Hiroshima: Project Ideas

1. Obtain publications about Japanese culture and customs. Explain:
   
   
   • Why the people felt "honored" by the emperor's public announcement that the war was over
     
   • Why "disposal of the dead. ..is a greater moral responsibility to the Japanese than adequate care of the living."
   
   
2. The first four chapters of Hiroshima were written in 1946. Conduct research and review what scientists and the medical community have since learned about radiation sickness. Were the author's observations accurate? What sicknesses can today's nuclear weapons cause, short of death?
   
   
3. Research the explanations given as to why the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Organize a debate and discuss the question: Was it necessary to drop the atomic bomb? Be sure to consider such issues as the war being prolonged, with thousands more American lives likely being lost in an assault on Japan, as well as American anger over Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
   
   
4. Compose an interview for one of the characters. Create 10 questions you would like to ask, and share them with the class. Have classmates take on the role of the interviewee and answer your questions as they think the hibakusha would.
   
   
5. Imagine that you are a newspaper editor during World War II. Taking into consideration the emotions and feelings of the times, write an editorial either in support of or in opposition to the use of the atomic bomb.

Curriculum Connections

1. Using the book and other sources, construct a geographical map of Hiroshima. Show the center of the bomb's explosions, and where each of the six featured characters was situated at that moment. (Social Studies/Art)
   
   
2. What other countries were allied with Japan in World War II? Why do you think the bomb was not used on those countries? Conduct the necessary research and present your findings to your group. (Social Studies)
   
   
3. Conduct research and make a time line tracing the development of nuclear weapons, beginning during World War II and continuing to the present. Write a short report to accompany your diagram. (Social Studies/Art)

English Teacher's Great Books Activities Kit
by Gary Robert Muschla

More than 180 reproducible student activities for teaching reading and writing skills, based on great literature that covers various genres, themes, and cultures.