The Atomic Decision

1
The Atomic Decision

• By,
• Amber Frampton
• John Watkins
• Dennis Fay
• Brian Hill

2
Introduction
Introduction
Task
Process

• Atomic Bomb and World War II
• It is August 1st 1945 and the U.S. has been
  fighting in WWII. The Germans have surrendered
  and now only the surrender of Japan is in the way
  of ending this ugly war. The U.S. have
  accomplished creating the first atomic bomb ready
  for use. Harry Truman assigns you to be part of
  a special interim committee to help in the
  decision on whether the atomic bomb should be
  used or not on Japan mainland to help end the
  war.
• The use of the bomb will mean the wide
  destruction of Japan and many of its innocent
  citizens. However, it will certainly mean a
  quick end to the war and possibly save many
  soldiers lives that would be sacrificed on a
  mainland invasion of Japan.
• Its a tough decision, but one that is yours to
  make!

Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
3
Task
Introduction
Task
Process

• Your task is to be part of a four member of Harry
  Trumans Interim Committee over the decision to
  drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan. You will create a
  report or presentation to provide what your
  recommendation on what he should do.
• Some helpful questions you should think about
  when researching the topic. 1) How costly (lives
  lost) will victory be if the bomb is not used? 2)
  What are all the motivations for using the bomb?
  3) What were other strategies for ending the war?

Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
4
Process
Introduction
Task
Process

• Research the American use of the atomic bomb
  against Japan at the end of World War Two
• Each Student is responsible for researching the
  All Read link and one of the provided resource
  links.
• Then get together and share your findings.
• As a group come to a compromise on what
  recommendation should be given.
• Take notes of your findings and discussions.
• Create a persuasive presentation based on your
  position on the reasons why or why not the bomb
  should have been used
• Presentation should be original, creative,
  thought provoking and convincing
• The choice of format is up to you, i.e. poster
  board, written report, oral report,
  digital/video, story telling, power point, etc
• Be sure to get teachers approval of format prior
  to starting project
• You will present your project/report (10 min.
  max.) to the class

Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
5
Process 2
Introduction
Task
Process

• Resource 1
• Resource 2
• Resource 3
• Resource 4
• ALL Read

Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
6
Evaluation
Introduction
Task
Your grad for your project is based on the
scoring guide below.     
Process
Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
7
Conclusion
Introduction
Task

• The attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the U.S. into
  World War II in 1941. Four years later we had a
  chance to end the war with one decisive blow.
  The decision to drop the bomb was a difficult one
  and a decision that has been and will be
  critiqued throughout time. There is no one
  answer to this question. That is the great thing
  about history. It is up to you to decide if
  Trumans decision was correct or not. As long as
  there is intelligent reasoning behind your
  argument.

Process
Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
8
Credits
Introduction
Task
Process

• The format for this webquest was created using
  the webquest template provided by Dr. Talitha
  Hudgins. Pictures found through Google images.
  

Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits
Teacher
9
Teacher Page
Introduction
Task
Process
Evaluation
Conclusion

• Early in the year 1945 the Japanese Military had
  been pushed back to the main islands of Japan.
  The American Military was forced to use strategic
  bombing to force the unconditional surrender of
  Japan. With incessant strategic bombing,
  hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians had
  been killed. American leadership was faced with
  an unimaginable decision. The decision that had
  to be made was to be the first nation to use an
  atomic bomb on a civilian population or to send
  an invasion force of nearly one million men into
  the Japanese main lands. Certainly tens of
  thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of
  Americans would die.
• The purpose of this Web Quest is to enable your
  students to compare and contrast the different
  reasons for/against the use of the atomic bomb.
  The students will then assess and synthesize the
  information and formulate their own opinion on
  the usage of the atomic bomb to end WWII.

Credits
Teacher