Overview
The Education Program of the MCRD Command Museum provides free programming to classes and groups. Museum staff host visiting groups in the museum and also travel to classrooms to provide instruction. We will gladly send curriculum to out of area teachers, at no cost.
The paragraphs below list the on-site museum programming and the curricula that is available for off-site instruction by Museum staff. Please contact us if you would like to collaborate on developing curriculum that is not already listed. Curriculum development is ongoing; please contact us for the current and upcoming curriculum.
Curricula for Off-Site Instruction
Subject: Native American History/WWII
Level: 11th Grade
Title: Protecting their Nation: The Navajo Code Talkers
CA H-SS Standards Correlations:
11.7 Students analyze America's participation in World War II.
3. Identify the roles and sacrifices of individual soldiers as well as the unique
contributions of the special fighting forces (e.g., the Tuskegee Airman, the 442
Regimental Combat Team, the Navajo Code Talkers).
Lesson Overview:
The Navajo Indians rose up in support of our country during World War II by developing and utilizing a secret, unbreakable code of communications. Despite a history of shaky relations with Anglo governments, the Navajo served in the Marine Corps because they believed in protecting their nation, which they understood to be both the Navajo tribal nation, and the United States of America. This lesson describes the history of the Marine Corps’ Navajo Code Talker program, emphasizing how the Navajos’ unique history and culture made the program successful.
Subject: African-American History/Federal Civil Rights
Level: 11th Grade
Title: Overcoming through Leadership: A History of the first African-American United States
Marines
CA H-SS Standards Correlations:
11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
1. Explain how demands of African Americans helped produce a stimulus for civil
rights, including President Roosevelt’s ban on racial discrimination in defense
industries in 1941, and how African Americans’ service in World War II produced a
stimulus for President Truman’s decision to end segregation in the armed forces
in 1948.
4. Examine the roles of civil rights advocates (e.g., A. Philip Randolph, Martin
Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, James Farmer, Rosa Parks),
including the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
and “I Have a Dream” speech.
Lesson Overview:
Today, there are more than 20,000 African-Americans in the Marine Corps; yet, historically speaking, this is a new development. It was not until 1942 that the United States Marine Corps (under duress) accepted African-Americans for service, despite the fact that black Americans served in the Continental Marine Corps, and had been serving in the Army and intermittently in the Navy throughout American history. This lesson depicts the formation of the first African-American U.S. Marines into segregated units and describes the racist climate that these men faced, both in the military and in American society, describing the leadership skills these men possessed and utilized, not only in their service during World War II, but in their battle to be recognized and treated as equals with white Americans. This lesson places the Montford Point Marines within the context of the development of federal civil rights in the 20th century, showing how these Marines helped pave the way for greater civil rights for all Americans.
On-site Museum Programming
Subject: World Geography, U.S. History
Level: Primary and Intermediate Grades
Title: Find the Marines World Challenge
CA H-SS Standards Correlations:
1.2 Students compare and contrast the absolute and relative locations of places and
people and describe the physical and/or human characteristics of places.
1. Locate on maps and globes their local community, California, the United States,
the seven continents, and the four oceans.
Lesson Overview:
Throughout its long history, United States Marine Corps has been a prime source of implementation of American foreign policy. Suitable for primary and intermediate grades, this lesson weaves historical narrative, museum artifacts, and world geography into a survey of modern history (1898-1991) from the perspective of the Marines. Optional hands-on activities test students’ knowledge retention, teamwork, and geography skills.
Subject: Modern Military History/ Marine Corps Values
Level: High School JROTC
Title: Honor, Courage, and Commitment
Lesson Overview:
The Marine Corps’ Core Values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment help shape the Marines into an elite group of Citizen Soldiers whose positive values define them. Honor, Courage, and Commitment cease to be just words as this lesson, appropriate for JROTC and other youth organizations, explores four significant battles in modern U.S. history using museum artifacts, photographs, primary source documents, and historical narrative.
