This lesson uses primary documents from World War II, including a map and photographs, to teach students about how soldiers spent their free time on leave in New York City. Students analyze the documents in groups and make observations about attractions and services, popular destinations, and places not listed. They then plan a sample soldier's day and discuss how servicemen were expected to behave. Finally, students write an informative essay synthesizing their analysis of the primary documents.

1. Shore Leave in New York City – Using Primary Documents
from World War II
Luciano D’Orazio
CS 150 Charles James Fox School
Bronx, NY
March 19, 2012

2. Introduction:
World War II (1939-1945) cost more lives, destroyed more property and had farther reaching
consequences than any previous war in human history. Nearly every continent on the planet saw some
form of military conflict, and an entire planet mobilized for war on both sides. Over 100 million men
fought on battlefields from Africa to Europe to Russia to the islands of the Pacific. The total dead may
never be known—we know at least 75 million lives were lost during the war years.
Yet World War II was more than bullets and body counts.
The conflict would forever change the role of the United States on the world stage, and New York was
no exception. New York City had a unique role in this conflict. From war industries that produced
essential products, to the Navy Yard in Brooklyn, to the mecca of entertainment in Broadway and Times
Square, New York was the vessel through which the war was communicated to the rest of America. As a
depot for servicemen heading to Europe and North Africa, New York was abuzz with military
personnel—many of which had never ventured far from their own home towns.
This lesson places the student in the thick of 1940s New York. Using an actual artifact from the time
period—a 1940s map of New York for Servicemen created by the WPA War Services—as well as period
photographs, students will step in the shoes of a soldier or sailor on 24-hour leave in New York City.
He/She will have to navigate New York’s crowded streets, noisy mass transit system, multiple
attractions, and areas “off the map” that might attract interest (for good or bad). Lastly, he/she will
infer about the social mores of the 1940s, especially in the way servicemen were expected to
behave…and how they often strayed from the norm.
Though packed with activities, this is a lesson that proves to be both enlightening and fun for students.
They will be thrilled at using actual wartime maps to learn about the lives of soldiers. The activities and
worksheets offer plenty of differentiation for multiple populations. Finally, a list of resources is included
should you develop further inquiry into New York and World War II.

3. Shore Leave in New York City – Using Primary Documents
from World War II
Standards:
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARD I – HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND NEW YORK: Students will use a
variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes,
developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Key Idea 1.1: The study of New York State and United States history requires an analysis of the
development of American culture, its diversity and multicultural context, and the ways people
are unified by many values, practices, and traditions.
Key Idea 1.3: The study about the major social, political, economic, cultural, and religious
developments in New York State and United States history involves learning about the
important roles and contributions of individuals and groups.
Key Idea 1.4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of
historical evidence, weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence, understand the
concept of multiple causation, and understand the importance of changing and competing
interpretations of different historical developments.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARD 3 – GEOGRAPHY: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to
demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live —
local, national, and global — including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the
Earth’s surface.
Key Idea 3.2: Geography requires the development and application of the skills of asking and
answering geographic questions, analyzing theories of geography, and acquiring and organizing
geographic information.
COMMON CORE ELA STANDARDS - WRITING.
W.5.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly. Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and
group related information logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and
multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
o Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples related to the topic.
o Link ideas within and across categories of information using words, phrases, and clauses
(e.g., in contrast, especially).
o Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the
topic.
o Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation
presented.

4. W.5.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.5.5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.5.8. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print
and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and
provide a list of sources.
Objective(s):
Students will analyze primary documents from World War II, focusing on the lives of servicemen
and civilians in New York City at the time.
Students will use their observations and inferences about the aforementioned primary
documents to produce informative essays about how servicemen spent their time in New York
City.
Essential Question:
How do primary documents inform us about the past?
Scaffolding Questions:
What was World War II?
Who fought in it?
When was it fought?
Why did the United States enter World War II?
What was the “home front”?
Materials:
Copy of New York City WPA Map for Servicemen
Selected photographs of World War II servicemen in New York (provided on attached
worksheets)
Guided worksheets for artifact analysis
Chart paper
Previous Understandings:
This lesson is designed to use World War II as a vehicle to examine primary documents and generate
writing pieces using their observations and inferences. By this lesson, students should be able to:
Identify the major countries, actors and overall themes of World War II.

5. Understand how the aggressive actions of Germany, Japan, and Italy (to a lesser extent) led to
a world war.
Understand how the attack on Pearl Harbor led to US entry into World War II.
Likewise, by this lesson students should be knowledgeable in the following skills:
Basic visual observation of primary documents.
Use of graphic organizers.
Familiarity with drawing conclusions or making inferences.
Knowledge of basic structure of informative essays (Introduction, Body, Conclusion).
Introduction
Students are given a photo observation worksheet with a copy of a photograph from World War II.
Students will record their snap visual observations of their respective pictures. After the students share
their observations, the teacher will ask, “Are these the type of photographs you expect from World War
II?”
Mini-Lesson:
Teacher will explain (and chart) that New York had a unique role in World War II. It was a center for war
industry, a transportation center for servicemen, and a center for communication (radio, theater,
newspapers) and entertainment. Soldiers and sailors leaving for the European front often spent a day
or two of free time exploring New York City, and the class will be investigating how soldiers spent their
free time.
Each student will then be given a copy of the WPA New York map (When printed, each copy should be 4
pages). They will have 2-3 minutes to examine the map and its different elements.
Group Activity:
Students will be divided into four groups. The groups will be responsible for different levels of analysis
of the map. Each group will record their observations both on a group worksheet and a chart that will
be shared with the class:
Group 1: The first group will be responsible for categorizing the various places labeled on the map. The
worksheet (and chart) will have a T-chart labeled “Attractions” and “Services.” Students in this group
must write the place names in the appropriate column: “Attractions” for places where soldiers would
spend their free time; “Services” for places that provided necessities for servicemen: banks, libraries,
churches, service centers, etc.
Group 2: Using their prior knowledge of New York City, along with the landmarks on the WPA map,
students in this group will make a “top 10 list” of the top ten places in New York a soldier would visit, i.e.
Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, etc.

6. Group 3: Using the map, students in this group will infer about the places that are not specifically
labeled on the map (bars, nightclubs, restaurants, etc.). Students will make a list of places soldiers
would visit that were not on the map.
Group 4: Students in this group will attempt to schedule a typical soldier’s day if he/she is on a 24-hour
pass to New York City. Their chart will detail where the soldier visits, how long, what transportation is
used, etc.
Once the group’s observations are recorded (on worksheets and group charts), student will answer the
“thinking question” about their data on the bottom of their worksheet.
Share:
Each group will report their observations ONLY. Teacher will then guide the sharing of answers to the
“thinking questions.” Teacher will then ask the class “Based on the information we found, how were
servicemen expected to behave during their free time in New York City?” Various answers will be
discussed and recorded.
Independent Activity/Homework:
Teacher will explain that the data and the analysis will be used to create an informative essay about how
soldiers spent their free time in New York City. Each student will receive a task and a planning sheet.
Task is as follows:
“Write an informative essay discussing how servicemen spent their free time in New York City. In your
essay, be sure to:
Discuss the difficulties servicemen faced in visiting New York City in just one or two days.
Detail the various places a soldier would visit in New York City located on the WPA map.
Detail the various places a soldier would visit in New York City NOT located on the map.
Discuss how servicemen were expected to behave during their free time in New York City.
Use the planning page attached to outline your essay before writing.”
Teacher should also provide an anchor paper for students to follow. Have students copy the anchor
paper and, if time allows, begin the rough draft of their essay. Essay can also be assigned for homework,
using the anchor paper as a guide.
Avenues for Differentiation:
The group activities differ in that each activity involves ever deeper levels of analysis. Group 1 requires
observation and sorting. Group 2 involves observation and value judgement. Group 3 requires
observation and inference. Group 4 requires observation, inference and applied comprehension.
Furthermore, the essay assignment can be scaffolded according to the abilities of your students. The
planning page can be simplified by omitting the questions on the page—or even omitting the page

7. altogether and having the students plan the essay themselves. For emerging students, the planning
page can be amplified with sample first sentences or sample paragraphs.
Further Resources:
Diehl, Lorraine B. Over Here!: New York City During World War II. New York: Smithsonian Books, 2010.
Feininger, Andreas. New York in the Forties. 2nd Edition. Dover Publications, 1978.
Goldstein, Richard. Helluva Town: The Story of New York City During World War II. New York: Free
Press, 2010.
World War II Photos from the National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/photos/
Multimedia about the Home Front in World War II from the History Channel:
http://www.history.com/topics/us-home-front-during-world-war-ii
World War II photos from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery:
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?word=World%20War%2C%201939%2D
1945&s=3&notword=&f=2
World War II photos from Life Magazine, hosted through Google:
https://www.google.com/search?q=World+War+II&q=source%3Alife&biw=983&bih=483&sei=jsRnT93o
L4Sbtwfoi42KCQ&tbm=isch

8. Name _______________________________ Date _______________
Photo Observation Worksheet
This is a photograph from World War II. Write your first observations in the spaces below:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

9. Name _______________________________ Date _______________
Photo Observation Worksheet
This is a photograph from World War II. Write your first observations in the spaces below:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

10. Name _______________________________ Date _______________
Photo Observation Worksheet
This is a photograph from World War II. Write your first observations in the spaces below:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

11. Name _________________________ Date ________________
Map Analysis Guide – Group 1
Looking at the WPA Map, sort the various places listed into the
following categories:
Attractions Services
• •
Thinking Question: Why are “Services” important for
soldiers?___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

12. Name ______________________________ Date _______________
Map Analysis Guide – Group 2
Looking at the WPA map, make a list of the top 10 places a serviceman
would visit in New York City:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Thinking Question: Why are these places important for visitors to see?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

13. Name ______________________________ Date _______________
Map Analysis Guide – Group 3
Looking at the WPA map, list places a serviceman would visit that are
NOT on this map:
Thinking Question: Why do you think these places were not listed on
the map?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

14. Name ______________________________ Date _______________
Map Analysis Guide – Group 4
Using the WPA map, plan out a 24-hour day for a soldier visiting New
York City. Include meals, sleep, transportation time, etc.
Thinking Question: What were some difficulties soldiers faced in
visiting New York City?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

15. Name ______________________________ Date _______________
Essay Assignment
Write an informative essay discussing how servicemen spent their free
time in New York City. In your essay, be sure to:
Discuss the difficulties servicemen faced in visiting New York City
in just one or two days.
Detail the various places a soldier would visit in New York City
located on the WPA map.
Detail the various places a soldier would visit in New York City
NOT located on the map.
Discuss how servicemen were expected to behave during their
free time in New York City.
Use the planning page attached to outline your essay before writing.

16. Name ________________________ Date ________________
Essay Planning Page
Opening Paragraph: How did servicemen spend their free time in New York City
during World War II?
What were some difficulties soldiers faced when visiting New York City?
According to the WPA Map, what were some places that soldiers would visit?
What were some places soldiers would visit that were NOT on the map?
How were servicemen expected to act during their free time in New York City?