Major Turning Points of World War II

For this activity, students will create a spider web map that outlines a major turning point in WWII during 1942-1945. A turning point is a decision, action, or change that greatly impacts the direction or outcome of a situation. Once students have researched a turning point from the war, they should create a three panel storyboard that responds to the following questions:

1. What was the event?
2. What was the outcome of the event?
3. How did this event change the course of history?

Possible World War II Turning Points

• The Battle of Stalingrad
• The Battle of Kursk
• D-Day
• Operation Mincemeat
• The Battle of Midway
• The Manhattan Project
• The use of the Atomic Bomb
• Failed assassination attempts on Hitler

Extension Activity

For this extension activity, students will create an additional component to their storyboard that theorizes what they believe could have happened if their event occurred differently. For example, a student may argue that the war may have had a drastically different outcome if Hitler never invaded Russia, if Truman never dropped the Atomic Bomb, or Alan Turing did not “crack” the German Enigma machine. Students should share with their classmates their theories and have their peers share with them how credible they believe their theories were.