OUT Lesson Plan

Teacher: Miguel Balderrama

Title: Atomic Bomb: Why?

Subject: High School

Grade Level: 12th grade

§113.42 (c) (12) (C): explain the major causes and events of World War II, including the
TEKS: German invasions of Poland and the Soviet Union, the Holocaust, the attack on Pearl
Harbor, the Normandy landings, and the dropping of the atomic bombs.

Objective is to learn:
 The aggression leading to the US entry of WWII
 Germany invading Poland and the Soviet Union and what strategy they used.
Learning Objectives:
 Understand why the US developed the first atomic bombs and what cities were
affected by the atomic bombs.
 Canada’s influential role in helping the US develop the bombs.

 Who is betrayed as the hero and why?

 Why did the US enter the war?
 What was the strategy used to invade Poland and what was the strategic
Essential Question(s):
advantage?
 Why were the development of the atomic bombs necessary for the US?
 How did Canada help the US in the development of the bombs?

Hiroshima; Nagasaki; “Yalta agreement”; Little Boy; Fat man; Blitzkrieg; “The Molotov-
Essential Vocabulary: Ribbentrop Pact”

History Lessons: How Textbooks from Around the World Portray U.S. History
 Chapter 30: “The Atomic Bomb”
Resources/Materials: American Yawp:
 Chapter 24: World War II http://www.americanyawp.com/text/24-world-war-ii/

Have students read Chapter 30 in “History Lessons: How Textbooks from

Around the World Portray U.S. History” as well as chapter 24 in “American
Time:
Yawp”
15min

Procedures:

Group discussion to see if students understand the reasoning of the US

Time: 5
entered the war, German invasion of Poland and the development and
mins
destination of the first atomic bombs.

Time: 10
Introduce trivia game. Have to two teams then ask one question with the rule mins
OUT Lesson Plan
of only one person from each team being able to answer. Whoever answers
the fastest and writes it on the board wins a point. Whichever team has the
most points wins a prize.

Summarize what was just learned in class Time: 5

mins

Quiz: 5 questions
Assessment: Time: 5
Who is betrayed as the “hero” in American history textbooks about WWII? mins
A. Britain
B. France
C. US
D. Canada

What event caused the US to enter the war?

A. Pearl Harbor
B. Invasion of Poland
C. Invasion of the Soviet Union
D. The holocaust

How long did it take for German to gain control of Poland?

A. 8 weeks
B. 2 weeks
C. 3 weeks
D. 4 weeks

What was the strategy used to invade Poland?

A. Blitzkrieg
B. Artillery
C. Tanks
D. Air force

How did Canada help the US develop the first atomic bombs?
A. Provided a uranium refinery
B. Provided a safe working environment
C. Discovered uranium 235
D. All the above