Grade Level/Time Allocation
US History and Government: Grade 11
Two Blocks (82 minutes)

Connection to NY State Standards
Standard 1: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes developments, and turning points in the history of the United State and New York.

This activity requires students to use a variety of sources to explain important Cold War events. It also insists that they evaluate the impact of the different events as well as the impact of the Cold War. This is a commencement level performance indicator.

Learning Objectives/Purpose After examining historical evidence students will apply that information and use it to analyze the impact of important events in the Cold War, as well as to analyze the impact of the Cold War in general.

TSWBAT* describe important events of the Cold War by interpreting relevant documents and text.
TSWBAT analyze the Cold War events and their relative importance in the outcome of the Cold War.

(*The students will be able to)

Learning Experiences


Create eight folders relating to the following Cold War events:

• Truman Doctrine 1947
  
• Marshall Plan 1947
  
• Formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 1949
  
• Korea 1950-1953
  
• Sputnik 1957
  
• Vietnam 1950-1975
  
• Bay of Pigs 1961
  
• Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
  

In each folder include relevant documents related to the event. Other supplemental information about the event may be included or the textbook and computer resources might be used instead.

Divide the class into eight groups:
Each group will get a different Cold War event. After reading the materials on their event each group will create a visual about their event. The groups will share these visuals and their information on the events.

Create new partner groups:

Give each pair some sticky notes and a football field. They are going to play a football game. The football game is supposed to represent the Cold War, with democracy playing against communism. On each sticky note students will write the name of the Cold War event. Using the events in chronological order, the pairs of students will start at the 20 yard line. The students will represent the democracy team. In this Cold War game students should discuss and decide whether each event is a gain or loss of yardage for democracy in the Cold War game. Furthermore, they will need to decide how much of a gain or loss it will be. They should use the sticky notes to represent their decisions for the eight events.

Next:
Bring the class together and create a mock football field out of the classroom. Have students volunteer to be the events by holding the visual of the event that was made. Go through the events in chronological order and have the class discuss where the event needs to be placed on the football field. Once again the focus question should be, "Was this event a gain or loss in the Cold War game of democracy vs. communism?"

Ultimately the answer to the question is not nearly as important as the ability to discuss how these events both individually and collectively impacted the Cold War.

Assessment Tools:

• Visuals on the Cold War events
• Completed football game (both in pairs, and as a class)
• I will judge their ability to express their evaluation of the events and the role the events played in the Cold War.

Materials:

• Packets with information on each of the eight Cold War events
• Football field, sticky notes
• Papers to create a football field out of the classroom
• Computers for student use
• Paper, markers

Resources

http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/treaty.htm

http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/his135/Events/nato49/nato49.html

Nash, Gary B. American Odyssey The 20th Century and Beyond. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.

Winkler, Allan M. The Cold War A History in Documents. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Cold War Info Packet,Football Field