Pearl Harbor Lesson Plan

December 4th, 2008 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

Most of your students can tell you where they were on 9/11, just as a generation ago people could remember where they were when President John F. Kennedy died. Each generation has its pivotal moment; for the WWII generation, that event was Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

National Geographic has captured Pearl Harbor’s events in a multi-media timeline and map that would work well as a history mini-unit, stretching over one or two class periods. http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ax/map.html The site’s interactive timeline pulls up maps of the Hawaiian Islands with ship and aircraft movements. Clicking on Full Story reveals a paragraph about each event on the timeline, photos from the moment, and sometimes first-person testimonials about the event.

To view this site, it’s best to have sound and the ability to watch video on your computer. Before using this unit, make sure that you have a projector to show the site to your class and that the sound carries to all students. Allow one 90-minute block or two 45-minute classes for this lesson, plus additional time on a third day if students need to present work to the class

Objectives:

1. Students will view the events at Pearl Harbor from the perspective of U.S. citizens and Japanese military personnel.
2. Students will explain the role technology and communication played in both the U.S. and Japanese militaries.
3. Students will compare the events of Pearl Harbor to a pivotal event in their own lifetime.

Materials:

• Computer
• LCD projector
• Sound for the computer (optional)

Method:

Day one/first 45 minutes

1. Define a pivotal event. Write on the board the words “pivotal event.” Underneath these words, pose this question: what is a pivotal event and what are historical examples and personal examples? As students enter the room, encourage them to think about what’s on the board.
2. List pivotal events. Sort students in to small groups and give them five minutes to discuss and create a list of pivotal events, either historical or personal (personal pivotal events might be a divorce or a death). Record the definitions and events on the board for all to reference.
3. Discuss Pearl Harbor in brief. It was a surprise attack, it occurred December 7, 1941, and 2,403 people died. (For comparison, the number of deaths from the 9/11 attacks was 2,819.)
4. Assign readers. You’ll need 28 students to, read the blurbs when you click on Full Story. You’ll need 12 additional students to read first-hand accounts that have no accompanying recordings. Each student can expect to read a paragraph, maybe two. You can assign these reading roles by time, location, and duty.

   Narrators:
   0342 Minesweeper spots submarine periscope
   0610 Six carriers are north of Oahu
   0645 Destroyer spots submarine
   0653 U.S. Destroyer Ward reports attack on submarine
   0702 Radar operators spot unidentified aircraft
   0715 Report about U.S. attack on submarine delayed
   0720 Officer dismisses radar report
   0733 Warning from Washington arrives in Honolulu
   0740 Attack force heads for Pearl Harbor
   0749 Japanese aerial commander orders attack
   0755 Japanese planes strike
   0800 Bombers from the U.S. mainland fly to Oahu
   0810 Battleship Arizona explodes
   0817 U.S. destroyer fires at a Japanese submarine
   0839 Destroyer sinks Japanese sub in the harbor
   0850 U.S.S. Nevada makes a dash to the sea
   0854 Second wave of Japanese planes reach Oahu
   0930 U.S. destroyer Shaw explodes
   1000 Japanese planes head back to carriers
   1300 Casualties mount, filling hospitals
   1300 Japanese ships return home

   First-hand accounts, according to the timeline:
   0610 Six carriers are north of Oahu, Japanese pilot
   0645 Destroyer spots submarine, U.S. soldier
   0740 Attack force heads for Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilot, another Japanese pilot
   0749 Japanese aerial commander orders attack Japanese attack commander, Japanese pilot
   0755 Japanese planes strike
   U.S.S. Arizona, U.S. sailor
   Command Center, female citizen
   U.S.S. Oklahoma, U.S. sailor, another U.S. sailor
   0817 U.S. destroyer fires at Japanese submarine, Japanese sub commander
   1300 Casualties mount, filling hospitals, nurse

   Each reader is responsible for taking notes about his or her time spot on the timeline. Students should pay close attention to what qualities Pearl Harbor has that makes it a pivotal event, the role that technology and communication played, and parallels to pivotal events listed on the board.

5. Begin the timeline. Listen and watch as events unfold. Students should be prepared to read their assigned paragraph and take notes for their sections.
6. Homework/reflection question: what role did communication play in this tragedy? One paragraph answers to share in class.

Day two/second 45 minutes

1. Role of communication. Students meet in small groups to discuss how communication played a part in Pearl Harbor. After five minutes, record the groups’ findings on the board.
2. Revisit the definition of pivotal moment. Discuss: how is this a pivotal moment?
3. Small group discussion: parallels between Pearl Harbor and current pivotal moments. List similarities on the board.
4. Small group discussion: was Pearl Harbor a matter of superior technology or communication? What role has technology and communication played in the class’s current pivotal event?
5. Project possibilities. Students can choose from one of the following projects:

   a. Real world. Collect artifacts (photos, news clippings, and statistics) that reveal the personal element in both Pearl Harbor and the class’s current pivotal event. Projects should be in poster format. Posters should explain why people remember pivotal moments in history and how these moments shape our culture.
   b. Radar Technology. Outline the use of radar in both the Japanese and American militaries in WWII. Create a visual or write a two-page essay about whether radar technology was important in the battle of Pearl Harbor.
   c. Communications Technology. Find out how telegraphs work and explain the lag time between sending messages and receiving messages. Identify the areas where communication went awry in the Pearl Harbor event and compare it to the class’s current pivotal event. This can be either a written paper or a visual product.
   d. Parallel events. Re-enact the events from an area of the Pearl Harbor timeline. Write a script, cast characters, and make the scene come alive. Either write the same scene from the opposite side’s point of view or write the same type of script for the class’s current pivotal event. In a brief introduction, explain to the audience what the two scenes will be. For your conclusion, explain the parallels between the two scenes.

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