 starter activity
Test your knowledge of Cold War key words by playing Cold War bingo! 
Check your glossary is up-to-date by using the key words hand-out your teacher
provides.
What were the
achievements of the
Thaw?
 Learning objectives
To analyse the contribution of John Foster
Dulles to Cold War politics
To evaluate the success or failure of the
Thaw
 Your task



Read the obituary of John Foster
Dulles. What qualities made him a
good / weak secretary of state?
Analyse sources D-F on p.83.
How effective was Dulles influence
on US foreign policy under
Eisenhower?
John Foster Dulles, Sec of
State, 1953-9
 Your task




If necessary, re-read you timeline of the events
of the Thaw based on p.85-6 in your textbooks.
Complete the timeline task your teacher gives
you.
Which event was the most significant sign of
improving / worsening relations?
Overall, do you think ‘Thaw’ was an accurate
term to describe the period 1953-62?
 Your task


Watch the film clip about the Thaw. Note down
the positive achievements and failures of the
period
To what extent was the Thaw the result of
the new personalities in place?
The Kitchen Debate
between then U.S. Vice
President Richard
Nixon and Soviet
Premier Nikita
Khrushchev at the
opening of the
American National
Exhibition in Moscow
on July 24, 1959.
 Your task






Study the sources on p.87. Break into teams and
answer the following questions:
Team 1 answer Qs 1 &2
Team 2 answer Q3
Team 3 answer Q4
Team 4 write a judgement paragraph in answer
to Q5
Team 5 write a judgement paragraph in answer
to Q6
 Extension task

Read Isaacs p.140-160 on
key events of the Thaw
Supplement your notes
with evidence relating to
achievements and failures
of the period.
 Homework


Complete the glossary task set during the starter
activity.
Complete gaps in your notes or work on targets
set, e.g. producing a bank of ‘juicy quotes’
 Plenary




Dulles – contribution to US foreign policy
Thaw – key events
Thaw – achievements / failures
Extension: on balance did the Thaw ‘fail to
achieve anything of substance’?