Remembering Pearl Harbor Day.

Unless you are a United Sates History teacher, you might overlook the significance of Pearl Harbor Day. December 7, 1941 radically altered the world landscape and the role of the United States on the world scene. The bombing of the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor represented the culmination of decade long events that led to the deterioration of US – Japanese relations. There are a number of ways that classroom teacher can chose to honor this day and to teach its significance.

The Federal government has a web site called FREE- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence. This site links to numerous federal agencies (like the National Park Service and the US Naval Archives). From this site you can access TwHP- Teaching with Historic Places. This site provides lessons plans as well as maps, charts, photos and reading passages. To access information for Remembering Pearl Harbor as well as many other historical, scientific and mathematic lessons, go to http://free.ed.gov

Other suggested activities include:

1)      Obtain a World War Two veteran as a guest speaker. Unfortunately this is a shrinking resource as approximately 1000 WW II vets are dying each day. Please be sure to provide specific parameters as to what to talk about and for how long keeping in mind the age of the students. Some vets tend to ramble. Ask them to bring in any artifacts they may have but be sure to check your school’s policy about bringing weapons to class. You can check with local American Legion or VFW chapters to see if they have a speaker’s bureau.

2)      Ask students to do some internet research to come up with photos of the attack and its aftermath. Two useful websites are the National Archives ( www.archives.gov/research/ww2) and The US Navy Historical Division ( www.history.navy)

3)      Discussion Topic. Who is a hero? What characteristics make a person a hero?

PS. I would stay away from showing a full length movie in class. While both” Tora Tora Tora” and “Pearl Harbor” are excellent films, they take up too much class time.

(Photo Credit- National Archives Dec. 7,1941 80-G-19947)