December 7, 1941 was the day of my grandfather's birth. My grandmother, MaMaw as we called her, used to tell me that good people were born on this day to balance out the evil of D-Day. I don't think it was until Sept. 11 happened that as an American I could really understand the impact that Pearl Harbor had on America. Sure, I had heard stories. I watched the documentaries and even stomached Ben Affleck's performance in the Hollywood Tribute, "Pearl Harbor".
It seems to me that few of my generation... and those younger than me... can truly understand this day. For that reason, I'm going to start with just a brief recap. December 7, 1941 was the day the Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. They had made a careful strike against our Navy as a way to protect themselves from what they thought was a potential threat. Whether or not they were right in their fear or there were other motives involved, many people lost their lives that day. Many more lost their lives as the US retaliated. Because the bulk of the naval fleet and submarines were not stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time of the planned attack, which is a bit of a miracle itself, American forces were able to keep their arsenal and the damage that was intended did not happen. This attack on American soil did have long standing repercussions. The US officially entered into WWII which changed the direction of history for our country and those around the world.
Today is an important day to recall and a good topic to discuss this week as a look into history. Consider an open discussion and research about D-Day with your kids. I've included some of the links to previous lesson plans and blogs that I have used before. Please feel free to share some of your ideas for your homeschooling curriculum for this important day as well!
Lesson Plan Ideas:
- Journal Entry: Imagine that you are witnessing the attack at Pearl Harbor. Research for the time that the first bombing took place and describe what you were doing and how you reacted.
- Watch a documentary on Pearl Harbor and WWII
- National Geographic - visit this site for a look and informative online presentation about this day in history
- Visit the WWII Museum in New Orleans page for great learning tools and information! http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/
- For all grade levels Scholastic has a great learning program that is developed for multiple age groups
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