Activity overview

Students will track the strategic bombing efforts from 1939, using graphic organizers to catalog date range, targets, resources dedicated, and the effects of the bombings.

This can be a group activity, with each group becoming the experts on a specific effort and completing a Web of Effects to present to the class. Students can then examine the chronology of the bombing efforts and where their Webs intersect. 

​(Please see the book Teaching about Historical Thinking by the Critical Thinking Consortium for a Blackline Master for the Web of Effects)

Primary HTC concept(s) explored in this activity

Ethical dimension guidepost 2 
Reasoned ethical judgements of past actions are made by taking into account the historical context of the actors in question
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Ethical dimension guidepost 3
When making ethical judgements, it is important to be cautious about imposing contemporary standards of right and wrong on the past

Secondary HTC concept(s) explored in this activity
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Cause and consequence guidepost 1
Change is driven by multiple causes and results in multiple consequences

In this activity, students will demonstrate understanding that the attitude towards the bombing of civilians changed over the course of the war and should be able to offer some preliminary explanations as to why. Students should also be able to demonstrate an understanding of the effects of the increased bombing efforts on civilians as well as on military resources, and make a judgement about the bomber campaign as an effective or ineffective strategy.
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Please see The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts (2012) by Peter Seixas and Tom Morton, as well as the Historical Thinking Project website for further ideas for student assessment or to adapt these activities. 

Questions posed to students in this activity

​Research question: What were the targets during this bombing effort? What resources were allocated? What were the effects of the bombing? 

​Inquiry question(s): What were the intended and unintended consequences of these bombing efforts?

Considerations for teachers to introduce in student inquiry

​Additional guiding question for students: Can we understand the ethical dimensions of an event without understanding its context?