Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
Unit 5: The Cold War Era Part I -1945-1975
Goal:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of American foreign and domestic policy during the
Cold War.
Students will assess the social, cultural and technological changes in American Society during
the Cold War Era.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the impact of Civil Rights on American Society.
Big Idea (s):
Cold War
 The Cold War was a period of tension between the United States and the Soviet
Union that influenced United States foreign and domestic policy.
 Cold War foreign policy was dominated by an American attempt to contain
communism.
 Patriotism during the Cold War era became identified with anti-communism and
perceived internal threats.
 The United States experienced an economic boom and social transformation in the Cold
War period.
Civil Rights
 Civil Rights are legal protections against discrimination. The struggle for racial
equality and for the extension of civil liberties intensified during the Cold War
period.
 The Civil Rights Movement was one of activism and civil disobedience which drew
attention to the needs of discriminated groups.
 The Civil Rights movement brought about significant constitutional, legal, and
social reforms.
Cultural and Social Changes
 New technology, media and mass marketing changed American Culture during the
Cold War era
 The United States experienced an economic boom and social transformation in the
Cold War period.
Essential Question (s):
 Cold War
o What was the Cold War? What was the impact on foreign policy?
o How did the fear of communism affect American foreign and domestic policy?
o How do governments justify curtailing civil liberties in the name of freedom?
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Civil Rights
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
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o What are Civil Rights?
o What was the Civil Rights Movement?
o What changes were brought about by the Civil Rights movement?
Cultural and Social Changes
o How did technology, mass advertising and new media (film, radio, television)
impact American culture?
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
Literacy 1. Define and apply key
vocabulary/concepts: Cold War, Truman
Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Containment, Domino
Theory, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis,
Communism, McCarthyism, segregation,
desegregation, Civil Rights Movement, Brown
vs. Board of Education, Civil Rights Act,
Voting Act.
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11.17
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Paraphrase/summarize
Compare/contrast
Classify
Categorize
Discuss/explain
Illustrate
Demonstrate
Reflect/relate
Infer
Analyze causes, events and
consequences of the Cold War on
American economic, social, political,
and cultural life.
Causes, costs and consequences of the Cold
War:
o Fear of Communism/fear of Atomic
attack
o McCarthyism
o Mutual distrust (U.S./Soviet)
o Civil rights changes
o Women and family
o Technological changes
o Cultural Changes
o Economic changes
As evidenced by oral, written, and/or
performance:
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Vocabulary journals
Narrative descriptions
2-3 Column Notes (i.e.
term/definition/illustrate/paraphrase/rel
ate)
Lincs/Frayer
Visual representation (i.e concept
diagram/map, graph, chart, drawing,
poster, comic strip, cartoon)
Discussion
Oral presentation
Short answer
(H) Essay
(H) Make judgments and inferences
related to the historical novel.
An analysis of the causes, major events,
and impact of the Cold War on
American economic, social, political, and
cultural life.
(H) Evaluate how public perception was
influenced by government policy and
media.
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
11.18 Discuss changes in the direction of U.S.
foreign policy related to the Cold War.
 Truman Doctrine
 Marshall Plan
 Containment
 Domino Theory
 Korean War
 Cuban Missile Crisis
11.19 Evaluate the impact of innovation in mass
media and technology.
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Air Conditioning
Television & Media
Science/medicine (penicillin/polio vaccine,
plastics)
Transportation- Highway system/ Automobile
Space race/ Sputnik/ Moon-landing
Medicine
Agricultural technology
11.20 Analyze the origins and assess the
impact of the Civil Rights Movement
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Influential individuals and civil rights
advocates: i.e. Martin Luther King,
Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, the Freedom
Riders and Cesar Chavez.
Significant legislation and court cases: i.e.
Brown v. Board of Ed, Civil Rights Act of
1957 and 1964, Voting Rights Acts of 1965
and 24th Amendment.
Significant events: i.e.
segregation/desegregation, Bus Boycott,
Selma March, Little Rock, University of
Mississippi, March on Washington, Watts
Riots, assassination of M.L.K.
Role of African American political groups:
i.e. NAACP, SCLC and SNCC
A summary of the changes in U.S.
foreign policy related to the Cold War.
A description identifying innovations and a
defense of a position on the most
significant of innovation in mass media and
technology on American society.
An analysis of the origins and a critique
of the impact of the Civil Rights
movement.
(H) Prioritize major events the Civil
Rights Era by importance and justify
your position.
Resources: Bringing History Alive, TCI United States History Program
Cold War
American Nation-Ch. 18
American History Political Cartoon 26
Literature Reading 18
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
America: Pathways-Ch. 27
Geography and History-A Cold War Confrontation
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 18,
Guided Reading-Origins of the Cold War, the Cold War Comes Home
Primary Source-Harry Truman’s Letter to His Daughter
Humanities Transparencies-California Bomb Shelter, Political Cartoon
Critical Thinking Transparencies-The Cold War, The Space Race
Literature-Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
The Origins of the Cold War, A Unit of Study for Grades 10-12, NCHS and OAH.
Rosenberg Trial
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/rosenb/ROSENB.HTM
CNN Specials-Cold War
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/
The Cold War Museum
http://www.coldwar.org/
American Nation-Ch. 18, Sec. 2; Ch. 20, Sec. 1
Primary Source Reading 18
Geography Activity 20
America: Pathways-Ch 28, Sec. 3
Primary Sources: On the Cold War p. 153
(Pathways manual p. 742)
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 18, 20 sec. 1
Geography Application-Divided Germany and the Berlin Wall.
Primary Source-Political Cartoon
Video-Thirteen Days, The Missiles of October
CNN Specials-Cold War
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/
The Cold War Museum
http://www.coldwar.org/
1950’s Culture
American Nation-Ch. 19, Sec. 1-2; Ch. 20, Sec. 3; Ch. 22, Sec. 3-4
Geography Activity 19
Literature Reading 22
America: Pathways-Ch. 27, Sec. 1
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
Suburban explosion, p. 772-3
Literature Activity: Conformity in the 1950s, p.76
Primary Sources: On Rock and Roll - R
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 19, 23 Sec. 3
Primary Sources-Cartoon
Geography Application-The Baby Boom
Skillbuilder-Comparing & Contrasting
Primary Sources-Popular Song
Literature-Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
The Fifties Web
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/
Levittown-Suburbs
http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/Levittown/index.html
American Nation Ch. 19, Sec. 2
America: Pathways-Ch. 28, Sec. 1
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 27, Sec. 2; Ch. 28, Sec. 2-3
Primary Sources-Unsafe at Any Speed
Geography Transparencies-G27
Humanities Transparencies-H42
Critical Thinking Transparencies-CT61
Inventors
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/
Fifties Web
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/
Civil Rights
American Nation- Ch. 19, Sec. 3; Ch. 21
Graphic Organizer 19, 21
Literature Reading 19, 21
America: Pathways-Ch. 27 Sect. 4, Ch. 29
Literature Activity: SNCC Workers, p. 78
Primary Sources: On School Integration, p. 151
On the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement p. 161
Decision-Making Activity-Integrating the University of Georgia
*Honors-The Americans-Ch. 21
Primary Source-Crisis in Little Rock, Civil Rights Song, “I Have A Dream”
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
Literature-Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, Harper Lee’s To Kill A
Mockingbird
Video-The Murder of Emmett Till, American Experience, PBS Video
Stride for Freedom: The Aftermath of the Brown vs. Board of Education, A Unit of Study
for Grades 9-12, NCHS and OAH.
Reporting Civil Rights
http://www.reportingcivilrights.org/
Martin Luther King-Seattle Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/
Telling Their Stories- Oral History Archive Project
http://www.tellingstories.org/mccomb/index.html
Extension Activity:
Scavenger Hunt for examples of Cold War tensions in American pop culture.
Teacher(s) Designed Formative
Assessment(s)
Developed at school-level.
District-wide Trimester Assessment(s)
http://sde-cthsi/DWTA/academic.html
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
Concepts
Skills
Students need to know about:
Students need to be able to do:
Literacy 1. Cold War, Truman Doctrine,
Define and apply (Cold War, Truman
Marshall Plan, Containment, Domino Theory,
Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis,
Communism, McCarthyism, segregation,
desegregation, Civil Rights Movement, Brown
vs. Board of Education, Civil Rights Act,
Voting Act.
Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Containment,
Domino Theory, Korean War, Cuban
Missile Crisis, Communism,
McCarthyism, segregation, desegregation,
Civil Rights Movement, Brown vs. Board
of Education, Civil Rights Act, Voting
Act).
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11.17 Causes, events and consequences of the
Cold War on American economic, social,
political, and cultural life.
Fear of Communism/fear of Atomic attack
McCarthyism
Mutual distrust (U.S./Soviet)
Civil rights changes
Women and family
Technological changes
Cultural Changes
Economic changes
Paraphrase/summarize
Compare/contrast
Classify
Categorize
Discuss/explain
Illustrate
Demonstrate
Reflect/relate
Infer
Analyze (causes, events and consequences
of the Cold War on American economic,
social, political, and cultural life).
Organize (key events into a timeline)
Map (Cold War alliances)
Compose (story board on Cold War
issues)
Support and defend (a position on the
guilt or innocence of the Rosenbergs)
Analyze (primary sources)
Create (resume)
11.18 Changes in the direction of U.S. foreign
policy related to the Cold War:
Discuss (changes in the direction of U.S.
foreign policy related to the Cold War)
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Define (key terms)
Role play (Khruschev vs. Kennedy)
Critique (changes in U.S. foreign policy)
Analyze (data, graphs, charts.)
Truman Doctrine
Marshall Plan
Containment
Domino Theory
Korean War
Cuban Missile Crisis
International Alliances/Organizations
(NATO, Warsaw Pact, United Nations)
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.
Connecticut Technical High School System
Modern American History 6/28/11
11.19
Automation
Mass media
Technology
Commercialism
11.20
 Influential individuals and civil rights
advocates: Martin Luther King, Malcolm
X, Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders and
Cesar Chavez.
 Significant legislation and court cases:
Brown v. Board of Ed, Civil Rights Act of
1957 and 1964, Voting Rights Acts of 1965
and 24th Amendment.
 Significant events:
segregation/desegregation, Bus Boycott,
Selma March, Little Rock, University of
Mississippi, March on Washington, Watts
Riots.
 Role of African American political groups:
NAACP, SCLC and SNCC
 Assassination of Martin Luther King
Explain (impact of highway system)
Debate (issue-vaccinations then and now)
Research and analyze impact (significant
technological advancement)
Analyze (primary sources)
Compose (journal entries)
Analyze (court case/legislation)
Timeline with analysis of significant
events.
Select and analyze (MLK speech)
Research, role play or discussion
(significant individuals, political groups,
meeting between Malcolm X and Martin
Luther King)
(H) Honors: Honors students will complete assignments during the trade cycle.