PEARL HARBOR

PEARL HARBOR HISTORY LESSON

Directions:

Print the Pearl Harbor reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the story silently, then answer the questions about the story that follow.

Excerpt from passage

Pearl Harbor is one the most famous attacks to occur on American soil. This event was one of the main reasons America joined World War II. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked U.S. soldiers who were stationed at Pearl Harbor. The attack occurred early on a Sunday morning. Many of the sailors on the ships that were attacked were still asleep.

The day began like normal. One radar screen was watching the skies around Pearl Harbor. This training radar was being watched by two men. The men watching, Joseph Lockhard and George Elliott saw a bunch of planes flying on the radar screen at about 7 a.m. They knew this was unusual so they informed their superior officer. Unfortunately, the commanding officer heard there would be American planes coming in around the same time. As a result, nothing was done about these planes. The officer assumed they were American planes. He did not bother alerting anyone of the planes arrival.

The problem was that these soldiers were not aware of the fact that a fleet of Japanese planes had taken off just an hour earlier. They had taken off from an aircraft carrier that was 230 miles away. The reason they left the carrier was so they could attack Pearl Harbor!

Continued...

More US History and World War II Lesson Plans and Worksheets

For more teaching material, lesson plans, lessons, and worksheets please go back to the InstructorWeb home page.