Lesson Plan - The Civil Rights Hero of World War II

Build Background Knowledge

Before students watch the video “Pearl Harbor,” share this prompt for them to consider and take notes about as they watch: What happened at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt call it “a date which will live in infamy”? (“Infamy” is the state of being famous for something terrible.) Discuss responses.

Preview Vocabulary

Use the Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach domain-specific terms from the article. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently. As students read, direct them to take notes about important dates and events

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• Who was Dorie Miller? How did the U.S. Navy treat Black sailors in 1941? (Key Details)
Dorie Miller was a mess attendant who served food on the battleship USS West Virginia in 1941. After the ship was attacked on December 7, his selfless acts of courage helped lead to integration of the U.S. military.  At the time, Black sailors were limited to jobs like Miller’s and couldn’t become officers or be trained for combat. They were mostly kept separate from white sailors and treated as second-class citizens.

• Summarize the section “Japan Attacks!” (Summarizing)
At around 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, more than 350 Japanese planes attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Smoke and fire engulfed the West Virginia. In the chaos, Miller and Frederic White helped move the ship’s hurt captain and then started firing anti-aircraft guns at the Japanese planes. After they ran out of ammunition, the men fought the fire and pulled sailors who had fallen overboard back onto the ship. Miller was one of the last people to abandon the ship.

• What evidence supports the statement that “the legacy of slavery affected nearly every aspect of Black people’s lives” when Miller was born? (Text Evidence)
Miller’s grandparents had been enslaved before the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865. After that, Black people continued to experience discrimination as states like Texas, where Miller lived, enacted racist laws that denied Black people the right to vote or hold many jobs. Under segregation, they also had to use separate schools, hospitals, and other facilities that weren’t as good as the ones for white people. The military also kept Black troops separate from white troops. After Miller joined the Navy in 1939, he was trained in how to help load ammunition but not in how to fire anti-aircraft guns.

• How did Miller’s life change after Pearl Harbor? How did the military change? (Cause and Effect)
After the Pittsburgh Courier identified Miller as the “Messman Hero” from Pearl Harbor, Miller became famous. Members of Congress called for him to be given the Congressional Medal of Honor, but Navy leaders resisted. In May 1942, Miller became the first Black American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the service’s third-highest award. He was sent on a tour to promote war bonds and appeared on Navy recruitment ads. After returning to duty on another ship, Miller died in another Japanese attack in 1943. During World War II, the Navy started to integrate sailors and began training Black officers. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman ordered all branches of the military to desegregate its forces.

• How does the map “The Pacific War” support the article? (Text Features)
The map shows what territory Japan controlled in 1942. It supports the sidebar “What You Need to Know” by showing where several major battles of the war in the Pacific were fought. The inset map helps readers understand the events at Pearl Harbor in 1941 by showing the layout of the harbor, where some of the battleships were located, and how Japanese planes swarmed the base.

• Notice the pull quotes, which are quotes from the article in large type. Why do you think the editor chose them? What are two other sentences that would work well as pull quotes? Explain your choices. (Author’s Craft)
Responses will vary.

Watch a Video

Share this question for students to think about as they watch “Dorie Miller, an American Hero”: What images stand out to you? What do you notice about them? What do you wonder? Invite students to share responses with a partner, in small groups, or as a class.

Analyze a Primary Source

Use the Skill Builder Primary Source: “Should I Sacrifice My Life to Live Half-American?” to have students read and analyze a letter that a young Black man named James G. Thompson wrote to the Pittsburgh Courier in 1942 calling for the “Double V campaign.”

Write for a Task, Purpose, and Audience

Use the Choice Board to have students choose from eight activities related to the article. Options include creating a poster to honor Miller, researching Black Americans in the military, and analyzing images.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.