Piecing Together WWII History
Equipment list
Bean bags (1 per group)
Index cards or strips of paper (pre-cut question halves in red and blue font)
Music player with WWII-era songs (e.g. Vera Lynn, Glenn Miller)
Explanation
This interactive activity supports the Nova Scotia Grade 8 Social Studies curriculum by reinforcing students’ understanding of World War II’s impact on Canadian society. Designed as a knowledge game inspired by Hot Potato, students will use quick thinking and recall to reconstruct historical facts from fragmented statements. This game encourages collaboration, active listening, and deeper comprehension of key social changes during and after WWII.
Pre-Game Preparation
Create a list of 8–10 factual statements about WWII’s impact on Canadian society.
Colour-code each half of the statement: red font for one half, blue font for the other.
Print and cut each statement in half—red parts in one pile, blue parts in another.
Prepare a playlist of period-accurate WWII songs (roughly 30–45 seconds each).
Game Instructions
Divide the class into groups of 4–5 students. Each group forms a circle with two piles of paper strips (red and blue).
Provide one bean bag per group.
Play a WWII-era song. Students pass the bean bag clockwise.
When the music stops, the student holding the bean bag can select one red and one blue strip and try to match them into a complete historical statement.
Student will have about 10 seconds to complete this task. Completed statements will be placed in a safe space next to the group.
This process will happen for as many statements as the group can created. At the end of the game, the teacher will review the statements through a class discussion.
ASK ID 2025-04-13-001-E