Unit Title: U.S. Foreign Policy Post-WII
Domestic Cold War Involvement
Goals & Objectives:
Goal – Students will understand how containment policies and fear of Communism affected American involvement in the Cold War.
Objectives: Students working collaboratively in small groups will be able to read about and evaluate various domestic Cold War events and produce an accurate five tab foldable categorizing American involvement in the Cold War as well as a short written summary.
Objectives: Students working collaboratively in small groups will be able to read about and evaluate various domestic Cold War events and produce an accurate five tab foldable categorizing American involvement in the Cold War as well as a short written summary.
State Content Standards & Common Core Standards:
California State Content Standards: 11.9.3 - 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 Literacy Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A - Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Common Core Literacy Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A - Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Driving Historical Questions:
Driving Historical Questions:
- When did American become involved in the Cold War?
- Was fear of communism an sufficient reason for engaging in the Cold War?
- What were some of the causes for American involvement internationally during the Cold War?
Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior Knowledge) ‖
Time: 10 minutes
Students will begin the lesson by independently analyzing a political cartoon and reflecting on the details. Students will respond to a written prompt on a separate sheet of paper answering reflection questions. What did they notice first? What people and objects are visible? What words or symbols are visible? What is happening in the cartoon? What was happening at this time in history when the cartoon was published? Who was the intended audience? What do students think the creator’s opinion was on the issue? Students will note any other details or questions they have surrounding the cartoon and we will analyze the image as a class. These questions will be recorded into a writing form that includes the political cartoon as well as a writing section for answering these questions.
Vocabulary (Content Language Development) ‖ Time: 5 min
At the end of the lesson students will write a short written summary with much of the information being pulled from their group foldable. The teacher will write on the board prior to the lesson beginning the three vocabulary terms that students will responsible for understanding. The three terms are Containment, Truman Doctrine, and Berlin Airlift. Students will be responsible for defining the vocabulary terms through integrating them into their written summary, not just listing the definition but explaining it through writing their summary of the events.
Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) ‖ Time: 20 min
Pre-reading – Before students begin reading the expository texts I will explain that what I want is for students to be able to understand and analyze how America became involved in the Cold War. I will ask students if they, right now, fear communism and why or why not it is something they are weary of. We will go over the main ideas of the chapter they are reading and I will pre-read out loud the most important titles of sections of the chapter. Before reading begins we will have viewed a political cartoon and answered written questions analyzing the cartoon, as well as listed individual questions and observations. Students will break up the reading into five chunks as they engage in a Jig-saw type reading exercise. Students will determine amongst each other who is responsible for each section and each will write first down the main ideas.
During Reading – During reading students will record any questions regarding the reading as well as their reading notes into a “Five Tab Book Foldable”. The instruction on how to create this foldable will have already been explained to students prior to the lesson. Students will be given a piece of paper for the foldable prior to reading which already has predetermined segments for each writing section. This foldable was chosen because it’s five distinct sections for writing align with the jig-saw reading method of breaking the reading down into five different sections. Each section on the foldable can be dedicated to a section within the chapter students are reading. This foldable also allows students space to draw various illustrations to help encode new vocabulary terms and events. Students will have the opportunity to engage with expository readings through collaborating with classmates and brainstorming together.
After Reading – Students will engage each other in conversations regarding their reading section. They will inform the other students in their group of their findings as they all fill out the remaining sections in their foldable. Students will complete the writing sections in their foldable as well as draw simple illustrations with pen or pencil in the appropriate sections.
During Reading – During reading students will record any questions regarding the reading as well as their reading notes into a “Five Tab Book Foldable”. The instruction on how to create this foldable will have already been explained to students prior to the lesson. Students will be given a piece of paper for the foldable prior to reading which already has predetermined segments for each writing section. This foldable was chosen because it’s five distinct sections for writing align with the jig-saw reading method of breaking the reading down into five different sections. Each section on the foldable can be dedicated to a section within the chapter students are reading. This foldable also allows students space to draw various illustrations to help encode new vocabulary terms and events. Students will have the opportunity to engage with expository readings through collaborating with classmates and brainstorming together.
After Reading – Students will engage each other in conversations regarding their reading section. They will inform the other students in their group of their findings as they all fill out the remaining sections in their foldable. Students will complete the writing sections in their foldable as well as draw simple illustrations with pen or pencil in the appropriate sections.
Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities) ‖ Time: 25 min
Students will use the provided graphic organizer and foldable to participate in the reading lesson. The foldable works well with jig-saw reading methods because reading is chunked into five sections which helps students organize entire chapters into meaningful sections which are more memorable for them. The chapter students will be reading is Chapter 18, section 1: Origins of the Cold War in The Americans textbook. This foldable can be completed in class and if students need additional time it can be completed as homework.
Lesson Closure ‖ Time: 5 min
The post- reading lesson closure involves students engaging in a QuickWrite activity that has them summarize the day’s lesson into about five or six sentences. In this summary students will define and integrate the lesson’s three new vocabulary words. Instead of students researching definitions and writing them down, students will be responsible for understanding the meanings and incorporating the terms into their summary.
Assessments (Formative & Summative)
Formative Assessment: When students analyze the political cartoon I will be assessing their prior understanding of the origins of the Cold War by reading their responses to the image analysis questions.
Summative Assessment: The QuickWrite activity at the end of the lesson will allow me to assess how much students understood from the expository readings.
Summative Assessment: The QuickWrite activity at the end of the lesson will allow me to assess how much students understood from the expository readings.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
- ELL students will benefit from the political cartoon analysis as using pictures to begin a lesson can assist students in building context.
- Striving readers will benefit from the jigsaw style reading method which can assist them in understanding the full chapter without becoming too bogged down in reading the entire chapter independently.
- Students with Special Needs and ELL students will be allowed additional time to complete readings as homework as well as complete their writing sections and illustrations.
Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials)
- See the accompanying handout and foldable for this activity.
- The Americans textbook, Chapter 18 section 1