2.Web+Quest+Dropping+the+Bomb



Web Quest Dropping the Bomb
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**Goals:**

Students will be able to answer the following question: “Was the dropping of the atomic bomb justified?” They will investigate the differing perspectives before forming their own opinion.


 * Learning Objectives:**

· Students will be able to evaluate the decision to drop the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. · Students will be able to analyze primary and secondary sources relating to the topic. · Students will be able to identify bias in evaluating primary and secondary sources. · Students will be able to work cooperatively in completing the task. · Students will be able to develop a position paper based on a specific historical perspective.


 * Connections/Standards Addressed:**

Through the use of both primary and secondary sources students will answer the essential question “Was the dropping of the atomic bomb justified?” Standards addressed: 8.1.9: A. Analyze chronological thinking. · Difference between past, present and future · Continuity and change · Context for events B. Analyze and interpret historical sources. · Literal meaning of historical passages · Different historical perspectives · Visual data presented in historical evidence C. Analyze the fundamentals of historical interpretation. · Fact versus opinion · Reasons/causes for multiple points of view · Illustrations in historical documents and stories · Causes and results · Author or source used to develop historical narratives · Central issue D. Analyze and interpret historical research. · Historical event (time and place) · Facts, folklore and fiction · Historical questions · Primary sources · Secondary sources · Credibility of evidence 8.4.12 A. Evaluate the significance of individuals and groups who made major political and cultural contributions to world history since 1450. · Political and Military Leaders · Innovators and Reformers B. Evaluate historical documents, material artifacts and historic sites important to world history since 1450. · Documents, Writings and Oral Traditions
 * History/Social Science:**

Students will write a short individual report answering the essential question. The individual report will be a short persuasive essay that will incorporate both pro and con arguments. Standards addressed: Writing 1.5 A. Write with a sharp, distinct focus. · Identify topic, task and audience. · Establish a single point of view.
 * Language Arts:**

B. Write using well-developed content appropriate for the topic. · Gather, determine validity and reliability of and organize information. · Employ the most effective format for purpose and audience. · Write paragraphs that have details and information specific to the topic and relevant to the focus.

C. Write with controlled and/or subtle organization. · Sustain a logical order within sentences and between paragraphs using meaningful transitions. · Establish topic and purpose in the introduction. · Reiterate the topic and purpose in the conclusion. D. Write with an understanding of the stylistic aspects of composition. · Use different types and lengths of sentences. · Use tone and voice through the use of precise language.

E. Revise writing after rethinking logic of organization and rechecking central idea, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone and word choice.

F. Edit writing using the conventions of language. · Spell common, frequently used words correctly. · Use capital letters correctly. · Punctuate correctly (periods, exclamation points, question marks, commas, quotation marks, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, parentheses). · Use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections properly. · Use complete sentences (simple, compound, complex, declarative, interrogative, exclamatory and imperative).


 * Context:**

The class will be concluding the study of WW2 by answering the essential question: Was the dropping of the atomic bomb justified? The class will have a strong background into the rise of totalitarian rulers, the causes of WW2, and the devastation that various battles created. The class will also have a firm grasp into the diplomacy regarding the end of the war in Europe. The class will analyze the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an appropriate course of action to achieving the end to the war with Japan.

“After Japanese leaders flatly rejected the Potsdam Declaration, President Truman authorized use of the atomic bomb anytime after August 3, 1945. On the clear morning of August 6, the first atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Leveling over 60 percent of the city, 70,000 residents died instantaneously in a searing flash of heat. Three days later, on August 9, a second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki. Over 20,000 people died instantly. In the successive weeks, thousands more Japanese died from the after effects of the radiation exposure of the blast.”(Truman Library, 2008)

 Essential Question: Armed with all of the knowledge that President Truman and his advisors had accumulated: Was the dropping of the atomic bomb justified? Directions:Click Here

Materials/Technology/Web Resources Needed:


 * 1) Movie: Hiroshima and Nagasaki including the 2 United Streaming Clips From: Days That Shook the World: 1901–1954. The first will discuss the decision to develop the atom bomb as a weapon to be used in WW2. The second will address the issue of the impact of that blast on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Click Here
 * 2) Handouts: Background/Note taking matrix/RubricsClick Here
 * 3) Computers for researching the following sites:Click Here
 * 4) Poster creation Website: []