A Series of Lessons on Oak Ridge, TN, WWII Heritage City

Control desk in the master control room at K-25 at Oak Ridge, 1945.

Courtesy US Department of Energy and Oak Ridge Public Library.

Introduction

This lesson series helps students explore the importance of Oak Ridge, Tennessee as an American World War II Heritage City. These lessons highlight the workers of Oak Ridge, with specific focus on contributions of women and African American workers, and the short- and long-term effects of the area having produced material for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Oak Ridge contributed to the home front development of uranium for the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. One lesson also details challenges faced by African Americans residing and working at Oak Ridge during the era of segregation and intense discrimination. These lessons highlight specific contributions but connect to larger themes and understandings of the US home front during wartime.

The standards listed beneath the lesson links are a collection of standards covered in the lesson collection. Objectives for each lesson, materials, and resources are listed within the lesson.

The first three lessons listed can be taught individually or collectively, in any order. The final lesson is to support students in combining learning across the three lessons, and/or comparison to other WWII home front cities in a culminating activity.

Lessons

Innovation and Employment in WWII Oak Ridge, TN

• Atomic bomb, uranium, The Manhattan Project, civilian workers, women, African Americans, science and innovation

African American Life in WWII Oak Ridge, TN

• African American workers, discrimination, wartime housing

Oak Ridge, TN and the Atomic Bomb

• The Manhattan Project, atomic bomb, V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) Day, science and innovation, post-War

Oak Ridge, TN: Comparing and Connecting WWII Home Front Cities

• Civilian and home front contributions, the Manhattan Project

Positioning These Lessons in the Curriculum

Time period: World War II
Topics: World War II, African American history, Women's history

United States History Standards for Grades 5-12
This lesson relates to the following National Standards for History from the UCLA National Center for History in the Schools:

• Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
  • Standard 3: The causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs

Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
This lesson relates to the following Curriculum Standards themes for Social Studies from the National Council for the Social Studies:

• Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
• Theme 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
• Theme 8: Science, Technology, and Society
• Theme 9: Global Connections

Relevant Common Core Standards
This lesson relates to the following Common Core English and Language Arts Standards for History and Social Studies for middle and high school students:

• Key Ideas and Details
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.1
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY. RH. 6-12.2
• Craft and Structure
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.4
• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.7
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.9
• Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH. 6-12.10

Note: This series of lessons may also have connections to your state’s science standards due to its integration of information about the innovation and science behind the atomic bomb.