So far Ive bought a helmet that looks like Wwii (but not really, its more like a camo helmet but its the best I could find) so that I can pretend to be a soldier when explaining some things
I also could buy a morse code telegrapher, but what other items can I reasonably buy?
Id like more things that look more authentic, but obviously, I dont have a lot of money to buy too many things
Does anyone have any suggestions of things I could buy, stores I could go to, or even guides on making certain things?
Thanks!
Shouldn't have to buy anything. First thing-- ask _them_ if they have any family memorabilia ( be prepared to edit out inappropriate material, and there may well be quite a bit that's R-rated ). Perhaps there's a still living class great grandad, or a grandfather who recalls his parents' experience . . . living people "make it real" in a way that nothing else can. If you don't have a class grandparent, give the local VFW post a call-- they'll likely know the remaining WW II vets in the area, and could give you an idea if any are likely to want to talk to students.
Also, consider where you are, and what WW II era facilities are around you. The mobilization of the US was massive, and all kinds of places that are today nearly forgotten were arsenals, shipyards, airfields, training camps, ammunition dumps, etc. What nearby factories made what weapons? Where was the Draft Board?
Here in the Columbia Gorge such a project would locate the shipyards, the steel and aluminum plants, the military avionics, a famous (and now very toxic) plutonium production facility, and a host of other facilities now mostly forgotten. And of course, there's the Japanese population, which one day was told to show up, was picked up by buses and delivered to camps for the duration of the War, for the most part.
Finally, if your school was around in 1941-- take a look at the graduating seniors. What happened to them? A fair number would have served, having volunteered or been drafted. History can be pretty dry for teenagers without some topical hook . . . but if you can say "an 18 year old like you, sitting at a desk in this classroom in 1940, was in Guadalcanal 18 months later"-- that's going to be something tangible.There are probably boxes of war related material sitting in some dead storage facility for your local school board -- professional historians spend a lot of time getting dusty looking through papers no one has looked at in a long time-- not a bad idea to give your students that experience, if the School Board will let you.
What u/amp1212 said are all great ideas. I'd also recommend Looney tunes cartoons to share. Chock full of war propaganda (be wary of showing them the really racist ones). As to purchases, one of the cheaper but good routes are ration stamp books. EBay usually has these. Simple, lightweight, but tangible to show how Americans dealt with the war.