Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
Unit Title/Name: WAR IN THE PACIFIC
To what extent should nations use military force to achieve their goals?
NYS Content Standards
Common Core Standards:
Standard 1: Key 4
RH 1, 2, 5, 8, 9
Standard 2: Key 2
W 1, 4, 9
Standard 2: Key 3
SL 1, 2, 4, 6
Standard 2: Key 4
Understandings:
Essential Questions:
Students will understand concepts and ideas
 What assumptions do different groups hold
regarding…
about power, authority, governance and law?
 Japan’s need for resources and imperialist
 Could the war in the Pacific have been
expansion in Asia.
avoided?
 Lukewarm relationship between the United
 Who was more responsible for war in the
States and Japan (including competition for
Pacific – the United States or Japan?
Asian markets and resources).
 Were the Japanese justified in attacking Pearl
 Motivation behind Japan’s attack on Pearl
Harbor?
Harbor.
 Why did the United States drop the atomic
 U.S. motivations for using the atomic bomb,
bomb on Japan?
including stated and unstated reasons.
 Should dropping the atomic bomb on Japan be
 Alternate arguments regarding the use of the
considered a war crime?
atomic bomb.
 Should nations have nuclear weapons?
 The impact the invention and development
of the atomic bomb had on the growth of the
nuclear age.
Stage 2: Assessments and Tasks (STOP)
Common Core Literacy Task
 Prepare a written debate between a person
advocating for using the atomic bomb and a
person who believes we should NOT use the
atomic bomb.
 Prepare an opening court statement that
accuses Harry Truman of perpetrating
“crimes against humanity”.
 Prepare a statement from General Tojo
defending his decisions to attack Pearl
Harbor.
 DBQ Essay assessing whether the United
States should have dropped the atomic bomb
on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
 Exit tickets evaluating scenarios presented to
Japan before the bombing of Pearl Harbor –
what other options were available to Japan?
Performance Task(s) – Other Evidence
 Classroom debate arguing whether the
United States should have dropped the
atomic bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
 Create propaganda posters supporting the
United States use of atomic weapons.
 Design and create a War Memorial dedicated
to victims of atomic warfare.
 In class essay answering the over-arching
unit question: “To what extent should nations
use military force to achieve their goals?”
 Write a play re-enacting the plight of those
who suffered through nuclear fallout.
 Re-create a war-room scenario wherein
advisors to Truman are explaining the pros
and cons of using atomic weapons on Japan.
 Students will complete a map activity related
to the Pacific Ocean and explaining the
strategic interests of Japan in acquiring
natural resources in surrounding areas as
well as Japan’s strategic importance for both
the Soviet Union and the United States in a
post-WWII era.
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How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?
Students will be asked to write a reflection based on what they learned and how effectively they
worked.
Reading feedback on essays and other written work.
Stage 3: Learning Plan
Instructional Activities and Materials (W.H.E.R.E.T.O.)
1. COULD WAR IN THE PACIFIC HAVE BEEN AVOIDED?
Or
WHO WAS MORE RESPONSIBLE FOR WAR IN THE PACIFIC – THE U.S. OR JAPAN?
OR
WERE THE JAPANESE JUSTIFIED IN ATTACKING PEARL HARBOR?
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Identify/define: Pearl Harbor, Japanese Expansion, trade embargo, Rome-Berlin-Tokyo AXIS
- Describe Japan’s industrial and military growth through 1930.
- Explain the role of the military in the pre-war Japanese government.
- Explain Japanese reasons for, and evaluate the impact of Japanese expansion in Asia.
- Analyze maps to describe and explain the territorial moves made by the Japanese before World
War II.
- Discuss the reasons for, and impact of the U.S. trade embargo on Japan.
- Discuss the reasons for, and impact of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Evaluate whether or not war in the Pacific could have been avoided.
2. SHOULD ATOMIC BOMBS HAVE BEEN DROPPED ON JAPAN?
Or
WAS HARRY TRUMAN A WAR CRIMINAL?
Or
SHOULD NATIONS HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS?
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Identify/define: Kamikaze, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial Museum
- Analyze the reasons why the U.S. used atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the
war with Japan
- Use accounts of the atomic bombings to assess the short and long term effects of the bombings on
the victims and on Japanese society.
- Evaluate how the invention and implementation of these weapons began in nuclear age.
- Evaluate whether Harry Truman was justified in dropping two atomic bombs on Japan.
- Evaluate whether nations should have nuclear weapons.
Stage 4: Reflection
Teacher Reflection for Future Planning
 Evaluate exit tickets and responses to questions during discussion.
 Explore test results and essay writing skills on class exam to shape future writing lessons/assignments.