Ration Game Lesson Plan and Materials
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World War II on the Homefront: The Economics of it All Author: Heather Bettinardi, 2009 MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History GRADE: This lesson plan can be adapted for grades 3rd – 6th students ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does the government handle distribution and economics during times of national crisis? OBJECTIVES & GUIDING QUESTIONS: Guiding Questions: 1. What are the key concepts and definitions of Rationing and Scarcity during World War II? 2. What is a ration card? 3. How did families plan nutritious meals with limited budgets and rationing of food supplies? 4. What was the overall impact of food rationing on individuals and society? 5. What effect did food rationing have on the war effort? Objectives: 1. The student will be able to define the terms scarcity and rationing. 2. The student will be able to identify the economic system of “rationing” during WWII. 3. The student will be able understand the concept of ration points and ration stamps. 4. The student will be able to plan a grocery-shopping trip and a menu based on the “rationing system.” LESSON OVERVIEW: In this lesson the student will learn to identify the two key terms associated with the economic system on the Homefront during World War II -- scarcity and ration. The students will be divided into groups (no more than 5 students each) and given a ration book which will allow them to purchase the supplies they need for the intended task. For the sake of this task students will only have 48 ration points to work with and $2.00 grocery money. The students will need to ration out a snack to all individuals and then develop a family grocery shopping trip based on the student designed menu, the ration stamp book, a recipe sheet, a weekly salary (Teacher & students will determine time period appropriate salary), a ration stamp instruction sheet and price list the students are provided. The students will also compare prices from 1940 to today. NCSS THEMATIC STANDARDS: Time, Continuity & Change Individual Development & Identity Power, Authority & Governance Production, Distribution & Consumption 1 Lesson plan courtesy of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History: www.arkmilitaryheritage.com UPDATED ARKANSAS CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS: E.4.3.1, E.4.4.1: Illustrate/compare examples of scarcity and opportunity cost within the local community and different regions in the state and nation. D2.Eco.1.3-5. E.4.5.1, 4.6.1 – Explain ways trade-offs have allowed societies/civilizations to get the most out of scarce resources. D2.Eco.1.3-5, D2.Eco.2.6-8. E.5.3.3, E.5.4.3: Analyze economic factors in a market (e.g., supply, demand, competition, incentives)/Explain effects of supply and demand on prices. D2.Eco.5.3-5. H.13.3.3 –Support answers and/or develop claims in response to compelling questions about a significant historical event or person or about AR and US history using evidence from a variety of primary and secondary sources. D1.2, 5.3-5. TIME FRAME: 1 class period- 50-minute class period, or double block class MATERIALS: 1- drink for each group (soda, juice or water), enough glasses for each student 1- cookie for each group and a knife to cut the cookie 2- sheets of paper and 1 pencil for each group Included in lesson plan: 1- ration book per group 1- price list from 1943 (worksheet #1) 1- price from today (Teachers will need to create a current grocery price list based on the included 1943 price list) 1- recipe list (worksheet #2) 1- ration stamp instruction sheet (worksheet #3) 1- ration book (images of original WWII ration book, worksheet #4) TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Scarcity: Insufficiency of amount or supply: a shortage of food that was caused by drought. Ration: A fixed portion, especially an amount of food allotted to persons in the military service or to civilians in times of scarcity. Nationwide rationing during World War II was instituted in the spring of 1942. Suddenly foods such as sugar, butter, coffee, and beefsteak became hard to obtain. Ration stamps became a type of currency. Rationing was a system that provided everyone with the same amount of scarce goods. It became a willingness of citizens to make personal sacrifice and was essential to America’s war effort. The system was designed to keep prices low and to make sure the American people had what they needed. Some items were scarce because they were needed to supply the military—gas, oil, meat and certain food products such as beef, milk and butter. Some items were scarce because they were normally imported from countries with whom we were at war or because they had to be brought in by ship from foreign places. For example, sugar and coffee were very scarce. Other things disappeared entirely as well, like silk stockings. New things were made out of wood instead of metal or rubber, since those items were needed to build military weapons, planes, and vehicles. Rationing allowed for fewer people to go hungry. Grocers would post what the families ration stamps could buy for the week based on the point system. Each item was worth various points. For example, a can of corn was worth 16 points. Ration stamp books were issued monthly to each family 2 Lesson plan courtesy of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History: www.arkmilitaryheritage.com member. Each family member was given one blue book of stamps used for processed foods, which had 48 stamps, and a red ration book used for meats, fish and diary products with 64 stamps. Each book was accompanied with strict instructions. The ration stamps were no bigger than a postage stamp. Ration stamps could not be used to purchase everything and some items still required cash. Some items required stamps and cash to purchase. The Government issued ration books periodically. By the end of the war over a hundred million of each ration book were printed. Examples of yearly income during the war years: The average farm worker made $738 per year in 1941 and $1545 in 1945, an industrial worker income was $1495 in 1941 and 2300 per year in 1945. Mortgage payments approximated between $30 and $50 a month. Gasoline at the beginning of the war cost $.20 a gallon and a movie ranged from $.25 to $.60 a day. OPENING: What is scarcity and what does it mean to ration an item? Discuss the meaning of the two words. After the class has discussed the meaning of scarcity and rationing, have the students make a list of foods and goods that were scarce and rationed during the war. List them on the board for the students to refer to later during their activity task. Items that were scarce were sugar, butter, beef, milk, eggs, gasoline, rubber, and silk stockings. Tell the students that they are going to play a ration stamp game, during which they will be responsible for supplying goods to their family. ACTIVITIES: 1. First, divide the students into groups of 4-5 depending on how many students you have in the class. 2. Each student is given one ration book with 48 ration stamps, a supply list, $2.00 in cash, a list of food prices and ration points for 1940s, two WWII recipes, a price list for today’s grocery prices, a ration stamp instruction sheet and a check list. 3. Each student will plan a day’s menu (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and create a grocery list from these menus using the 1940s price list. They are only allowed to use the $2.00 grocery budget and their 48 ration stamps. 4. Before they begin one student will need to come up and get the following items from you and ration them out to the members in the group. The items must last the entire class and the student must pay you with ration stamps. (1 pencil, 2 pieces of paper, 4-5 pieces of candy, 1 cookie, 1 drink, 1 knife, 4-5 glasses, 4-5 napkins) 5. The student will ration the soda, cookie and candy to all the members of the group. This will allow the lead student to realize the difficulty in dividing meager amounts of food to a large group of members. 6. The students will then begin creating their menu. 7. After they have created their menu and grocery list for the 1940s*, they will need to compare it to the prices for today’s groceries** to see how much it would cost them today to go shopping. *Students will need to consider the concept of substitution when shopping for scarce items. Some of the recipe ingredients are either too expensive – too many ration points – or no longer available. What can be substituted for those scare food items? For ex: ketchup or BBQ sauce can be substituted for tomato paste.* Not all menu ingredients are listed on the 1943 food price list. So students will need to creatively substitute items. **Teachers: you’ll need to create a current modern grocery list based on the 1943 list provided in this lesson plan. 8. After both lists are completed each group will share their menus and discuss any problems they had with meeting their budget and their limitations with 48 ration points and two dollars. 3 Lesson plan courtesy of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History: www.arkmilitaryheritage.com 9. For homework each student will find one recipe online or from a family member who lived during WWII, (See “Food for Thought” resource page for suggested WWII era cookbook/recipes websites) and write a shopping list using those specific items.