Inspired by: My Secret War Diary - Week 4

In the thematic unit titled "Christmas Changes," students delve into the wartime experiences of a character named Flossie, as chronicled in her diary. The learning objective is to make comparisons within and across books, focusing on how Flossie's emotions and living conditions ebb and flow from 1939 to 1945. The activity prompts students to contrast the festive periods of Christmas and New Year from the start of the war to 1944, using specific page references to track Flossie's changing sentiments and the evolving circumstances of life during wartime. Additionally, students are encouraged to speculate on what Christmas in 1945 might have been like, considering that food rationing continued until well after the war's end, with meat and bacon restrictions lifting only on July 4th, 1954.

Another learning segment, "War Work For Kids," aims to teach students the skill of précising longer passages. The activity involves summarizing information from the Ministry of Food regarding rationing and the Points System during World War II. Students refer to Flossie's 'Dig for Victory' poster designs and a rationing placard she created for young children based on official guidance. The task is to read through the provided information sheets and recreate Flossie's placard, distilling the essence of the text into a format that is easily understandable for children. This exercise not only imparts knowledge about the historical context of food rationing but also develops students' abilities to extract and convey key points succinctly.