Bringing World War II history to life

Two World War II veterans spoke to Homewood Middle School sixth graders about their involvement in the War. Eugene Brabston, grandfather of sixth graders Campbell Brabston and Mary Jane Rose, was in the Navy during WWII and fought in the Pacific Theater at Okinawa, Iwo Jima and the Phillipines. Vincent Carnaggio,

Marcus Reynolds’ grandfather, wasin the Navy and enlisted when he was only 15 years old.

The students were also able to see footlockers full of artifacts from the war through Operation Footlocker program from the National World War II Museum. The program sends military footlockers filled with WWII artifacts to schools across the nation.

Some artifacts spurred very inquisitive questions and discussions about why the item was needed, how it was used and why it was made of such material. Students used their devices to take pictures, videos, and to write reports on the investigation.

The class began the World War II unit WWII unit by bringing in information and pictures of family members that served in WWII. They combined all the photos in a video using the iPad iMovie app, including recordings of themselves telling about family members in their own voices. The presentation was then displayed on the learning wall for the rest of the school to see.