Purpose: Students apply the step of gathering information to the fallout shelter simulation.
1. Volunteers prepare character roles for the fallout shelter simulation.
Explain to students that they are now going to return to the fallout shelter simulation to practice gathering information from different sources.
Ask for 10 volunteers to play special roles in this activity. Assign each volunteer a character to role-play. Give each volunteer one of the “Fallout Shelter Hidden Biographies” activity sheets and ask them to read the hidden biographical information quietly. Explain that the activity will require them to answer questions related to their characters. Instruct them to answer truthfully, creatively, and in character if there is a question not covered in the hidden biography. Instruct each volunteer to write down the answers to the questions they are asked during the activity so that they can give consistent information to any groups that ask similar questions.
2. Students receive biographical information about the characters in the simulation.
Have students return to their simulation groups; then, distribute the fallout shelter folders. Review the fallout shelter situation with students. Remind them that each group has to decide which four people will have to be eliminated from the shelter. Point out that the six people they choose to stay in the shelter may be the only six people left to start the human race again, so this decision is very important.
Distribute copies of the “Fallout Shelter Biographies” activity sheet. Explain that this is all they know about the 10 people. Read the sheet out loud:
- Bookkeeper, 31 years old
- Second-year medical student, member of militant group
- Famous historian, 42 years old
- The famous historian’s 12-year-old daughter
- Hollywood star, actor/actress
- Biochemist
- Member of the clergy, 54 years old
- Olympic athlete in track and field, world-class triathlete
- College student
- Firefighter
3. Students develop a list of questions to answer.
Explain to students that their task is to decide what they need to know in order to make the decision. They must develop a series of questions that will elicit the information they need about each person. Allow students 10 minutes to prepare their lists of questions.
4. The fallout shelter groups identify the sources that they would use to gather relevant information.
When 10 minutes have passed and the groups have completed their lists of questions, tell them that they must identify as many sources as possible to find the information they need. Give students two to three minutes to complete this task. Ask the class if they included interviews with the individuals as important sources of information.
5. Groups interview the fallout shelter characters.
Explain to the class that the teams are able to communicate with the fallout shelter site, so they will be able to ask reasonable questions of each of the individuals involved.
Ask the 10 volunteers to stand. Introduce each one as the character they are portraying.
Have the actors circulate among the groups for a few minutes and answer questions. Remind the actors that if they do not have information on the hidden bio to answer a specific question, they must make up an answer that is consistent with the character. Tell actors to write down the made-up information they give out so all groups that ask similar questions get similar answers. Instruct group members to take notes on the information they learn from the characters.
When time has expired, have students put all their materials in their group folders. Collect the folders from each group and put them aside until the next session.