A CHatGPT Using, Parody Creating, Karaoke Singing APUSH Project

Designed to help students learn about Topics 7.12 and 7.13

As an APUSH teacher, I’m always looking for innovative ways to help my students deeply comprehend what life was like for those in their teens and twenties during World War II. That’s where this project comes in.

The project begins with students using a variety of sources to immerse themselves in the shoes of a person who lived during World War II. A 20 year-old Merchant Marine receiving basic training in Avalon on Catalina Island, for example. And in the alternative:

• A 16-year-old San Marino High School junior on December 8, 1941, trying to process the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor.
• A 17-year-old San Pedro High School senior on February 26, 1942 trying to process the Great Los Angeles Air Raid.
• A 21-year-old UC Berkeley history student after hearing on the radio, at the Bear’s Lair, Franklin Roosevelt’s January 6, 1941, Four Freedoms speech.
• A 23-year-old African American serving in either the 332nd Fighter Group, the 761st Tank Battalion, or the 25th Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Division.
• A 25-year-old Mexican arriving in Los Angeles in 1942 to work legally on a San Gabriel produce farm, with this work made possible as a result of the Bracero Program.
• A 26-year-old African American laborer working at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, constructing ships for the US Navy.
• A 27-year-old San Marino, California housewife with two young children at home and a husband fighting in the Battle of Nurnberg.
• A 28-year-old Japanese American living at Manzanar and a close friend of both Fred Korematsu and Daniel Inouye.
• A 29-year-old Stanford University US History professor trying to get his students to understand the concept of Island Hopping in the closing months of the war.

In other words, before anything else, students learn all that they can about one of the above, or about a person of their choosing

Next, students will pick a song of their choosing and, with parent permission, direct ChatGPT to create a parody of the lyrics that incorporates what they’ve learned about their figure. For instance, if a student selects a merchant marine initially stationed on Catalina Island but about to be shipped off to fight in the Pacific and the student chooses to parody Rihanna’s song “Umbrella,” they may ask ChatGPT to assist them in writing a parody that captures the merchant marine’s thoughts and feelings for the life he has left behind and for his future. The parody may also describe life on the island and the training he has recieved.

Here’s but one CHatGPTproduced example:

Verse 1:
I used to roam the coast of California,
With my girl Val Carver, life was euphoria
But then came the draft, I was shipped to Catalina
Learned the ways of the sea, trained to defend, no time for arena

Chorus:
Under my umbrella, I’ll sail across the Pacific
Delivering goods for my country, it’s all terrific
Under my umbrella, I’ll brave the ocean’s force
Serving my nation, with honor, no remorse

Verse 2:
But when the night falls, and the stars come out
I can’t help but think of my girl, no doubt
Valentine Carver, my heart is with thee
Hope you’re thinking of me, while I’m sailing the sea

Chorus:
Under my umbrella, I’ll sail across the Pacific
Delivering goods for my country, it’s all terrific
Under my umbrella, I’ll brave the ocean’s force
Serving my nation, with honor, no remorse

Bridge:
And when the war is done, and I come back home
I’ll find my girl, and never more shall we roam
We’ll dance to Mills Brothers’ song, Till Then
Holdin’ each other close, together again

Chorus:
Under my umbrella, I’ll sail across the Pacific
Delivering goods for my country, it’s all terrific
Under my umbrella, I’ll brave the ocean’s force
Serving my nation, with honor, no remorse

Outro:
So here’s to all the merchant marines, out on the deep blue
We’re fightin’ for freedom, for me, for you
And when the war is done, we’ll all go home
Dancin’ with our loved ones, no longer to roam.

The project culminates with students given a chance to perform their songs in front of the class, showcasing what they’ve learned in an engaging, low-stakes, and super entertaining and fun way.

The Relevant APUSH Key Concepts

• The mass mobilization of American society helped end the Great Depression, and the country’s strong industrial base played a pivotal role in winning the war by equipping and provisioning allies and millions of U.S. troops.
• Mobilization provided opportunities for women and minorities to improve their socioeconomic positions for the war’s duration, while also leading to debates over racial segregation. Wartime experiences also generated challenges to civil liberties, such as the internment of Japanese Americans.
• Migration to the United States from Mexico and elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere increased, in spite of contradictory government policies toward Mexican immigration.
• Americans viewed the war as a fight for the survival of freedom and democracy against fascist and militarist ideologies. This perspective was later reinforced by revelations about Japanese wartime atrocities, Nazi concentration camps, and the Holocaust.
• Military service provided opportunities for women and minorities to improve their socioeconomic positions for the war’s duration, while also leading to debates over racial segregation.
• The United States and its allies achieved military victory through Allied cooperation, technological and scientific advances, the contributions of servicemen and women, and campaigns such as Pacific “island-hopping” and the D-Day invasion. The use of atomic bombs hastened the end of the war and sparked debates about the morality of using atomic weapons.