Grade 11 - U.S. History
Content standards:
11.9 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II.
Common Core standards:
Big Ideas and Essential Historical Questions:
Unit Goals:
Unit Assessments:
Content standards:
11.9 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II.
- Discuss the establishment of the United Nations and International Declaration of Human Rights, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and their importance in shaping modern Europe and maintaining peace and international order.
- Understand the role of military alliances, including NATO and SEATO, in deterring communist aggression and maintaining security during the Cold War.
- Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including the following: • The era of McCarthyism, instances of domestic Communism (e.g., Alger Hiss) and blacklisting • The Truman Doctrine • The Berlin Blockade • The Korean War • The Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis • Atomic testing in the American West, the “mutual assured destruction” doctrine, and disarmament policies • The Vietnam War • Latin American policy.
Common Core standards:
- RL.11–12.4–5; RI.11–12.4–5; SL.11–12.3; L.11–12.3, 5–6 – 8. Analyzing how writers and speakers use vocabulary and other language resources for specific purposes (to explain, persuade, entertain, etc.) depending on modality, text type, purpose, audience, topic, and content area.
- W.11–12.1–10; WHST.11–12.1–2, 4–10; L.11–12.1–610 – 10. Writing a. Write longer and more detailed literary and informational texts (e.g., an argument about free speech) collaboratively (e.g., with peers) and independently by using appropriate text organization and register. b. Write clear and coherent summaries of texts and experiences by using complete and concise sentences and key words (e.g., from notes or graphic organizers)
- W.11–12.1, 8–9; WHST.11–12.1, 8–9;L.11–12.1–3, 6 - 11. Justify opinions or persuade others by making connections and distinctions between ideas and texts and articulating sufficient, detailed, and relevant textual evidence or background knowledge by using appropriate register.
- W.11–12.1–5; WHST.11–12.1–2, 4–5; SL.11–12.4, 6; L.11–12.1, 3 - 6. Connecting ideas - Combine clauses in a few basic ways (e.g., creating compound sentences using and, but, so; creating complex sentences using because) to make connections between and join ideas
- W.11–12.1–5; WHST.11–12.1-2, 4–5; SL.11–12.4, 6; L.11–12.1, 3 - 7. Condensing ideas - Condense ideas in a few basic ways (e.g., by compounding verb or prepositional phrases) to create precise and detailed simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Big Ideas and Essential Historical Questions:
- Establishment of Peacekeeping Organizations – What were the goals of the United Nations? Did the U.N. make a difference in maintaining peace?
- Establishment of Military Alliances – What were the goals of NATO, SEATO, and the Warsaw Pact? Was it necessary?
- Hunting Communism: Foreign and Domestic – How was Communism portrayed to the American public? In what ways did American diplomats attempt to subdue Communism abroad? How about domestically? What were some of the major policies concerning “Containment”?
- Unique Ambitions – How did the U.S. and the Soviet Union have different ideas for the post-WWII world? In what ways were the two similar?
- Geography – Where are the various nations, states, and capitals of contributors during Cold War? Was the Cold War a global phenomenon or was it localized?
Unit Goals:
- Students will understand and recognize various human rights organizations and the methods they employed in limiting rising Cold War tensions.
- Students will identify and explain organizations such as NATO, SEATO, and the Warsaw Pact as well as their objectives.
- Students will understand how the U.S. attempted to contain Communism domestically.
- Students will identify and describe events in which the U.S. attempted to subdue Communism abroad.
- Students will understand the visions that both the U.S. and Soviet Union imagined for the post-WWII world.
- Students will understand the geography associated with U.S. and international involvement during the Cold War.
Unit Assessments:
- A unit exam consisting of multiple-choice, true/false, and fill in the blank questions as well as an in-class writing section.
- A Venn diagram analyzing the two superpower’s goals in the post-WWII world.
- An oral speech debating domestic “containment” strategies.
- A comprehensive research essay and organize information according to an assignment rubric.
- A short “QuickWrite” activity at the end of class.