The Cold War: The Rivalry that Nearly Ended Earth
1. World History II
2. Dates to be taught (4 weeks)
3. General subunits: (Arms Race, Propaganda, Cold War competition)
4. Standards to be met in this unit:
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.12.13 Analyze examples of ongoing change within and across cultures, such as the
development of ancient civilizations; the rise of nation-states; and social, economic, and
political revolutions
B.12.16 Describe the purpose and effects of treaties, alliances, and international
organizations that characterize today's interconnected world
B.12.15 Identify a historical or contemporary event in which a person was forced to take
an ethical position, such as a decision to go to war, the impeachment of a president, or
a presidential pardon, and explain the issues involved
Additional special supplies or unique needs for this unit
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Authentic East German Border Guard Field Gear
Authentic U.S Army Missile Defense Military Field Blouse
Outdated globe (pre 1989) that depicts former communist bloc
 Special Needs Assistance: Students identified as special needs will receive
accommodations in assessment given at the end of class. Special focus on teaching
the lesson in a three-pronged manner (to reach gifted, general, and special needs
students)
Be sure to include a variety of activities (audio, visual, kinesthetic) to
encourage student learning.
1. World War III Simulator
2. Analyze Propaganda Activity
3. Space Race Lego Simulation
Unit Plan
Course: World History II
Teacher: Mr. Heinze
Unit Title: The Cold War: The Rivalry that Nearly Ended Earth
Dates: October 4-October 29 2012: Tuesday/Thursday class periods
Objectives:
1. Students will identify the intense political, military, cultural, intellectual, rivalry
between the United States and the Soviet Union. Students will recognize how the
two superpower’s mutual desire to become the world’s dominant superpower
affected the thinking and attitudes of leaders on both sides.
2. Students will comprehend the concepts of the differences between democratic
and communist ways of life, global nuclear arms race, satellite nations, and
propaganda and correlate their knowledge to identify the violence and risk of
nuclear destruction, and political upheaval that were direct consequences of the
Cold War.
3. Students will analyze the rise and fall of the Communist bloc and indentify the
reasons behind the revolutions that brought about its rise and its capitulation
from 1918 to 1990.
4. Students will identify the effects of the Cold War that continue to effect the
present day and will critically analyze the great changes that the end of the Cold
War brought to the modern world.
Vocabulary: Arms race, puppet state, ICBM, NIKE silo, military industrial complex,
democracy, communism, socialism, Space Race, Sputnik, Communist bloc, Berlin Wall,
Cuban missile crises, Vietnam War, covert operations
Student resources:
 World History: Patters of Interaction: Class textbook
 Alas, Babylon, Pat Frank, J.B Lippincott Publishing
 Cold War Era Civil Defense Films:
-Atomic Alert (Elementary Version) 1951
- What is Communism 1955
-Duck and Cover 1951
 Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall: History Channel Media
Assessments:
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The Cold War: Introductory Pre-Assessment
The Cold War: Response Assignment
The Cold War :Mid-Unit Quiz
The Cold War: End of Unit Cumulative Exam
Strategies (using Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Tate’s Brain-Based Strategies, & Bloom’s Taxonomy)
 Varied Texts by Reading Levels
 Kinesthetic: Movement,
 Socratic Method
 Roleplay, Simulation,
 Demonstration
 Independent Learning
 Investigation/Real-World
 Problem
 Vintage Media from Cold War Period
 Gadgets
 Linguistic: Writing, Reading,, Student-Led Discussion
 Game
 Homework Options
 Lecture
 Technology: PowerPoint, , Google Earth, Podcast, etc. KCASE Activities
 Analyze: Title, Tone, Theme, Diction, Imagery, Summary, Shifts, Conflict
 Synthesize
 Evaluate Evaluation
 Oral Response
 Test/Quiz
 Composition
 Performance/Presentation
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Anchor Activities for Enrichment & Remediation:
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Silent Reading Activity
Group “Popcorn” Reading Activity
Class Discussion
Pyramid Style Instructor Delivery ( classroom data based differentiation) (Begin with
basic content and advance to more challenging to include learners of all levels)
Group Activities
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Analytical overviews of opinionated/biased content