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A Look Into Our Past

Movies in the Classroom

 

                          

� HBO 2002

Grade Level:       9-12, college

Subject:              History, Language Arts, Social Studies

Keywords:          WWII, World War II, E Company, Easy Company, Band of Brothers, HBO, oral history, Veterans’ Memories Project, Veterans History Project, history, English, social studies, project kit, worksheets, lesson plan, Movies in the Classroom,

Author:               Cynthia F. Kirkeby thebrains@classbrain.com       

Affiliation: ClassBrain, Inc.

Date:                   30 April, 2002

Duration:            1-2 class periods

Background 

 

According to the Library of Congress, there are approximately 19 million war veterans living in the United States today, but each day 1,500 of them pass away. A law that was passed by President Clinton on October 27, 2000, Public Law 106-380, arranged for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to collect and preserve oral histories, and related documentary materials, such as letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and home movies, of America's war veterans.

 

ClassBrain has joined with the Library of Congress in the pursuit of our country’s vanishing history by launching the ClassBrain Veteran’s Memories Project.

Objective  

 

The HBO series Band of Brothers is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished with the collection and examination of oral histories.  The series tells the story of 38 different individuals and their journeys with Easy Company during WWII. By viewing this series or segments from the series, students can see how important the collection of these oral histories are to the preservation of our country’s past.

 

Afterwards, armed with the ClassBrain Veterans’ Memories Project the students will go into the community and record oral histories of local veterans, either from their own families or from the surrounding community.

Resources & Materials

 

Band of Brothers

         The ClassBrain Veterans’ Memories Project

Internet resources

Experiencing the War:Stories from the Veteran's History Project

Available worksheets

 

Veteran’s Memories Project Kit

Release Forms

Sample Questions List (coming soon)

Film 1:  Band of Brothers (2001)

 

• Synopsis:  

  � HBO 2002

This groundbreaking, 10-part miniseries tells the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army. Starting with their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942, it recounts the achievements of the elite rifle company, which parachuted into France early on D-Day morning, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and captured Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose's acclaimed book of the same name, BAND OF BROTHERS chronicles a unit that took 150 percent casualties and became true American heroes.

 

• Genre(s):            Mini-series
• Rating:                N/R
• Family Rating:    not available
• Running Time:    10 hours (10 episodes)

 

• Primary Actors – Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Ron Livingston, Matthew Settle, Rick Warden, Frank John Hughes, and more.
• Director(s) – David Frankel, Tom Hanks, David Leland, Richard Loncraine, David Nutter, Phil Alden Robinson, Mikael Salomon, Tony To
• Music – Michael Kamen, Ludwig van Beethoven
• Screenplay(s) – Stephen Ambrose, Erik Jendresen, Tom Hanks, John Orloff, E. Max Frye, Graham Yost, Bruce C. McKenna, Erik Jendresen, Erik Bork,
• Producers- Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg
• Studio(s) – HBO (Home Box Office), 20^th Century Fox, BBC, Band of Brothers, DreamWorks, Playtone

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