Burnt Shadows Lesson Plan

Two Sides of History - A Debate

Kind of Activity:

Role Play

Objective:

Students will be able to think critically about both sides of a potentially controversial argument relevant to both history and the world they live in today.

Structure:

As a class, watch the video "Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings: Were Nuclear Weapons Required to End the War? This will provide some additional context for the bombing of Nagasaki that is discussed in the novel and for this debate.

Break students into an even number of small groups (3-5 students per group). Assign half of the groups to make a list of arguments/points for why the atomic bombings during WWII were necessary. Assign the...