1. My webquest will address this Massachusetts Framework:
USII.16 Explain the reasons for the dropping of atom bombs on Japan and the short and long-term effects of that decision. (H)
2. The targeted learners will be 11th grade humanities students.
3. The big ideas considered will include one or more of these:
The unprecedented destruction of atomic bombs
How do we gauge the ethics of using weapons of mass destruction?
What sources today best help us understand the human sufferning caused by the atomic bombs?
4. The task I will chose needs some reflection. I believe I would like to have the students look at the information available and compare the emphasis of information on U.S. websites vs. Japanese websites. Their task may be to characterize the information available from selected sites and then work together to determine which sites they recommend for students after them to study in order to best grasp critical information about the short- and long-term effects. Groups of students will have seen different sites but will need to reach consensus through discussion about which sites are most meaningful. Or perhaps they will simply compare the sites and then qualify the information in each site. The students will be some combination of pathfinders and curriculum creators.
For this to work I will need to fiind sies in the U.S. and three in Japan. I will also need to create a tool for what information they will need to capture and discuss. The rubric will need to emphasize both what they find and evaluate in research and how they will work together to decide on the best sources.
5. Websources I am aware of include the National WW2 Museum and the Peace Museum in Hiroshima.
Full disclosure: Now that I've proposed this, I'm not sure this is the path I'll prefer to take. But my class is involved in these studies now and I'm having trouble shifting my mind to another topic this evening.