GOLD
SEAL
LESSON
LESSON TITLE
Subject(s)
Rigor/Relevance
th
IB-DP – 20
Framework
Century World
History
Unit: The Cold War
Lesson: Fall of the
Berlin Wall
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2 3 4
Application
5
Grade Level 11-12
Instructional
Focus
Student
Learning
Reading
Students read a variety of grade level materials, applying strategies appropriate to
various situations
Writing
Students write for a variety of purposes and audiences with sophistication and
complexity appropriate to the grade level.
Listening
Students listen for a variety of purposes appropriate to the grade level.
Speaking
Students speak for a variety of purposes and audiences with sophistication and
complexity appropriate to the grade level.
History and Technology
Students develop skills in using technology and recognize the relationship
between technology and history, including its potential and limits.
Turning Points
Students examine the significance of multiple causation and effects of major
events in world history.
Patterns of Change
Students recognize patterns of social, political and economic change in the course
of human history.
Critical Interpretation
Students demonstrate the ability to consult and apply primary and secondary
sources in determining historical fact.
Students will:
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Students will read the book When the Wall Came Down: The
Berlin Wall and the Fall of Soviet Communism by Serge
Schmemann and compare its themes to their knowledge of the
Berlin Wall and how its existence and destruction affected
people on both sides of it.
Examine the events behind the destruction of the Berlin Wall
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Performance
Task
and the continued struggles to truly unify the former East
Germany and West Germany by researching and reading:
Concrete Curtain: The Life and Death of the Berlin Wall
(http://www.wall-berlin.org/); The Ghost of the Wall
(http://cbc.ca/national/magazine/berlin/index.html); and The
Berlin Wall: Ten Years After
(http://www.pathfinder.com/time/daily/special/berlin/opener.h
tml)
Explore, through small group research, the possible views of
different types of people living in East Germany and West
Germany while the Berlin Wall still stood regarding
numerous aspects of life in Germany as well as views towards
other countries; create characters from the research conducted
and write character sketches describing how their characters
feel about these issues.
Write diary entries from the perspectives of their characters
upon learning that the Berlin Wall would no longer divide
Germany.
Pair with classmates representing the opposing German side;
analyze , using their character sketches as guides, how their
characters might have reacted to each other had they met upon
the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
Create, in pairs, written dialogues, pairs of monologues, short
stories, or other written pieces that present the meeting of the
two people they represent, include both people’s views of the
aspect of Germany researched as well as speculation on what
the future of an undivided Germany might bring.
Write a reflection paper examining the aspects of German
culture before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. What
elements of East and West German culture are now unified?
What remain separated, and why? Do they recognize any of
the aspects in their own culture?
Overview
In this lesson, students examine the events behind the destruction of the
Berlin Wall and the continued struggles to truly unify the former East
Germany and West Germany. In small groups, students research the
possible views of different types of people living in East Germany and
West Germany while the Berlin Wall still stood, exploring perspectives on
numerous aspects of life in Germany as well as views towards other
countries. Students then create characters based on their research, who
then meet people from the other side of the Wall (students’ characters
representing the other side) upon its falling. Finally, pairs document the
meeting of these people in a written piece, including both people’s views
of the aspects of Germany researched as well as speculation on what the
future of an undivided Germany might bring. Students reflect upon the
affect upon the German culture and their own.
Description
1. Facilitate a discussion about walls and ask the question – What
types of walls exist today, both physically and metaphorically,
and why? Explain to the students that we will be looking at the
history behind the Berlin Wall and how its existence and
destruction affected people on both sides of it. How do physical
and metaphorical walls relate to them?
2. The book, When the Wall Came Down: The Berlin Wall and the
Fall of Soviet Communism by Serge Schmemann, was previously
assigned for outside reading. As a class read the first chapter of
the book focusing on the following questions.
a. What reactions might people on either side of the Berlin Wall have
had the news of the wall coming down?
b. What decision did Serge Schmemann have to make upon hearing
this news, and what did he do?
c. How did international politics affect the fall of the Berlin Wall?
d. According to chancellor Gerhard Schroder, why is Germany a
“great European Power?”
e. How do patriotic feeling toward Germany by former East and West
Germans differ, and how does this affect their unity as a nation? Why
do these feeling still exist”?
f. What is NATO, and how is it a dividing factor between former East
and West Germans?
g. What events beginning in October of 1989 are described in the
book and what caused this turn of events?
h. What happened after the news conference on November 9, 1989?
How did these events affect the decision to open the gates?
i. How did the unification of East and West Germany affect the
economic strength of Germany, and why?
j. Why does a banner outside the Alexanderplatz in East Germany
read “we Were the People,” and how does this banner reflect
sentiments that existed and still exist between the two sides of
Germany until 1989? How do the t-shirts sold nearby oppose this
banner? How are these two items symbols of Germany’s struggle to
become fully unified?
3. Students are given class time to research and examine events
behind the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the continued
struggles to truly unify the former East Germany and West
Germany by researching and reading web sites.
4. Explain to students that now that they have some background
knowledge on the historical significance of the Berlin Wall and its
destruction, they will exam the views that people on each side
might have had about various aspects of life in Germany while the
Wall existed.
5. As a class, brainstorm on the board the different types of people
who existed on each side who may have had definite opinions
about their divided country (possible people would include border
guards, soldiers, government officials, people with family on the
other side, and people with children.)
6. Students draw a red or blue piece of paper from a hat or bag. Once
all students have drawn their paper, explain that those with red
will be representing the East German side, and those with blue
will be representing the West German side. Ask students to get
into pairs or groups of three with people on their “side” of the
Wall (so that groups will be entirely East German or West
German). Then, ask each small group to choose a type of person
from the brainstorm on the board for research on how this type of
person might have felt about various aspects of Germany during
the time that the Wall existed. No two groups on the same “side”
of the Wall should represent the same type of person (e.g. there
should not be two East German guard groups.)
7.
HOMEWORK: Using all available resource materials, each small group
investigates the different ways that their person on their side of the
Berlin Wall may have felt about the following aspects of life in Germany
(written on the board for students to copy prior to leaving class):
--people on the other side of the Berlin Wall
--the German government
--national identity
--housing
--employment opportunities
--NATO
--other countries
Students should recognize that not all people on one side of the Wall had
identical feelings, so they should write down as many different
possibilities for each category as they can. For example, an East German
guard might be very serious about his work but have family in West
Germany, so he may be a bit more sympathetic to those on the other side
of the Wall. After research is complete, each student should imagine that
he or she is one of these people researched, choosing how their
"character" would view each of these different aspects. Students can
invent stories surrounding their characters, but they should make sure
that the facts that they include from their research are accurate and
realistic. They should prepare, in some way, a written description of
their characters' views about each topic researched to bring to the next
class.
8. In their journals, students respond to the following (written on the board
prior to class): "Imagine that you are the character you have created
through your research and your homework. The date is November 9,
1989. The Politburo has just announced that East Germans could now
freely travel to the west side of the Berlin Wall, and vice versa. The wall
that has stood between the two sides of Berlin for approximately 28
years is being destroyed. What thoughts do you have as you process this
historic event? Write a diary entry in your journal, in your character's
voice, about your reflections." Students may then share their writing.
9. Hand out pieces of red and blue paper to students based on the side that
they took in the research activity (red to all students on the East side and
blue to all students on the West side). Then, ask students to stand up and
hold their papers up so that everyone can see the color. Have students
pair up, one red and one blue per pair, and have them sit together in the
classroom. Then, explain that they have just met, for the first time in 28
years, someone from the other side of the Wall. Each student reads his or
her character's views to the other person. Then, the pair discusses how
these two people might have reacted to each other given these views had
they really met upon the destruction of the Wall. Students should
brainstorm all of the possible issues that might arise between these two
people, as well as points on which they would agree.
10. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Each pair of students creates a written
dialogue, pair of monologues, short story, or other written piece that
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Essential
Skills
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Assessment
presents the meeting of the two people they represent. They should
include both people's views of the aspects of Germany researched, as
well as speculation on what the future of an undivided Germany might
bring. Writings should be performed in a future class. The reflection
paper is also assigned as homework.
Analyze how people’s culture and experience in one place or region
influence perceptions of peoples from other places and regions.
Interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event
unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
Identify bias and prejudice in historical or modern interpretations of
people, places, or events.
Identify connections between particular historical events and larger
social, economic, and political trends and developments.
Evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative
interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of
evidence and the distinctions between sound generalization and
misleading oversimplification.
Students will be evaluated based on analysis of the book chapter,
participation in class discussions, participation in group research, realistic
character development based on research, written diary entry from
character's perspective, written piece documenting the meeting of a
character from the other side of the Berlin Wall upon its fall, and final
reflection. Rubrics and observation will be used.
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Standards
Source of Standards:
Wisconsin Model Academic Standards
www.dpi.state.wi.us/standards/index.html
B.12.1 Explain different points of view on the same historical event, using data
gathered from various sources, such as letters, journals, diaries, newspapers,
government documents, and speeches
B.12.2 Analyze primary and secondary sources related to a historical question to
evaluate their relevance, make comparisons, integrate new information with prior
knowledge, and come to a reasoned conclusion
B.12.3 Recall, select, and analyze significant historical periods and the
relationships among them
B.12.4 Assess the validity of different interpretations of significant historical
events
B.12.5 Gather various types of historical evidence, including visual and
quantitative data, to analyze issues of freedom and equality, liberty and order,
region and nation, individual and community, law and conscience, diversity and
civic duty; form a reasoned conclusion in the light of other possible conclusions;
and develop a coherent argument in the light of other possible arguments
C.12.2 Describe how different political systems define and protect individual
human rights
C.12.8 Locate, organize, analyze, and use information from various sources to
understand an issue of public concern, take a position, and communicate the
position
E.12.6 Analyze the means by which and extent to which groups and institutions
can influence people, events, and cultures in both historical and contemporary
settings
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