For our first project of the year, we learned about the Manhattan Project. You can read all about this project here. In this blog post, I’m only going to be focusing on the process of this project.
The project of this unit was to create a Book Creator book about the atom bomb. Here is how I grew my learning through working on this project!
Thinking flexibly:
This was something I had to do quite a lot in my book. I started out with the plan to make this book a more casual perspective on the technology of the atom bomb, but after learning more through both in class learning and external research, I realized that a more serious approach would be better fitting. I made an effort as well to look at this from multiple perspectives. I focused my research both on the perception of the bombs in American and Japanese communities. I researched this by watching a few short documentaries from both Japanese and American sources. What I also found very interesting was talking to my grandmother about her perception of the bomb as a young girl in America.
Striving for accuracy:
I held myself to high standards for this project. I wanted to be sure that I created something that I was proud of. I kept revising my outline and my writing until I was proud of it, and even though it took some extra time, I think my work paid off. I really worked hard on this project to make sure it was something I feel highly of.
Creating imaginatively:
What really inspired me during this project was talking to my grandmother about her experiences during World War II. She explained to me her view on the war from behind a screen of childhood innocence. I found it really interesting the way she described the fear of nuclear weaponry being used against the states and how it affected her youth. These stories inspired me to create a book I was really proud of using information and stories that were interesting to me.
Overall, my time spent learning and creating this project was used very well. I was completely unaware of the history of the atom bomb at all, let alone the Manhattan project. This was a very fascinating unit because I found the logic behind the project to be very interesting. I would highly recommend to look a bit into the Manhattan project if you ever get a chance! I’m glad I did.