Course Goal: The goal of this unit is to show the students the threat of communism and
nuclear war in the 1960’s. It is meant to display diplomatic relations between countries
and tensions between enemies which ultimately nearly led to a nuclear confrontation in
1962.
Concepts and People:
Ballistic missile
John F. Kennedy
Fidel Castro
Communism
Bay of Pigs
Nikita Khrushchev
Adlai Stevenson
U-2
Robert McNamara
Western Hemisphere
Robert F. Kennedy
ExComm
Moscow-Washington Hotline
Cuba
United States of America
Soviet Union
Blockade
Quarantine
Specific Objectives:
1. Students should be able to identify the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union on a
map.
2. Students should be able to explain and understand the threat of communism to the
Western Hemisphere and why the United States perceived Castro as a threat.
3. Student will be able to identify Kennedy’s opinions to as to what to do with the Soviet
missiles in Cuba.
4. Students will be able to identify the choice Kennedy made, why he made it, and the
outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
5. Given a lecture and several videos over the crisis, the students will be able to write a
one to two page paper explaining the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis, evaluating
Kennedy’s choices on what to do, and to evaluate the possible outcomes of each of
Kennedy’s possible choices and the effects that each might have had on the world as a
whole.
Activities:
1. To introduce the topic, have the students prepare a brief written paragraph on what
they would do if they thought the world would end today. Discuss in class.
2. Do a Simulation of the Cuban Missile Crisis in Class before I present the material.
(It’d be more fun to see what the students would do before they know what actually
happened.)
3. Give the students a lecture over the Cuban Missile Crisis using PowerPoint. This
lecture will include many pictures, maps, and a timeline in order for the students to gain
better understanding of the material.
4. Show the students two ten minute documentaries on the Cuban Missile Crisis which I
have taken from youtube.com
5. Give the students instructions for a one to two page paper on the events of the Cuban
Missile Crisis, evaluating Kennedy’s choices on what to do, and to evaluate the possible
outcomes of each of Kennedy’s possible choices and the effects that each might have had
on the world as a whole.
6. Review the Cuban Missile Crisis in Class prior to a quiz on it or test on the time
period as a whole.
Evaluation: Have the students write a paper over the Cuban Missile Crisis (details in the
activities section) and have the students take a quiz over the Cuban Missile Crisis.