Directions: Use the themes, questions and video clips below to teach and learn with portions of C-SPAN's American Writers program featuring Ernie Pyle, and Here is Your War. Link to the complete video clip list to identify clip descriptions and create your own lessons. Each theme contains questions and video clips appropriate for varying grade levels. Lesson Credit:
Curriculum Advisory Team Member, Pat Perry.

1. What was the psychological impact of World War II on the people who were left behind during the war? Explain. How did Pyle react to this "disillusionment?"
2. What conditions were imposed upon Americans during the war? What sacrifices were they required to make with regard to their day to day comforts? What were some of the voluntary ways that the folks left at home helped the war effort?
3. What was the War's impact on the Great Depression?
4. What were the demographics of the home front? How did the roles of the women and children change? What impact did this have on roles after the war?
5. How did Pyle enable people on the home front to understand the GI's viewpoint concerning the reality of the war? What was the role of letter writing during the war?

1. What were the requirements of the draft? What was day to day life at the front like? What strategies did Pyle use to describe the war on the front lines?
2. What attitude did some of the soldiers in the war have about the people at home? What was the war like for those who were exempted from the war? Describe the nature of the relationship between those in the war and those at home.
3. Describe what Pyle saw as he walked the beaches on the D-Day 2. Explain the similarities and differences between Pyle's description and the beginning scenes of the movie Saving Private Ryan. How do these resources compare to the description in your textbook?
4. What purpose did Pyle's descriptions of the frontlines serve? Consider their impact on the home front and on soldiers. Why did so many soldiers consider Pyle as a hero?
5. Compare and contrast the role of journalists in WWII as compared to Afghanistan today. How would Pyle react to the coverage of recent military events?

1. What is a primary source? Why are primary sources valuable in the study of history? Are primary sources always accurate? Give examples to support your answer.
2. Are Ernie Pyle's columns primary sources? Are the recollections of the World War II veterans heard on the program primary sources? Answer the questions in light of the Thunderbird story.
3. What impact did Pyle's columns have on readers? What impact do the veterans' stories have on you? What is the value of collecting stories from people who participated in World War II?
4. What is Ernie Pyle's legacy? What might it mean to say Pyle was not a "big picture" journalist? Do textbooks usually present history as the " big picture?" What is the value of observing events from the perspective of the "grunts?"
5. What kind of primary sources will we have from military conflicts today? What methods do soldiers use today to stay in touch with their families? What are the advantages and disadvantages of today's means of communications?