Molloy College

Education Department
Lesson Plan
Student: Kelly Westerman
Course: EDU 521
Grade: 11
Topic: World War II: Pearl Harbor

Professor: Professor Esposito

Date: November 17th, 2015
Content Areas: History

Instructional Objectives
After class discussion and viewing of clips about the attack, students will be able to give
detailed accounts of what occurred at Pearl Harbor during World War II, and then prepare
an essay on how it led to the United States involvement in the war using primary and
secondary sources.
CCLS/ +NYS Standards and Indicators
Social Studies (NYS) Standard #1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding
of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of
the United States and New York.
Indicator
o This will be evident through the essay the students will write that
describes how Pearl Harbor was a turning point in American history.
Social Studies (NYS) Standard #2: World History
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding
of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history
and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
Indicator
o This will be evident when students are asked to explain how Pearl Harbor
was a turning point in World War II, and how it influenced the
relationships between America and other countries at that time.
Motivator
Students will watch a brief clip from the attack scene from the movie Pearl Harbor.
Materials
Lecture
Notebooks
Textbook
Pens
Computer
iPad
Projector
Video

Visualizer
PowerPoint

Strategies
Direct Instruction: Students will be guided by the teacher through lectures on the topic.
Do Now: Students will identify important terms associated with Pearl Harbor in the
beginning of class to help introduce the topic and refresh their memory from the day
before.
Group Discussion: Students will break off into groups of three to discuss important
events that were caused by Pearl Harbor.
Read Aloud: Students will read aloud sentences from the textbook to the class.

Adaptations
A copy of the PowerPoint presentations will be provided for more visual learners.
Links will be provided to clips that are viewed in class.
Extra time will be provided on the lesson quiz to those that require it.

Differentiation of Instruction
Level 1: Students will give a description of the events of the attack with the help of the
textbook. Answers will be written down on an index card.
Level 2: Students will be given a timeline of events, and they must place them in
chronological order.
Level 3: Students will give a detailed description of what occurred at Pearl Harbor on
December 7th, 1941.
Developmental Procedures
1. Students will complete a Do-Now, in which they will define important facts
about the attack. What country attacked America? When did it occur? What day
of the week was it, and why was that important?
2. The class will watch a brief clip of the attack on Pearl Harbor portrayed on film.
What was strange about this attack? Why were the Americans caught so off
guard? Why did they not fight back? Who were the attackers, and what was their
strategy?
3. Students will listen to a lecture given by the teacher, who will give detailed
descriptions of what took place.
4. Students will then break off into groups of four, and name five reasons America
joined World War II after this attack. Why did they fight after it took place? Which
side were they on?
5. Finally, groups will share their answers with the rest of the class, leaving a little
time for general questions from the teacher.
Assessment
Students will complete a quiz the next day on the main facts about the attack on Pearl
Harbor.

Independent Practice
In preparation for tomorrows class, students will be asked to answer questions from the
chapter on Pearl Harbor in the textbook.
Follow Up: Direct Teacher Intervention
Students that did not perform well on the assessment will be required to attend a review
session to be held after school to go over what they did not understand about the lesson.
Follow Up: Academic Enrichment
Students will write a diary entry as a solider that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor
describing what he experienced that day.

Teacher References
Berkin, C., Miller, C.L., Cherny, R.W., Gormily, J.L., Egerton, D., Woestman, K. (2014) Making
America: A history of the United States (6th ed.) Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Haffner, C. (Director). (2001). Pearl Harbor [Motion picture on DVD]. New Video.
Pearl Harbor. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.history.com/topics/worldwar-ii/pearl-harbor