles in the way of sight. The students decided to try their hands at this aspect of modern warfare. A wall was created to obstruct vision and students had to figure out the parabola a rubber band would take in an attempt to hit a target on the other side of the wall.

The students also explored more about World War II at a visit to the Washington State History Museum. While they had explored the museum earlier in the year, the students went with these research questions in mind:

1.       What was the Hanford facility and how did it contribute to the end of WWII? How has the activity there impacted the current state of environmental welfare?

2.       How did the demand for labor due to the war impact African Americans, Latinos, and women in this area?

3.       Listen to Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat, 1942, “On the Home Front,” located on the telephones in the “diner” section of the museum. What are Roosevelt’s thoughts on the war production effort? Identify two points that he makes.

4.       Describe the Japanese community in Tacoma/Seattle before the war and how it was impacted by the war. Things to consider include:

-          The Japanese Language School of Tacoma

-          The Map of the Japanese District in Seattle

-          Kenjinkai organizations and baseball

-          The Puyallup fairegrounds

-          Gordon Hirabayashi and the legal challenge to internment

-          Japanese American Citizens League

       5. How did rationing, recycling, and sacrifice impact the Puget Sound region and help the War effort?

       6. How did the War change the role for women in the workplace? How did women balance the need to work with their “responsibilities” at home?

Once they had completed this task, students got the chance to explore the new Toytopia exhibit. They enjoyed playing old video games and seeing old toys.

The students also launched their parachutes out of a window of the nearby parking garage. It was interesting seeing which models did well! 

Throw a snow day on top of all of that, and it was a pretty awesome week at the middle school!