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Lesson Plan: Atomic Bomb Lesson: Atomic Bomb Class: American History 7th grade/11th grade Time Required: 2 lesson periods plus homework assignment Standards: Students will understand Students will understand the impact of WW II on the homefront and the culture of the Guiding Questions: -Why did the -Why was the bomb used? -Was it possible to win WWII without using the atom bomb? Essential Skills: Analyzing Primary sources Looking for bias Using evidence to defend thoughts Looking for cause and effect Lesson Plan: Introduction- Explain to students that they will be working with documents to answer the guiding questions above. Have the guiding questions and the questions for our work with documents posted. Students will work with these documents and create a letter to the president offering advice with defense from the documents about whether he should drop the atomic bomb or not. Students should be told that they will not be graded for a “correct” answer but will be graded for a “defendable” answer. Lesson- This lesson is a document pack. Students need to get into groups of 2 or 4 and be given a set of documents. (documents attached) Students need to analyze the documents together and answer the following questions: (A graphic organizer is attached) o According to this document, Why did the o According to this document, Why was the bomb used? o According to this document, Was it possible to win WWII without using the atom bomb? o Anything else of interest from this document? After analyzing and answering the above questions, students should discuss the advice they would give the President regarding his decision about whether he should or should not drop the atomic bomb. Students can then start on their individual letter to the president. Assessment: Graphic organizer of document work Individual letter to the President |
