Student Activity 1

Purpose:
    The purpose of this activity is to understand the history surrounding the story of Maus.  To understand any story you must know how the events in history shape the decisions that characters make.  By understanding the events which set World War II in motion and led to the persecution of Jews, one will come to a better understanding of the story of Maus.

Directions:
    Students will create their own personal newspaper covering the years 1939-1945, and will desktop publish the piece effectively using font and graphics.  The newspaper will consist of one headline story and two additional features.  The headline story must deal with the persecution of the Jews, and its significance and historical roots must be obvious to the reader.  In the additional two features, the topic must deal with the War itself, though it does not have to involve the Holocaust directly.  The entire project must be 5 pages minimum, with no bigger than a 12-point font, excluding headings.  Headers should be no larger than three inches, and there should be no more than two medium sized graphics per page.

Resources:
http://www.msu.edu/user/richtwes/WorldWarII.htm
http://www.fsu.edu/~ww2/

*Any additional resources must be approved by the teacher before being used by students.


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