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Lesson Plan

African Americans and the Manhattan Project

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This African Americans and the Manhattan Project lesson plan also includes:

A lesson about the Manhattan Project will explode young physicists' understanding of the racial attitudes in the United States during and after World war II. Groups select an African American scientist or technician that worked on the project, research their subject and the historical forces that impacted them, and present their findings to the whole class.

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Concepts

african american history, famous african americans, black history month, famous scientists, scientists, the manhattan project, nuclear fission, nuclear weapons, atomic mass, segregation, neutrons, protons, uranium, isotopes, radioactive isotopes, world war ii, atomic bombs, the atomic bomb

Instructional Ideas

Minimize the chaos of the ping pong ball activity by reminding class members of appropriate protocols

Classroom Considerations

Requires materials not usually found in the classroom (stopwatch, ping pong balls, etc.)

Pros

Includes information about the chain reactions observed in nuclear fission
A list of discussion questions helps guide the content of the presentations
The ping pong ball activity simulates the nuclear fission process

Cons

None

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