World War II, 1939-1945 ‖ Japan’s Pacific Campaign

Goals & Objectives

Goal: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and brought the United States into World War
II.

Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain how Japanese
expansionism led to war with the Allies in Asia through reading, questioning, discussion,
and collaboration.

Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain how the Allies were able
to stop Japanese expansion by answering questions during a pair share activity.

Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to summarize the Allied battle
strategy by completing a graphic organizer.

California State Content Standards

10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.

10.8.4. Describe the political, diplomatic, and military leaders during the war (e.g., Winston
Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini,
Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower).

10.8.6. Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and
military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan.

Common Core Literacy Standards

CCSS, ELA 9-10, RH 3. Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether
earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

CCSS, ELA 9-10, RH 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

CCSS, ELA 9-10, WHST 9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.

Driving Historical Question

-Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor in Hawaii?

-What indicates that Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a larger strategy?
-How did the United States’ involvement in World War II establish the nation as a leading player
in international affairs?

Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior Knowledge) ‖ Time: 5-7 Min.

Anticipatory set: Teacher will read the setting the stage paragraph out loud to the class
before having the students discuss two ideas in small groups. Idea 1: Discuss how countries
justify starting wars. Idea 2: Consider whether surprise attacks are ever completely
unforeseen. As a group, students will collectively create a written short answer response
for each of the critical thinking questions and present them during a classroom
discussion/debate.

Vocabulary (Content Language Development) ‖ Time: 5-10 Min.

Each of the terms and names will be addressed during the lesson through reading, group
discussion, and class activities.

-Isoroku Yamamoto
-Pearl Harbor
-Battle of Midway
-Douglas MacArthur
-Battle of Guadalcanal

Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) ‖ Time: 10-15 Min.

After the lesson introduction, students will be placed into groups of four. The teacher will
instruct the students to read chapter 16, section 2 of the textbook titled Japan’s Pacific
Campaign. The four sections of the chapter will be divided among each of the four group
members randomly, (1) Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor, (2) Japanese Victories, (3) The
Allies Strike Back, and (4) An Allied Offensive. The students will be instructed that they will
be conducting a jig-saw reading of the chapter. Each student will be responsible for reading
one section of the chapter and taking notes on significant information individually using
the graphic organizer. The information includes images, bold and italicized words and their
definitions, key information found in their section and anything that interests them. After
students complete their portion of the jig-saw reading, in order from 1-4, students will
share their information identified in their section with the other members of the group
through a group discussion. Each student will take turns teaching their section of the
reading to their group members. Teacher will monitor the classroom jig-saw reading
activity and be available to answer questions, comments, and concerns related to the
assignment.

Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities) ‖ Time: 25-30 Min.
Students will be instructed on the purpose of the reading assignment and informed to pay
attention to their assigned sections. During the jig-saw reading activity, students will
identify the big ideas, topics and subtopics, headings and subheadings, boldface or
italicized words, adjunct aids (pictures, maps, quotes) and captions.
Students will organize the information from their assigned reading sections and group
discussion using the graphic organizer, Japan’s Pacific Campaign.

Students will review the information from the text and grapple with new information from
the individual reading, small group discussion, answering questions, completion of the
graphic organizer, and completing a chapter summery assignment.

Lesson Closure ‖ Time: 10-15 Min.

Reflection essay: Students will individually write a well-constructed essay (Approximately
2 paragraphs) about the key concepts they learned during the lesson. In small groups,
students will share their information and expand upon and refine what they have learned.
Students will turn in their essay at the end of the lesson.

Assessments (Formative & Summative)

(Formative assessment) Jig-saw reading activity: Students will read one of four sections of
the chapter while participating in a jig-saw reading activity and complete one section of the
graphic organizer, Japan’s Pacific Campaign. Students involvement will be monitored
during classroom circulation. Teacher will verify that all vocabulary, boldface words,
italicized words and terms are identified by students.

(Formative assessment) Graphic organizer: Students will complete the entire graphic
organizer, Japan’s Pacific Campaign. Students will collaborate/discuss/share their findings
with their small groups. Student involvement will be monitored during classroom
circulation. Teacher will verify that all sections of the graphic organizer are completed, and
all information is relative to each section.

(Summative assessment) Essay: Students will turn in their one paragraph (or more) lesson
summary of key concepts at the end of class. Students may use the information found on
the graphic organizer and their notes to complete the assignment. Teacher will read each
essay to determine each students level of understanding of the lesson and identify any
inadequacies.

Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
All English learning students may be provided additional time to complete reading and
writing assignments in class if needed. English learning students will be paired with other
students in the class to assist with language acquisition. If a bilingual student is available,
he/she will assist in translation during instructions and discussions. The entry level
assessment questions and questions/information presented on the graphic organizer
worksheet will be provided in English, and the students primary language using google
translate if needed. The English learning students may present their answers to the
questions in their primary language combined with an attempt in English. During
classroom circulation, I will check with my English learning students for gradual increase of
student independence and address concerns or adjust accordingly.
Striving readers will be paired with other students to assist with teacher lecture. Additional
time may be provided to striving readers during reading and writing exercises if needed.
Striving readers may volunteer to participate in shared reading/writing exercises. I will
check with my striving reading students for progress monitoring and address concerns
accordingly.

I will refer to each student’s IEP/504 plan and accommodate and modify assignments as
needed.

Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials)

- Graphic organizer handout

- Pen or Pencil

- Textbook: Modern World History; Patterns of Interaction. Houghton Mifflin

Harcourt Publishing Company. 2012. Chapter 16, section 2.