The Berlin Wall: Its History and Legacy
Tara Sides
Greenville, SC
UNIT OVERVIEW
This series of lessons will use a variety of methods to introduce students to the history of the Berlin Wall. It
will guide students to develop their opinions of the legacy of the wall.
GRADE LEVEL
This lesson is appropriate for middle school. However, it could be easily adapted for upper elementary or
high school students.
UNIT OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
‰ Discuss the history of the Berlin Wall
‰ Identify important events as they relate to the Berlin Wall
‰ Analyze primary source documents
‰ Classify documents
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE STANDARDS
Standard 7-6: : The student will demonstrate an understanding of international developments in the post–
World War II world, including the impact of the Cold War on the world.
Indicator 7-6.2: Summarize the events of the Cold War, including the Soviet domination of Eastern
Europe; the rise of the Communist party in China; the building of the Berlin wall; the economic and political
competition for influence in Vietnam and Korea; the Cuban missile crisis; the revolutionary movements in
Africa; the development of new military, nuclear, and space technology; and the threat of nuclear
annihilation.
NATIONAL SOICIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
STRAND: Time, Continuity, and Change
a. demonstrate an understanding that different scholars may describe the same event or situation in
different ways but must provide reasons or evidence for their views;
b. identify and use key concepts such as chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to
explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity;
c. identify and describe selected historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures,
such as the rise of civilizations, the development of transportation systems, the growth and
breakdown of colonial systems, and others;
d. identify and use processes important to reconstructing and reinterpreting the past, such as using a
variety of sources, providing, validating, and weighing evidence for claims, checking credibility of
sources, and searching for causality;
e. develop critical sensitivities such as empathy and skepticism regarding attitudes, values, and
behaviors of people in different historical contexts;
f. use knowledge of facts and concepts drawn from history, along with methods of historical inquiry,
to inform decision making about and action-taking on public issues.
ESTIMATED TIME
Five days in a 50-minute class period that meets on a daily basis
UNIT MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
‰ The Butter Battle Book, Dr. Seuss (This can be obtained at the library or any reputable book
seller), Lesson 1
‰ Rubric for Visual Assessment, Lesson 1
‰ Digital Story: The Berlin Wall: Its History and Legacy, Lesson 1
‰ Graphic Organizer, Lesson 2
‰ Picture A, Lesson 2
‰ K-W-L Chart, Lesson 2
‰ Primary Source Analysis Chart, Lesson 3
‰ Self-assessment of individual and group contributions, Lesson 3
‰ Document A: Application for Entry into the GDR, Lesson 3
‰ Document B: Application for Leaving the GDR, Lesson 3
‰ Document C: Counting Card, Lesson 3
‰ Document D: Berlin City Map, 1961, Lesson 3
‰ Document E: Excerpt from Ronald Reagan’s speech, Lesson 3
‰ Document F: Excerpt from John F. Kennedy’s speech, Lesson 3
‰ Paper
‰ Colored pencils, magic markers, crayons
‰ Glue
ASSESSMENT
A variety of assessments will be used to assess student understanding.
LESSON ONE: The Butter Battle War
LESSON OVERVIEW
Students will be introduced to the idea of the Berlin Wall through the Dr. Seuss children’s book, The
Butter Battle Book. Students will illustrate a theme from the book.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
‰ Activate prior knowledge connected to the Berlin Wall
‰ Participate in a class discussion based on the book’s themes
‰ Create a picture that illustrates the intention of the story
ESTIMATED TIME
One 50-minute class period
MATERIALS
‰ The Butter Battle Book, Dr. Seuss
‰ Paper
‰ Colored pencils, crayons, or magic markers
‰ The Butter Battle Book Rubric
PROCEDURE
Before students arrive, arrange your class desks in a circle or semi-circle. This arrangement will promote
student discussion of the material and student-to-student interaction.
1. Introduce The Butter Battle Book to the students. Tell them that today they will be using one of
Dr. Seuss’ most controversial books to explore a topic related to world history.
2. Encourage students to write their impressions of the plot as you are reading to them. These
questions can be written on the overhead to help focus students’ thinking: What is happening in
the story? Why are the people unhappy? What is the solution to the problem?
3. After reading the story, give students a few minutes to reflect on the story and respond to the
following question: Does this story remind you of any events in World History? Give evidence to
support your answer.
4. Use student responses to facilitate a discussion among students. As the discussion facilitator,
lead the discussion to the Cold War and Berlin Wall.
5. At the conclusion of the discussion, assess student comprehension of the book by having
students create a visual image of the important themes of The Butter Battle Book.
ASSESSMENT
Use the rubric to assess the student picture.
The Butter Battle Book, Dr. Seuss
Theme in Pictures
Criteria
The picture shows a significant understanding of the book’s themes.
The picture focuses on the overall main idea of the book.
The picture is exceptionally neat and visually appealing.
The picture is colored.
Exceptional work is evident!
The picture shows an adequate understanding of the book’s themes.
The picture focuses on illustrates ideas that impact the theme.
The picture is neat.
The picture is colored.
Good work is evident!
The picture shows a slight understanding of the book’s themes.
The picture focuses on non-essential ideas.
The picture is not neat.
The picture has little or no color.
Average work is evident!
The picture shows no understanding of the themes of the book.
The picture does not relate to the book.
The picture does is not neat.
The picture is not colored.
The picture is incomplete.
Unsatisfactory work is evident!
Point Value
Student Self
Assessment
Teacher
Assessment
4
(A/ 93-100)
3
(B/ 92- 84)
2
(C/ 83-77)
1
(D/ 76-70
or
F/ 69- below)
Student Notes:
____________________________________________________________________________
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Teacher Notes:
____________________________________________________________________________
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LESSON TWO: The Berlin Wall: Its History and Legacy
LESSON OVERVIEW
Students will be exposed to the history of the Berlin Wall through a digital story. Students will create a timeline of
important events related to the Berlin Wall.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
‰ Activate prior knowledge connected to the Berlin Wall
‰ Examine a digital story about the Berlin Wall
‰ Create a chronology of important events related to the Berlin Wall
ESTIMATED TIME
One to two 50-minute class periods depending on whether students create the timeline in class.
MATERIALS
‰ Digital story
‰ Graphic Organizer
‰ K-W-L Chart transparency
‰ Transparency of Picture A
‰ Paper
‰ Colored pencils, crayons, or magic markers
PROCEDURE
1. Review discussion from the day before about The Butter Battle Book. Have students share their theme
pictures.
2. Tell students that yesterday they mentioned the Berlin Wall as part of their class discussion. Today our
lesson is focusing on the history and legacy of the Berlin Wall.
3. Create a class list that shows everything the class knows about the Berlin Wall. (This is important to
activate prior knowledge of the subject.) (K-W-L Chart)
4. Have students create a list of questions of what they want to learn. (This will guide you on what points of
these lessons and discussions to emphasize with your students.) Refer to this list as you teach and
explore with your students.
5. Tell students they will be watching a digital story about the Berlin Wall. As they watch and listen to the
story is important they complete graphic organizer.( The graphic organizer will help students organize
their thoughts and stay focused on the digital story.)
6. After watching the digital, lead a class discussion. Use the graphic organizer as a basis for the
discussion.
7. After discussing with the students have them construct a simple timeline that explains the history of the
Berlin Wall. Encourage students to list each event and draw a picture to symbolize the event.
8. As an additional extension, make a transparency of Picture A. Project it on the wall and have students
dramatize the tearing down of the wall by taking the roles of people in the picture.
ASSESSMENT
The timeline or graphic organizer would be excellent assessments for this lesson.
K
(What I know)
W
(What I want to know)
L
(What I learned)
Transparency A
http://www.andreas.com/berlin.html
LESSON THREE: Constructing Meaning from Documents
LESSON OVERVIEW
Students will use their knowledge of the Berlin Wall to analyze documents related to the wall.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
‰
Examine primary source documents
‰
Analyze primary source documents
‰
Work cooperatively in groups
ESTIMATED TIME
One to two 50-minute class periods depending on your students
MATERIALS
‰ Copies of the primary source documents for each cooperative learning group, Documents A-F
‰ Primary Source Analysis Chart (one copy per group)
‰ Self assessment of individual and group contributions
PROCEDURE
1. Review student timelines from the day before. Invite students to share their timelines.
2. Introduce the activity. Explain to students that they will be working in cooperative learning groups.
Each group will be given a set of documents related to the Berlin Wall to analyze. In their groups
they need to examine the documents and complete the chart.
3. At the conclusion of the activity, have students share their responses.
ASSESSMENT
Student Self-assessment of individual and group contributions
Primary Source Analysis Chart
Document A
Application for Entry into the GDR
This document had to be filled out by West Berliners in order to visit East Berlin or East Germany.
Document B
Application to Leave the GDR
East German residents had to complete this application in order to visit Western countries.
Document C
Counting Card
This card had to filled out for statistical reasons when leaving and entering the GDR.
Document D
Berlin City Map
Document E
Excerpt from Ronald Reagan’s Speech
June12, 1987
Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America. I understand that it is
being seen and heard as well in the East. To those listening throughout Eastern Europe, I extend my warmest
greetings and the good will of the American people. To those listening in East Berlin, a special word: Although
I cannot be with you, I address my remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me. For I
join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin.
[There is only one Berlin.]
Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that
divides the entire continent of Europe. From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of
barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guardtowers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall.
But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same--still a restriction on the right to travel, still an
instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state. Yet it is here in Berlin
where the wall emerges most clearly; here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television
screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world. Standing before the
Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to
look upon a scar.
And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom.
We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been
released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have
been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control. Are these the beginnings of profound
changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to
strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that
freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world
peace.
There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the
cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this
gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
To read the entire speech go to: http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/search/speeches/speech_srch.html
Document F
Excerpt from John F. Kennedy’s Speech
June 26, 1963
Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum." Today, in the world of freedom, the
proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner."
I appreciate my interpreter translating my German!
There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue
between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that
communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and
elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that
it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin
kommen. Let them come to Berlin.
Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep
our people in, to prevent them from leaving us. I want to say, on behalf of my countrymen, who live many
miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that
they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town,
no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope and the
determination of the city of West Berlin. While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the
failures of the Communist system, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as your Mayor
has said, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing
husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.
What is true of this city is true of Germany--real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one
German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of
peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite
their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of
freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of
today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany,
to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves
and ourselves to all mankind.
Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look
forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a
peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober
satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades.
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the
words "Ich bin ein Berliner."
This speech can be found at: http://www.jfklibrary.org/j062663.htm
LESSON FOUR: The Legacy of the Berlin Wall
LESSON OVERVIEW
Students will use their knowledge of the Berlin Wall to discuss and develop an end product of their choice that
examines the legacy of the Berlin Wall.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
‰ Synthesize information from a variety of resources
‰ Evaluate parts of the Eastside Gallery
‰ Create an end product of their choice
ESTIMATED TIME
One to 50-minute class periods depending on whether you allow students to create the final assessment in
class.
MATERIALS
‰ Pictures 1-4 (Eastside Gallery)
‰ Menu of final assessment selections based on Bloom’s Taxonomy
PROCEDURE
1. Review learning from the previous days by completing the K-W-L chart. Students should be able to
name many things that they have learned about the Berlin Wall.
2. Tell students they will be creating a product that explains the legacy of the Berlin Wall. (You may
have to define the term legacy for your students. A legacy would be the lasting impact.)
3. Share with students an example of a legacy. The example is the Eastside Gallery. The Eastside
Gallery are sections of the Berlin Wall that have remained. The sections were commissioned and
painted by artists. They represent many things to Berliners. As you show the pictures, ask the
following questions: What are some of the things these decorated remnants of the wall may
represent? Why is the Eastside Gallery a legacy? Why are they significant to Berliners?
4. Give students a copy of the menu of the final assessment selections. Encourage them to pick the
project that best showcases their talent.
ASSESSMENT
Final Student Project
The Legacy of the Berlin Wall
Project Sheet
Overview: For the past week, you have learned about the history of the Berlin Wall and
analyzed documents related to the wall. Obviously, this structure has a lasting impact on
Germany and the world today. You will create a project that encompasses what you have
learned and illustrates your opinion of the Berlin Wall’s legacy to the world.
Project Choices:
‰
Create a play that dramatizes the important events and the impact today
‰
Create a children’s picture book that states and illustrates the important event and
the impact today
‰
Design a magazine cover/collage/book cover that visually encompasses the
history and legacy of the Berlin Wall
‰
Create a game that teaches others about the Berlin Wall and encourages them to
discuss the impact
‰
Write and illustrate an A-B-C book about the Berlin Wall
‰
Create a memorial to the people who died trying to escape into West Berlin
‰
Create a diary from the perspective of an East German during this time period.
Include entries from the major events in history and reactions after the wall came
down.
‰
Create a diary from the perspective of a West Berliner during this time period.
Include entries from the major events in history and reactions after the wall came
down.
‰
Interview adults about their recollections of the Berlin Wall. Compile these
recollections in a book that includes an introductory history written by you and
evaluation of the impact of the wall in Germany and the world today.
‰
Don’t see any projects you like? Create your own and get it approved by your
teacher!
GRADING: 70 % of the grade for this project will be based on your analysis of the content
that you have learned from this unit. The other 30% will be based on the final product that
showcases your content knowledge and evaluation.
PROJECT DUE DATE: ___________________________________________________
How many sectors was
Germany divided into after
World War II?
_________________
Date:
_________________
When was the Berlin Wall
constructed?
___________________
What was the purpose for
constructing the wall?
_______________________
_______________________
Why did the United States government choose not to intervene in Berlin after the wall was constructed?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What is the history of the Berlin Wall?
What was the date of President Kennedy’s
speech? Why was it significant?
Date: _____________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________
What was the date of President
Reagan’s speech? Why was it
significant?
Date: _____________
_____________________________
Explain the significance of the wall being torn down. Was it planned?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Date the wall was torn down:
Group Work Self Assessment
Your Name: __________________________________ Project: __________________________________________
List the Members: ______________________________________________________________________________
What grade would you give yourself based on your contributions to the group? _____________
Explain why you deserve this grade.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Now, please grade each member of the group. Please be honest in your appraisal.
Group Member Name: _____________________________ Grade: ______________________
Explain why this person deserves this grade. Be specific in your evaluation.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Group Member Name: _____________________________ Grade: ______________________
Explain why this person deserves this grade. Be specific in your evaluation.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Group Member Name: _____________________________ Grade: ______________________
Explain why this person deserves this grade. Be specific in your evaluation.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Group Member Name: _____________________________ Grade: ______________________
Explain why this person deserves this grade. Be specific in your evaluation.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Group Member Name: _____________________________ Grade: ______________________
Explain why this person deserves this grade. Be specific in your evaluation.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Overall, what grade does your group deserve on this project? ___________________________
Why?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Group Members: ____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Primary Source Analysis Chart
Document
Document A
Document B
Document C
Document D
Document E
Document F
What is the
document?
What is the
purpose of the
document?
How is the
document
related to the
Berlin Wall?
Why is the
document
important?
Assess the impact this document had on
Germany.