Pearl Harbor Web Quest             

By: Mindy Jenkins & April Heard

Introduction

     One of the greatest defining moments in history was on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese made a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base Pearl Harbor.  A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. The attacking forces came in two waves, the first consisting of 183 aircraft which included 40 torpedo planes, 49 level bombers, 51 dive bombers and 43 fighters. The second wave included 170 planes, 54 of them level bombers, 80 dive-bombers and 36 fighters. Over 350 Japanese planes were involved in overall attack, which surprised the United States. At the end of the day, over 2,000 men lost their lives.   America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

Task

    You are a writer for your local newspaper.  Your task is to create the cover of your newspaper the day after Pearl Harbor is attacked.  Be creative! After you have made the front page of the newspaper, you will then write an article to be published inside.  Use the provided links to research Pearl Harbor and learn as much as you can.  Think outside the box and image how you would feel if you lived during this time as you are doing this assignment…. GOOD LUCK!

Process

1. Visit some of the links below and read about the attack of Pearl Harbor.

2. Create the front page of a newspaper covering the attack of Pearl Harbor.

3.  Then, write an article for the newspaper about how the attack affected American life in the states or about how the attack changed the United States’ view of the war.

4. Complete the word search below.

Links

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/pearlharborattack1.htm

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/pearlharbor.htm

Fun Activity

     This is a word search with some different words that describe Pearl Harbor.  Once you have completed the above assignment, complete this word search.  If it helps, you may copy and paste this word search into a Word document and print it off so you can actually circle the words.  It’s a tricky one so look carefully!

Pearl Harbor

Y I A N L T H K I J E R I A N D B T H D H I S I T

M A K Y T U C M M B R Y B Q E A S E R G C Y T C Q

S U J E F A X A G D D R I C Z O N J U H G Q F B D

K S M B T G B C N P W M E J M Y D R Q D W C K H D

B N O T E X B A I L F M W L V K S E X P T S Y S V

I M A V Y R J H C H B R X H Q F S T P X X A S X C

B K A W T Z S V B E S P T I B I M H J R G R F S W

V C J G U E I U R Y E S D P K Y X G C P O L L T H

Y H N Q L C H A W A I I D R H N B I J S J T A K Z

Z X V T S I A N A A O P T E G Z F F O R A W G A E

V J T A N F D P F N O C M R A P S N V G P T K O L

Z A J C D I I H Q Z V X M F O T W A Z E A T R K L

B P J W V C N U N I U Y D I O O H V R F N V C F O

Z J P C P A C T U I V E Z Q H S S Y X M E A R K W

L F A V Q P S D P E X Q E J R P Y E K N S G R M D

K O Z E U Z J M X X X D C Z Y J R U V E E C O E H

O T O M A M A Y F Y Z Z U L D Z S E Q E M M M E S

H N U A S U B M A R I N E K K T T R I V L W K I V

L J S C P F J Q R B W G P F B A M I U Y O T R Y Z

J W R D B M Z B C H J R A M B C U J Z W B B O K V

                  			ATTACK            NAVY  

                  			BATTLESHIP        PACIFIC

                  			BOMB              ROOSEVELT

                  			DEATH             SUBMARINE

                  			DECEMBER          TORPEDO

                  			FIGHTERJET        WAR

                  			HAWAII            YAMAMOTO

                  			JAPANESE

Evaluation

                                    Front Cover- 30                                   Your Score___

                                    Article-30                                                Your Score___

                                    Creativity -20                                        Your Score___

                                    Participation-20                                 Your Score___

                                    Total Score 100/100                        Your Score___/100

Conclusion

    Congratulations!  You have completed the Pearl Harbor Web Quest!  You have successfully informed your neighborhood of the Pearl Harbor happenings and created a sense of togetherness within your community.  The attack on Pearl Harbor was a day that will live in infamy and and it was a devastating loss for our country.

Standards of Learning

5.5.09 Understand America's role during World War II.

a. Describe the political and economic events that led to World War II.

b. Identify the significance of Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and Hiroshima.

e. Explain the social effects of World War II on American life.