Download the student will discuss the origins and consequences of the Cold War.

Sample Assessment Items
This is not meant to be printed off and given as a test…this document is to give you ideas
of how this standard might be assessed. Please use these as an example when you are
developing your own formative assessments. Remember formative assessment is to be
given throughout the teaching of a standard to help you guide your instruction based on
students needs. A good formative assessment should have a mix of multiple choice as
well as open ended.
SS5H7 the student will discuss the origins and consequences of the Cold War.
a. Explain the origin and meaning of the term “Iron Curtain”.
b. Explain how the United States sought to stop the spread of communism through
the Berlin airlift, the Korean War, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
c. Identify Joseph McCarthy and Nikita Khrushchev.
Multiple Choice:
Communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe were separated by an
imaginary line. This line was known as the ____________________.
a. Berlin Wall
b. Iron Curtain
c. Great Divide
d. Chisholm Trail
Answer: b
After World War II, the United States signed several treaties with foreign countries. These
treaties called for the nations that signed them to protect each other, even if an enemy
attacked only one of them. Which factor caused the United States to sign the treaties?
a. the growing sense of trust between China and Soviet Union
b. the growing threat of the former Soviet Union and world communism
c. the outbreak of many revolutions in South America and Latin America
d. the failure of United States troops to fight effectively in World War II
Answer: b
In 1950, the United States and other countries from the United Nations became involved
in the Korean War. What was the cause of this war?
a. North Korea attacked China to spread communism.
b. South Korea wanted to drive out troops from Vietnam.
c. North Korea attacked South Korea to spread communism.
d. South Korea attacked North Korea to spread democracy.
Answer: c
After World War II, tension between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated.
Many feared this could lead to a nuclear war. What was this period called?
a. the cold war
b. the world crisis
c. the Soviet scare
d. the War on Terror
Answer: a
Stalin wanted the western allies out of Berlin. His army surrounded West Berlin and would
not let nay supplies in or out. How did the United States continue to get supplies across
Soviet lines?
a. the Berlin airlift
b. the Iron Curtain
c. the Marshall Plan
d. the Berlin bomber
Answer: a
During the 1950s, which U.S. senator became convinced that communists were trying to
gain control of the U.S. government?
a. Harry Truman
b. John F. Kennedy
c. Joseph McCarthy
d. Nikita Khrushchev
Answer: c
Which of these was a cause of the Korean War (1950-1953)?
a. South Korea invaded North Korea.
b. North Korea blockaded goods from South Korea.
c. South Korea became an ally of the Soviet Union.
d. North Korea embraced communism while South Korea chose democracy.
Answer: d
Nikita Khrushchev was MOST known in the United States for his actions in which of these
events?
a. World War II
b. Vietnam War
c. the Cold War
d. the Moon Landing
Answer: c
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. President ____ and Soviet leader ____ almost took the
world into a nuclear war.
a. Carter, Brezhnev
b. Reagan, Gorbachev
c. Johnson, Khrushchev
d. Kennedy, Khrushchev
Answer: d
Open ended:
What was the Iron Curtain?
What were the consequences of the United States’ decision to fly food and supplies to
Berlin in 1948? Would it create friends and enemies?
Why did the United States help form NATO?
What effect did fear of communism have on the United States?
Why did the United States organize the Berlin airlift in 1948–1949?