Virginia SOL USII.6.f
The Standard
identifying the roles and sacrifices of U.S. armed forces, including prisoners of war (POWs), women, and segregated units, as well as other notable heroics including, but not limited to the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the Navajo Code Talkers, and the Bedford Boys
Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify how selected service members and units contributed to the U.S. war effort. They explain the dangers, discrimination, captivity, and loss these people faced.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students accurately match each group with its role, such as flying missions, transmitting coded messages, or serving in combat. They use specific evidence to explain both contribution and sacrifice.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume the armed forces were integrated or that women served only as nurses. They may also confuse POWs with deserters or overlook the heavy losses suffered by the Bedford Boys and the 442nd.
How to Assess It
- Give an exit ticket: Choose two named groups, describe each role, and explain one sacrifice each faced using specific historical evidence.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs photo and fact cards to sort by group, role, sacrifice, and evidence of segregation or unequal treatment.
Ask students to write: How did service members defend a country that did not always treat them equally?
Play a clue game where teams identify a unit or group from three facts, then state its contribution and sacrifice.
Examine a local war memorial or online memorial record, then compare its form of recognition with recognition given to one studied group.
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