Woody Morris, Wewoka High School, Wewoka, OK
POST-NUCLEAR WAR SURVIVAL
Appropriate for grades 7-12.
OVERVIEW: This unit sets up a hypothetical dilemma and asks
students to offer solutions based on their own reasoning and
problem-solving skills. The unit begins with a scenario of
nuclear war and requires students to make decisions which may
affect the survival of humans on Earth.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this unit is to have students work
together to reach consensus of a controversial issue. It helps
them realize that sometimes there are no right and wrong answers.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
1. Evaluate various types of information and decide what traits
and other factors are of most importance for long-term
survival in an emergency or crisis situation.
2. Effectively present their opinions and arguments either
orally or in writing.
ACTIVITIES: Three days ago, nuclear war broke out around the
world with massive attacks in all heavily populated areas. For
the first 24 hours, radio broadcasts reported tremendous damage
and loss of life in all areas, including the total annihilation of
most of Earth's population. For the past 48 hours, there have
been no broadcasts. Fortunately, the people listed below were
able to reach a fallout shelter in time to take cover and survive
the initial devastation. You must assume that those in the
shelter are, as far as you know, the only survivors of the war.
Here is the dilemma: There are twelve people in the fallout
shelter, but there is n‹•¹½Õ¡™½½±º…ѕɱand other supplies
to keep them all alive until the atmosphere is safe. To survive,
the people must stay inside the fallout shelter for at least three
months. The problem is that if all of them stay in the shelter,
all of them will starve to death or dehydrate. There are supplies
enough to allow seven of the twelve people to survive.
Your task is to decide, based on the information given, which
people will be allowed to remain (and live), and which people will
be required to leave the shelter (and probably die). We will
assume that those who are selected to leave will do so peacefully.
At issue is the survival of humans on Earth. The bottom line is
that if human beings are to repopulate the Earth, such
repopulation will begin with those survivors chosen be you.
Carefully evaluate all information about each of the twelve
persons. Consider their health, experiences, age, sex, and
intelligence. Then decide which seven will be allowed to stay in
the shelter and which five must leave.
On a separate sheet of paper, list the seven people you would have
survive and repopulate the Earth, stating your reasons for keeping
them. Then list the five you would have leave the shelter and
state the reasons for not keeping them.
After you have made your decisions and formulated your reasons,
you will be placed with a group of other students (four to five
per group). Each person in the group should present his or her
decisions to the rest or the group. The task is to reach a
consensus among the group as to who should stay and who should go.
PEOPLE:
1. James Stanley 7. Gerald White
age: 43 age: 35
IQ: 112 IQ: 98
health: good health: fair
education/training: education/training:
2 yrs college, 2 yrs military. high school diploma.
work experience: 15 years work experience: 4 years
farming, successfully. Army (infantry), 10 years
general construction
laborer.
2. Janie Stanley 8. Martha Gray
age: 13 age: 25
IQ: 120 IQ: 142
health: excellent health: good
education/training: education/training:
middle school student. PhD in music theory.
work experience: none. work experience: 2 years
teaching on college level.
3. Wanda Brice 9. William Gray
age: 50 age: 8
IQ: 140 IQ: 150
health: fair health: good
education/training: education/training:
Master's degree in psychology. elementary school student.
work experience: 15 years as work experience: none.
mental health case-worker;
10 years director of local
mental health counseling service.
4. Bill Waters 10. John Davis
age: 27 age: 33
IQ: 104 IQ: 125
health: excellent health: fair
education/training: education/training:
tech school graduate college degree in chemistry
work experience: 10 years work experience: 12 years
heavy construction and high school chem teacher
welding.
5. Michelle Patterson 11. Marjorie Blaylock
age: 19 age: 39
IQ: 105 IQ: 133
health: fair health: poor
education/training: education/training:
high school graduate. medical school graduate.
work experience: 3 years work experience: 10 years
experience in retail sales. general family medical
practice.
6. Ray Wilson 12. Fred Fredrick
age: 60 age: 54
IQ: 127 IQ: 132
health: good health: excellent
education/training: education/training:
4 years college, majored in highly trained in
business. electronics.
work experience: bank work experience:
teller 10 years, financial 25 years US Navy
advisor and bank president electronics technician; 10
20 years. years private electronics
repair.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS NEEDED: None needed.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: The balance between objective and
subjective evaluation should be carefully considered by the
teacher. Subjective evaluation should also take into
consideration the differences between individual students
(ability, etc.).
Click here to return to OFCN's Academy Curricular Exchange
Click here to return to OFCN's Academy
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Menu
John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org