SPAWN World War IIBy Kate Metzler

SPAWN is an acronym that stands for 5 categories of writing prompts. The

prompts are meant to stimulate a deeper thinking about texts and topics. SPAWN

can be used in many different ways from short notebook logs to extended

analytical pieces to daily reflections on what the they learned that day. This

exercise helps students with learning, reflecting, and critical thinking. SPAWN

takes students learning beyond the topic and can correlate across topics within your content or other content areas.

SPAWN stands for:• S- Special Powers: Students are given

the power to change an aspect of the text or topic. When writing, students should include what was changed, why, and the effects of the change.

• P- Problem Solving: Students are asked to write solutions to problems posed or suggested by the books being read or material being studied.

• A- Alternative Viewpoints: Students write about a topic or story from a unique perspective.

•W- What if?: The teacher introduces the aspect of the topic or story that has changed, then asks students to write based on that change.

•N- Next: Students are asked to write in anticipation of what the author will discuss next. In their writing, students should explain the logic of what they think will happen next.

EXAMPLE

S: You, as a student, have the power to change any event or part of the Holocaust. Include what you changed and why, and the effect of the change in your writing.

P: We read parts of Anne Frank’s Diary, how do you think the Jewish community tried to deal with the Holocaust besides just hiding?

A: Imagine you are a guard at one of the concentration camps, how would you describe what you saw, smelled, heard, and how you felt about being at a camp.

W: What might have happened if Japan not bombed Pearl Harbor?

N: We learned that the United States marched into Berlin in 1945. What do you think will happen to Germany?

• S: The part that I would change about the Holocaust is that I would not have let the people in the concentration camps die by the hands of other humans or split up families. They would just live in the camp, but there would not be any gas chambers, or massive deaths. This would have changed how the rest of the world saw Germans. They would not be depicted as savage as they were when they forced deaths. Which would have changed the reparations Germany was forced to follow. This would create a domino effect that would change the Cold War, Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

• P: Besides just hiding, I think people of the Jewish faith that wanted to get away from Nazis emigrated out of Germany. They would have run away to allied countries and behind ally lines because they know they’d be safer there. I also don’t think they’d stop running until they were off the European continent. If they stayed around the borders of Germany, or just across allied lines, there was potential for Germany to keep winning and take that territory over.

• A: If I were a guard at one of the concentration camps, I would be proud of myself. Most likely I had grown up with the idea that people outside of what the Nazi party deemed as the Aryan Race or the perfect people, as evil and bad. I would also be a follower of Hitler so I would want to do whatever I can to please him. The camp was really dirty and smelly. All around me, all I saw was people that looked like they were already dead. They were so skinny from lack of food and dirty/smelly because they didn’t have clothes or a way to shower. If also smelled really badly because we had piles of dead bodies just lining the roads.

• W: If Japan had not bombed Pearl Harbor, it is possible that the United State may not have entered the war as soon as we did. If America had delayed their involvement in the war, the Axis powers may have started to win by a large margin or maybe ended the war by winning. If Germany had won the war, everything in the world would be different from what we know. Germany might have an Empire that spreads over most of Europe. They also might have built up their military enough to come after the United States. Also if Germany had won, American economics (such as international trade and alliances) would drastically be affected. Germany would have proceeded to take over as much of Europe as possible in result US would lose many trade partners and allies. Germany would eventually attack the United States.

• N: I think since the United States has marched into Berlin, they will take over. The war will be over and Germany will lose. The allies have the upper hand and will completely change the German government. The allies will also keep troops in Berlin to make sure that German officials follow the guidelines that will be set for them. Germany will be blamed for everything and will have to pay back all reparations. They will also have lost all trust from all other countries for good.

Classroom Implications• For history, SPAWN can be used for any

topic or unit. It can be adjusted to deal with a general topic or a very detailed, specific topic. The students could complete this assignment with even the smallest amount of knowledge on a topic. Because prompts can be anything (such as opinion and informative), SPAWN can be used as an introduction to a unit even if the students do not know much information about the topic.

Classroom Implications, cont.• For the topics that the students are not as familiar

with, I will create the prompts. If the students know a lot about the topic, or if I give them this assignment at the end of a lesson, I would have them create their SPAWN worksheet. If I let them create their own, I will then pair them up and have them respond to each other’s. It would be a great study tool for them to create their own before a test or quiz because it will cause them to review details of places, people and events that they will need to know. They will have to try and pick out the important information and it could act as part of their study guide.