What's included
1 live meeting
1 hrs 30 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
US Grade 8 - 11
“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.” —General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1944) This is not a video game! This is not a fantasy setting! These are the REAL missions SOE and OSS soldiers conducted during the Second World War! You and your teammates will use your creative thinking and problem solving skills to accomplish vital missions which will change the outcome of the war! These missions are adapted from SOE (Special Operations Executive) and OSS (Office of Strategic Services) during the Second World War. Missions will take the Commandos to the cold arctic nation of Norway, the desert of North Africa, German occupied France, the jungles of Burma, the islands of the Aegean and many other places. Operatives will be expected to jump out of aircraft (with a parachute, of course), save prisoners of war deep in enemy territory, sabotage German gun emplacements, steal enemy secret files, destroy advanced weapon systems and most importantly.....have fun playing a really cool WW2 role playing game. Students are welcome to 'drop in' the operation (as if they had just parachuted in country) and will be provided with a pre-made character (they can develop their own later).
Learning Goals
Students will learn (vicariously) what it was like to be a special forces commando in the Second World War.
Students will gain an immersive experience of combat in the Second World War
Students will "fight" along side Medal of Honor NPCs, Victorian Cross NPCs, and other notable persons during the Second World War.
Students will learn about various special operations by participating in conducting them during the class.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
This is a role playing game about special forces operations during WWII. As such there will be simulated combat during the class. The students will simulate, quite closely, the conditions the soldiers were under during these missions (fatigue, fear, time pressure, etc.). There will be no course language, inappropriate situations, or gratuitous violence described since it is not necessary for an exciting immersive experience. This is a very well-researched and purposeful class to give the student the closest understanding of these operations.
Students must have a Roll20 account to participate. The age limit of 13 is strict due to the Outschool policy for such VTT (virtual table top services). We use this excellent service since it allows us to essential play a very dynamic "virtual board game" with theater of the mind for these exciting adventures. We use only Zoom video/audio during class, the Roll20 is shut off and it has been a very important tool for RPG games.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of The Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis
Special Operations in World War II British and American Irregular Warfare by Andrew L. Hargreaves
SOE Manual: How to be an Agent in Occupied Europe. Special Operations Executive (1943)
Special Forces in World War II by Mike Haskew
How to Become a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual: British Special Operations Executive (1943)
Airborne Espionage: International Special Duty Operations in the World Wars by David Oliver
A Man Called Intrepid by William Stephenson
Teacher expertise and credentials
3 Degrees
Master's Degree in History from American Military University
Bachelor's Degree in Education from University of Maine at Farmington
Bachelor's Degree in History from Acadia University (Nova Scotia, Canada)
I hold a MA in Military History focusing on land warfare and have been a history teacher for the past 30 years. While I have many Outschool classes which focus on Military History and WWII; this class is an excellent opportunity for me to help immerse the students in the closest possible experience of what some of these Commando operations were like during the Second World War. Military History and RPGs as a teaching tool is one of the reasons I am so excited about teaching on Outschool.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$30
weekly1x per week
90 min
Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
3-6 learners per class