Balancing Act
Social Experience - Individual and Social Responsibilities
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Key Concept:

All people must work to find a balance between their concern for others, and their responsibilities to themselves. Finding this balance is never easy. In this lesson, you will explore difficult choices and the complications that arise when you are faced the question - him or me?

Objectives:

You will be able to
- listen to analyze and evaluate
- read to reflect and evaluate
- evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of information presented
- identify the effect created by the author's "voice", tone, and style, and examine the methods by which they are achieved
- explore human experiences and values reflected in texts
- broaden knowledge of cultural heritage
- understand the ideas, values, and cultures of peoples past and present
- make and defend an informed critical response
- assess a selection's merit as a literary work
- read to understand and appreciate an international literary heritage and world perspective
- compare, contrast, and evaluate texts
- demonstrate the ability to trace a coherent thought pattern to a suitable conclusion
- write and document a convincing analysis of a literary work

Resources:

- guided scenarios
- arguments for and against dropping the bomb

One of the following selections focusing on Hiroshima:

1. "Hiroshima Diary" (M. Hachiya, Japan - Literature and Language: English and World)
2. "That Day at Hiroshima" (Alexander H. Leighton, USA - The Study of Man)
3. "The Mokusatsu Tragedy" (R. Gallant, USA - Literature and Language: English and World)

- question guide for reading non-fiction
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
- evaluation tool

Teaching-Learning Strategies:

A dilemma is a choice between two equally unfavourable options. When faced with such a choice, people are forced to prioritize and determine what is in their own best interests, what is in the best interests of those depending on them, and in some cases, what is in the best interests of human kind.

Task One: Choose Wisely

Read through or listen to this series of brief guided scenarios. For each dilemma, write down your answers to the following questions on a piece of paper:

1. What would each of the options mean for me?
2. Who or what else do I need to consider when making my choice?
3. What would I decide?

Once you are finished, discuss each of the dilemmas as a class.

Were your answers very different from the other people in your class? Why does it often seem that some choices are more difficult than others?

The final dilemma should seem familiar, as it is similar to the choice that President Truman was faced with in 1945, regarding whether to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.

As you prepare to read one of the pieces of text in Task Two, review some of the history behind the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

In keeping with the idea of dilemmas, explore some of the arguments for and against dropping the bomb.

When you are finished looking at the arguments for and against, decide whether you think dropping the bomb was necessary.

Task Two: A Day in the Life

You are all likely familiar with the history of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bomb. Now, you will have the chance to look at this historic event from a different perspective, through the eyes of a survivor.

Read one of the following selections focusing on Hiroshima:

"Hiroshima Diary" (M. Hachiya, Japan - Literature and Language: English and World)
"That Day at Hiroshima" (Alexander H. Leighton, USA - The Study of Man)
"The Mokusatsu Tragedy" (R. Gallant, USA - Literature and Language: English and World)

Once you have had a chance to read through one of the essays above, separate into small groups and analyze the essay using the question guide for reading non-fiction.

The questions you are asked to answer require more that just a summary of the main points. While paraphrasing a non-fiction article is an important skill, it is equally important that you consider the purpose and impact of the article.

As the groups finish answering the questions, your teacher will choose one or two questions from each section of the guide and as a class you will discuss each group's answers.

Task Three: Aftermath

The major historical events of any country do not simply affect those people who lived through them. Rather, these events affect generations to come through stories and remembrances of how things were before and after the event.

To supplement your reading, take a virtual tour of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Take some time to explore the entire Museum. The tour of the East building offers a look at the city of Hiroshima, before and after the atomic bomb. The West building offers an opportunity to look at artifacts from the time of the atomic bomb and to read or listen to testimony of atomic bomb survivors.

As you tour the West Building, choose and read one of the text versions of a survivor's testimony and complete the assignment outlined below.

Comparing the Accounts

In a paragraph, answer the following question: Which account, the one you have chosen from the Museum, or the one assigned by your teacher, had a greater impact on you?

In order to complete this assignment, you will need to provide specific examples from each of the articles to explain your answer. Consider each of the following as you prepare to write:

1. Does the selection appeal to the emotions? Intellect? Both?
2. What qualities of the author's style are most effective?
3. What is the author's tone?
4. Does the selection push you to look at things from a different perspective?
5. Is this selection an accurate representation of what happened in this country/culture?

The easiest way to start this assignment is to look at your question guide for reading non-fiction and think about how you would answer the questions in reference to your museum selection. Once you have done that, you will have some specific comparisons between the articles on which to base your paragraph answer.

While two people may have seemingly experienced the same thing, their accounts, thoughts and reflections may be very different. Every experience and its re-telling often comes down to a matter of perspective.