Common Core Standards and World War II: A Literary Veteran's Day Observance

By Pat Scales

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general and commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, established a committee in 1954 to plan a Veterans Day observance. This day honors all veterans of the United States and is held each year on November 11 with a somber ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A wreath is placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and followed by a parade of colors. In 2015, the United States and the world will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Victory in Europe occurred on May 8, 1945, but the official end of the war came when Japan surrendered to the United States on August 15, 1945. Some students may have family members who remember World War II, but most only know the hardships both at home and in foreign war zones through books they read. The novels presented in this guide give them a glimpse of the events on the home front in the United States after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and what was happening in Europe and Asia before and after the United States entered the war. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497676534

Pat Scales

Pat Scales is a former middle and high school librarian whose programs have been featured on the Today Show and in various professional journals. Ms. Scales has served as chair of the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, and Wilder award committees. She is a past president of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. Scales is actively involved with ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, is a member of the Freedom to Read Foundation and the Council of Advisors of the National Coalition Against Censorship, and acts as a spokesperson for First Amendment issues as they relate to children and young adults. She writes a bimonthly column for School Library Journal and is a regular contributor to Book Links magazine.

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Common Core Standards and World War II

A Literary Veteran’s Day Observance

Pat Scales

World War II

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general and commander of the Allied Forces in Europe­­ during World War II, established a committee in 1954 to plan a Veterans Day observance. This day honors all veterans of the United States and is held each year on November 11 with a somber­ ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A wreath is placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and followed by a parade of colors. In 2015, the United States and the world will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Victory in Europe occurred on May 8, 1945, but the official end of the war came when Japan surrendered to the United States on August 15, 1945. Some students may have family members who remember World War II, but most only know the hardships both at home and in foreign war zones through books they read. The novels presented in this guide give them a glimpse of the events on the home front in the United States after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and what was happening in Europe and