Utah Beach Successfully Concluded

After two sessions away for the game, the students were eager to start playing Memoir '44 again and did a great job setting up Utah Beach. Energy was high and everyone was working hard to emerge on top; with only Sword Beach and Omaha Beach left, they're realizing that the tournament is coming to an end.

Excitement was also high because we were being visited by the local media! Sheila Miller, a local reporter for the education section of the Bend Bulletin, contacted me about visiting our club and doing a story on kids learning history through a board game. She slipped into my classroom as we were reviewing the historical background for Utah Beach and then followed us out to the library to watch the club in action. Her colleague took pictures of the club while Sheila interviewed me and talked to the students.

After the media had left, one of my students asked what newspaper they were from. When she heard they were from the Bulletin, her face lit up. "Everyone reads that! We're going to be famous," she said. While that may not be entirely true, it was a very exciting experience for all of us. The story should appear in the paper this weekend.

Proof of Learning

As I handed out the ten-question quiz, I was impressed that I didn't hear someone say, "What!? We have to take a quiz in the History Club?" I did see some surprised faces and maybe a little indignation, but the students got right to work and proved what I've been hoping. They are learning history from the Memoir '44 History Club!

Last Thursday was spent learning about D-Day, and after a quick review of what we had talked about, the students answered 10 questions about D-Day and Memoir '44. Five days after learning about the Normandy invasion, every student remembered what day the landings began, some of the code names given to the beaches, and why the Germans thought they would be safe on June 6, 1944.

After the quiz, students chose new World War II books to read. We spent the rest of the time reading about a minor battle and learning how to design historical scenarios on the Memoir '44 scenario editor.

When we packed up to go, the students were excited to hear that we start the D-Day Tournament back up on Thursday with the Utah Beach scenario. They will charge the beaches with a better understanding of how the Allies prepared for the battle and how Utah Beach fit into Operation Overlord.

Battlefront History

The students finished Juno Beach on Tuesday afternoon. Everyone is being a good sport and enjoying their time playing the game. After the third D-Day battle, the teams are in the following order:

Pickled Ponies - 3 wins
FS 101 Duel Shock - 2 wins, 1 loss
Elite Aquamarines - 2 wins, 1 loss
The Rock stars - 2 losses, 1 win
Spicy Cinnamon Girls - 2 losses, 1 win
The Trench Gunners - 3 losses

Thursday, February 5th, we spent the whole time learning about D-Day and the factors that helped the invasion succeed. Being a history club, I felt it was important that we spend time building background knowledge about World War II. Since we're playing the D-Day landings, I chose to teach the club members about the Allied plan, their deception tactics, and the factors that lead to a successful landing. At the end of our time, we watched a clip from WWII Battlefront that reviewed what I had just taught them and even had commentary by a US Ranger who helped capture Pointe-du-Hoc. The students were very interested to hear from a primary source and had lots of questions about D-Day, Hitler, the Holocaust, and World War II in general. It was a good time to dispel misconceptions and a good time of learning. Now that the students have some background knowledge, when we launch into the Utah Beach landings next week, they'll have a better understanding of the context in which the battle happened.

In the middle of our lesson, one of the club members asked a great question. She raised her hand and asked, "Why do we even have war? What was World War II really about? I mean, why were they fighting?" There are the typical answers of fighting against evil and fighting for freedom, but at its core, she asked a very good question and one that has no simple answer. I'm glad the Memoir '44 History Club is a place for students to discover questions like this and start thinking critically about them.