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DocsTeach

Cultural Diplomacy and Propaganda During the Cold War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
There's a fine line between diplomacy and propaganda. Young historians consider that boundary by examining documents from the Cold War, including memorandum about the lunar program and Peace Corps in addition to a propaganda film. Using...
Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

The Cold War: How Did It Start? How Did It End?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What is the difference between a Cold War and a Hot War? Scholars research the beginning of the Cold War. They analyze diary entries as well as excerpts from various events during the 45-year standoff. To finish, they prepare final...
Lesson Plan
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Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

End of the Cold War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...
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DocsTeach

President Reagan and the Cold War: Vision and Diplomacy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
After years of boiling tension, the presidency of Ronald Regan and the rise of Mikhail Gorbechev paved a new way forward for diplomacy between the United States and the Soviet Union. Using primary source documents, including letters...
Activity
BAE Systems

The Cold War

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
The Soviet Union's decision to block West Berlin from access by the Western allies began an international hostility that extended into the rest of the twentieth century. Class members examine both Harry Truman's and Joseph Stalin's...
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DocsTeach

Containment in Korea: Entering the Korean War

For Teachers 6th - 8th
An interesting resource explores President Truman's decision to enter into the Korean War to contain the spread of communism. Historians analyze the document using an online worksheet before participating in group discussion on the...
Activity
Mrs. Robbins' Social Studies Site

The Berlin Blockade

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
The Berlin Blockade may not take up as much space in the history books as other events of the Cold War, but for the citizens of west Berlin in 1948—and the events to follow between the Soviet Union and the United Stattes—those 318 days...
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DocsTeach

Analyzing US Involvement in the Vietnam War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
War: unavoidable or a necessary evil? A thought-provoking activity explores the United States' long involvement in the Vietnam War as well as the aftermath. Scholars research and summarize primary documents and complete online worksheets...
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DocsTeach

The Space Race: Project Mercury

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Race to the moon! An engaging activity focuses on NASA's Project Mercury and the Space Race. Scholars read a memorandum regarding the project and explore how it fueled Cold War tensions. Academics complete a worksheet and discuss the...
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DocsTeach

Cultural Diplomacy and the Smith-Mundt Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
During the Cold War, the United States used everything from bookmobiles to radio stations to improve its image globally. Using documents from the programs, including photographs and official memos, individuals consider how the United...
Activity
Teach It History

Crisis in Berlin: Decisions Game!

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The Cold War did not begin with a bang, but with a swift tactic that reflected the Soviet Union's growing distrust of its former Allies. High schoolers choose either the USA or the USSR in a role play activity as they analyze why each...
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DocsTeach

Landing a Man on the Moon: President Nixon and the Apollo Program

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Take the small step for man and giant leap for mankind with the Apollo astronauts using primary sources. Young historians explore the documents related to the American space program up through the lunar landing, including presidential...
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DocsTeach

Apollo-Soyuz: Space Age Detente

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The Space Race saw the Soviet Union and the US go from competitors to partners. Scholars read a letter regarding the first docking of the US and Soviet space craft. Young historians also complete a written assignment and participate in...
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DocsTeach

Nixon Visits China: The Week that Changed the World

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Sometimes one trip shakes up the entire world. When President Richard Nixon traveled to China, he defied international and political boundaries. Nixon was the first American president to visit mainland China, which was a communist nation...
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DocsTeach

Letter to Truman about the Manhattan Project

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Delve into the past to understand the opposition to the Manhattan Project. An interesting activity is designed to be completed in pairs, groups, or individually. Scholars analyze historical documents, complete an online worksheet, and...
Activity
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Humanities Texas

A President's Vision: Ronald Reagan

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
Young historians gain a fantastic overview of Ronald Reagan's term as president through analysis of several primary and secondary sources presented on this educational poster.
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DocsTeach

Introduction to the Domino Theory and Containment Policy in Vietnam

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Scholars analyze a propaganda poster against communism. The resource uses the poster to examine the domino theory and containment policies used by the United States to stop the spread of communism in Vietnam. Scholars work in pairs or...
Lesson Plan
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Henry Kissinger and Detente

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How did relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China evolve between 1950 and 1970? Your young historians will complete a timeline of events with evidence that the relationship between these two great...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

A Wrinkle in Time: The Board Game

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Tackle some big questions about A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle with a board game project. As learners brainstorm for and complete their board games, they consider what helps and hinders Meg on her journey and why she succeeds in...
Activity
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John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

Recipe for an Inaugural Address

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
An inaugural address represents the first moments of a new beginning. Using John F. Kennedy's speech as a model for guided practice, groups examine the ingredients of an inaugural address. Individuals then repeat the analysis...
Activity
National Archives (UK)

National Archives Exhibit: The Cold War

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource enables the viewer to explore various events and topics of the Cold War through learning games, primary documents, and a tour through an interactive bunker.
Activity
Other

Phs: Section 4: Eisenhower's Cold War Policies [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A chapter from a Glencoe textbook which covers Eisenhower's Cold War actions. Read about his ideas for massive retaliation, the military hardware necessary for the Cold War, the international crises occurring during his presidency, and...
Activity
National Archives (UK)

National Archives Learning Curve: Cold War

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses different aspects of the Cold War such as "Did the Cold War really start in 1919-1939?" and "Was the Vietnam War a turning point in the Cold War?"
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Truman and His Doctrine: Revolutionary, Unprecedented, and Bipartisan

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This 5-page PDF is the nonfiction article "Truman and His Doctrine: Revolutionary, Unprecedented, and Bipartisan" by Elizabeth Edwards Spalding which discusses Truman's policy to provide aid to Turkey...