Download Lesson Plan: Cold War Conflicts Unit: Post WWII America and the

Lesson Plan: Cold War Conflicts
Unit: Post WWII America and the Cold War
Designer: Kari Patterson
Lesson __4__ of ___7___
Topic: Korea, Cuban Missile Crisis,
Vietnam, End of Cold War
Teaching Date: 14 and 15 March
Subject/ Course: USII- 1867- Present
Grade Level: 7th
Time Frame: 90 min
Context: Coming right after a lesson focused on the foreign policies/ alliances associated with the Cold War, this lesson
tries to help students put their knowledge of those policies into practice while also helping them understand several
major conflicts of the war. Students are asked to apply various foreign policies to the beginnings of the conflicts, and
then compare their predictions to the actual historical events.
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SOL/ NCSS Objectives
SOL 8c: identifying the role of America’s
military and veterans in defending freedom
during the Cold War, including the wars in
Korea and Vietnam, the Cuban Missile crisis,
the collapse of communism in Europe, and the
rise of new challenges
SOL 1e: evaluate and debate issues orally and
in writing
Materials and Resources
Copies of vocab quiz
PPTs: Cold War Scenarios paragraphs;
vocabulary
Student notes sheet/ graphic organizer
Extra: News footage of collapse of Berlin Wall
(YouTube)
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Objectives
Explain the US’ foreign policy during the Cold
War, including its effects
Apply appropriate foreign policy decisions to
given scenarios
Understand how foreign policies affect a
country’s actions
Take and defend a position, supporting their
ideas with evidence
Essential Question(s)
Was the Cold War really cold?
Time Breakdown:
Bell-ringer/ Intro: 10 min
Vocab Quiz: 15 min
Cold War Scenarios: 45 min
Vocab: 20 min
Instructional Procedures:
Bell-ringer/ Intro:
Homework: None
Bell-ringer: What was the main idea of containment? How was it different from the main idea of the Truman
Doctrine?
Vocab Quiz- Mostly in familiar, matching format, but again will include a few questions (not for grade) that are to be
used in a graduate project.
Cold War Scenarios: Students will read a paragraph describing the background/ “set up” for one Cold War conflict (e.g.,
Berlin Airlift). Will read the text as a group, and discuss—based on foreign policies/ alliances discussed last class—what
action they predict the US might take. After predicting, students will be given the “rest of the story” and compare/
contrast actual events with their predictions. Students will complete same procedure: read, predict, read, discuss/
analyze for four Cold War conflicts: Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War.
Pre- questions:
What’s going on here?
What would you do to enforce/ how is this related to: Domino Theory, Containment, Truman Doctrine? Any
other ideas of what could be done?
What do you think is the best option?
What do you think will happen next?
Post- questions:
What actually happened?
How was it different from our predictions?
Notes: Students will take notes on vocabulary/ terms studied in class today: Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile
Crisis, Berlin Airlift. Also includes a mini-lecture on the collapse of communism/ end of the Cold War. (If extra time: show
video of collapse of the Berlin Wall).
Accommodations/ Modifications:
Assessment
Formative
Summative
 Student completion of in-class discussions and
 Vocabulary Quiz
notes (vocab)
Rationale/ Instructional Fit to Content: I felt that it was important to connect all of the foreign policies that are
discussed in this unit to the important historical events that are also covered; ideally I would have liked to have done a
full-fledged simulation, where the students are given the historical situations and policy options and have to try and
work through to a solution, but with the amount of time that it would take to set up and debrief, I chose to do
something a bit similar, just with more reading!
Results and Reflections:
Attachments: M2 bell-ringer; M2 quiz; Vocab quiz 2; Cold War Conflicts readings; Cold War Conflicts worksheet
M2 Bell-ringer:
The United States is a _________________, which means that citizens can vote and have individual rights. They were a
member of the military alliance called __________________, which was made up of the countries in
____________________ Europe.
The Soviet Union practiced a form of government where all wealth is shared and people don’t have much say, called
_____________________. They were a member of the military alliance called the _____________________, which was
made up of countries in ____________________ Europe.
Vocabulary Quiz (M1/ M2)
Match the vocabulary word to the correct statement for questions 1-5
1. A foreign policy that believed if one country fell
to communism, then all of the countries near it
would also become communist
2. A foreign policy that wanted to keep
communism from spreading to other countries
3. A foreign policy that gave financial aid to
countries in danger of becoming communist
4. The competition between the US and the Soviet
Union to build the most nuclear weapons
5. The military alliance of communist Eastern
European countries
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Match the vocabulary word to the correct
statement for questions 6-11
The military alliance of democratic Western
European countries and the US
The political barrier between Eastern and
Western Europe
Form of government where all wealth is shared,
usually headed by a dictator
Form of government where citizens elect
officials and have individual rights
Forty year conflict between the US and the
Soviet Union; no shots ever fired
The United States and the Soviet Union were
this after the end of WWII
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Arms Race
Containment
Domino Theory
Iron Curtain
Truman Doctrine
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
Cold War
Communism
Democracy
NATO
Superpower
Warsaw Pact
Answer the following question in complete sentences.
12. How would your life be different under communism than under democracy?
Vocabulary Quiz 2
Match the vocabulary word to its definition
1. A foreign policy that believed if one country fell
to communism, then all of the countries near it
would also become communist
2. A foreign policy that wanted to keep
communism from spreading to other countries
3. A foreign policy that gave financial aid to
countries in danger of becoming communist
4. The competition between the US and the Soviet
Union to build the most nuclear weapons
5. The military alliance of communist Eastern
European countries
6. The military alliance of democratic Western
European countries and the US
7. The political barrier between Eastern and
Western Europe
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
Arms Race
Containment
Domino Theory
Iron Curtain
NATO
Truman Doctrine
Warsaw Pact
8. There is a country in Latin America that might soon become communist. The US wants to respond to this using the
idea behind Domino Theory. What should the US do?
A. Continue to build up our military in the area so that we can be ready to fight back against the communists.
B. Make sure that no other countries in the area become communist, because it is most important to keep
communism where it is!
C. Send money to the country to try and get them to be friends with us instead of with the Soviet Union
D. Use any means necessary to keep the country from becoming communist, because if they become
communist other countries will too!
9. There is a country in Latin America that might soon become communist. The US wants to respond to this using the
main idea in the Truman Doctrine. What should the US do?
A. Continue to build up our military in the area so that we can be ready to fight back against the communists.
B. Make sure that no other countries in the area become communist, because it is most important to keep
communism where it is!
C. Send money to the country to try and get them to be friends with us instead of with the Soviet Union
D. Use any means necessary to keep the country from becoming communist, because if they become
communist other countries will too!
10. There is a country in Latin America that might soon become communist. The US wants to respond to this using the
main idea behind Containment. What should the US do?
A. Continue to build up our military in the area so that we can be ready to fight back against the communists.
B. Make sure that no other countries in the area become communist, because it is most important to keep
communism where it is!
C. Send money to the country to try and get them to be friends with us instead of with the Soviet Union
D. Use any means necessary to keep the country from becoming communist, because if they become
communist other countries will too!
Bonus: What is foreign policy? Give an example, and explain why it is a foreign policy.
Cold War Conflicts
Berlin- 1948:
In 1948, a crisis developed in Berlin, Germany’s largest city. After the war, the Allies had divided Germany into four
zones. American, British, French, and Soviet troops each occupied a zone. Berlin, too, was divided among the four Allies,
even though it lay inside the Soviet zone.
By 1948, the United States, Britain, and France wanted to reunite their zones. Stalin opposed that plan. A reunited
Germany, he felt, would again be a threat to the Soviet Union. To show his determination to prevent a united Western
Germany, Stalin closed all roads, railway lines, and river routes connecting Berlin with West Germany. The blockade cut
off West Berlin from the rest of the world. If the United States or other Allied powers tried to force their way through
Eastern Germany to get to Berlin, the Soviet Union would have declared war.
Berlin Airlift
Instead, President Truman approved a huge airlift. During the Berlin Airlift, hundreds of American and British planes
carried tons of food, fuel, and other supplies to the two million West Berliners every day.
The airlift lasted for almost a year. Stalin finally saw that the West would not abandon West Berlin. In May 1949, he
lifted the blockade. After the blockade, the United States, Great Britain, and France merged their zones into the Federal
Republic of Germany, or West Germany.
Korea- 1950
Korea is a peninsula in East Asia. Russia and China border it to the north and the west. Japan lies across the Sea of Japan
to the east. In the past, these powerful neighbors often competed to control Korea.
As World War II ended, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a temporary division of Korea at the 38th
parallel (a line of latitude). Both nations agreed that Korea would soon be reunited.
As the Cold War deepened, however, Korea remained divided. The United States backed a noncommunist government
in South Korea. The Soviet Union supported the communist government of North Korea. There was no agreement on
when, or how, to reunite Korea.
Korean War
In June 1950, North Korean troops swept across the 38th parallel into South Korea. The South Korean army was quickly
overwhelmed. Within days, North Korean forces occupied Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
President Truman responded forcefully to the attack. He asked the United Nations to send a military force to Korea.
Sixteen countries joined the UN action in Korea, but most of the troops were American.
The UN forces pushed the invading army back into North Korea to try and reunite the country, but then the Chinese
entered the war to help the North Koreans. The fighting turned into a bloody deadlock, with neither side winning. After
three years, a peace agreement was signed that kept Korea divided at the 38th parallel—where it had been before the
war!
Cuba- 1962
In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution that set up a communist government in Cuba. The Soviet Union began supplying
Cuba with large amounts of aid. The growing ties between the Soviet Union and Castro’s Cuba worried American
officials. Cuba lies just 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy approved a plan for Cuban exiles (people who have been forced to leave their own
country) to overthrow Castro. This invasion was badly planned, and its failure only made Castro stronger.
Afterwards, the Soviet Union gave Cuba more weapons. In October 1962, President Kennedy learned that the Soviets
were secretly building missile bases on Cuba. If the bases were completed, atomic missiles could reach American cities
within minutes.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy announced that American warships would stop any Soviet ship carrying missiles. The world waited tensely as
Soviet ships steamed toward Cuba. At the last minute, the Soviet ships turned back. “We’re eyeball to eyeball,” said
Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “and I think the other fellow just blinked.”
Kennedy’s strong stand led the Soviets to compromise. The Soviets agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba. In return,
the US promised not to invade the island. In all the years of the Cold War, the world never came closer to a full-scale
nuclear war.
Vietnam- 1960s
Vietnam is a narrow country that stretches about 1,000 miles along the South China Sea. In 1954, Vietnam won its
independence from France and was divided into communist North Vietnam and democratic South Vietnam. But many
people in South Vietnam felt that their leader was corrupt, so they began to join the Vietcong, a group of guerrilla
fighters who supported communism (guerrilla fighters use hit-and-run attacks on the enemy and don’t wear uniforms).
Vietcong influence quickly spread throughout South Vietnam, especially in villages, and this worried American leaders.
Vietnam War
In August 1964, President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked an American ship off
the coast of North Vietnam. Because of this, the US began to actively fight in Vietnam. Fighting in Vietnam was difficult,
because the guerrilla fighters could disappear into the jungle or into villages. In January 1968, the Vietcong launched
surprise attacks on cities across South Vietnam, including the American embassy. As the war dragged on, public support
for the war faded. Under pressure from the American people, President Nixon began to withdraw troops from Vietnam.
In 1973, a cease-fire agreement was reached and all American troops left Vietnam. However, in April 1975, North
Vietnamese troops captured South Vietnam’s capital city. Soon after, Vietnam was united under a communist
government.
Cold War Conflicts
Berlin- 1948
Summary of the situation:
Containment
Truman Doctrine
What’s our best option?
Domino Theory
Other ideas
What might happen next?
What REALLY happened!
Korea- 1950
Summary of the situation:
Containment
Truman Doctrine
What’s our best option?
What REALLY happened!
Domino Theory
What might happen next?
Other ideas
Cuba- 1962
Summary of the situation:
Containment
Truman Doctrine
What’s our best option?
Domino Theory
Other ideas
What might happen next?
What REALLY happened!
Vietnam- 1960s
Summary of the situation:
Containment
Truman Doctrine
What’s our best option?
What REALLY happened!
Domino Theory
What might happen next?
Other ideas