In this multimedia learning activity, students will be asked to review three very different accounts of what happened on a select landing beach in Normandy on D-Day. These accounts are:

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  An Encyclopædia Britannica article on that beach, made up of the carefully chosen words of a historian.
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  A veteran's oral history, the spoken words of a World War II veteran who landed on the beach on D-Day many years ago.
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  A video clip, produced from film that was shot on the scene during D-Day and then later cut up and rearranged in a studio, in some cases with music and sound added.

The students will first be asked to answer several specific questions about the beach, the goal being to make sure they leave this activity with at least basic factual information.

The students will then be asked a few questions designed to encourage them to consider what they were able to learn from each medium (written, oral, and visual) and what they were not able to learn. The goal here is to help them understand the unique and complementary strengths of each medium in a multimedia presentation.

Hit the beach!  

Below are links to a Britannica article, an oral history, and a video that describe what happened at Omaha Beach, where U.S. forces landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the opening day of the great Normandy Invasion of World War II.

Click on the links to the article, oral history, and video. Read the Britannica article carefully. Download and play the entire oral history and video from start to finish. You might want to jot down notes as you go along. And, of course, you may review each account as many times as you wish.

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  Britannica article: Omaha Beach
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  Veteran's oral history: George Roach, Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 29th Division
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  U.S. Office of War Information newsreel: “This was no pushover”

What have you learned?  

Now you know everything that happened at Omaha Beach on D-Day! Or do you? Let's find out.

Below are questions regarding the article, oral history, and video you have just reviewed. Answer each of the questions in writing. Be prepared to present your answers in a written report or in a classroom discussion.

Questions for the Britannica article Omaha Beach:

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  The author says the Germans built 13 “strongpoints” in the heights facing Omaha Beach. What was the German word for these fighting positions? What kind of “zone” did these positions make Omaha Beach into?
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  The author says that, by the end of D-Day, U.S. troops were “nowhere near the planned objectives.” Yet what does he go on to say that might make you agree the landing was a success anyway?

Questions for George Roach's oral history:

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  George Roach remembers Sergeant Wilkes asking him, “What are you firing at?” What did he reply?
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  Out of George Roach's Company A, how many men were left to carry on the next day?

Questions for the video “This was no pushover”:

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  The narrator of the video says U.S. troops faced “two enemies.” What were they?
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  The video shows German prisoners on the beach. What does the narrator say about them?

How did you learn so much?  

By answering the questions above, you've shown that you do indeed know a lot about what happened at Omaha Beach. Now it's time to consider another question: How did you learn all this? The answer can be found in the article you read, the oral history you listened to, and the video you watched.

The Britannica article was able to tell you where Omaha Beach was located, which military units fought there (on both sides!), and what the battlefield situation was at the end of the day.

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  How do you suppose the author found out all this information?
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  Do you think you could have got this information from the veteran's oral history? From the video?

Your veteran was able to remember the exact name and rank of other men in his landing craft or on the beach. He also remembered what the water felt like and exactly what he was thinking at each moment—even though D-Day took place many, many years before he recorded his oral history.

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  What does this tell you about your veteran and the experience he went through so long ago?
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  Did the Britannica article give you this kind of information about one man? The video?

The video of Omaha Beach was made from old-fashioned black-and-white film. Still, it showed exactly what the landscape was, what the soldiers were wearing and carrying, and what their facial expressions looked like.

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  What was your reaction to the video? Was it frightening? Exciting? Explain.
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  Would you ever say the Britannica article was frightening? Do you think the veteran's oral history was very exciting?

It appears that the Britannica article, the oral history, and the video were able to show you three different views of the landing at Omaha Beach. And when you put all three of them together, you found that you really did learn a lot about the subject. That's the wonder of multimedia!