Cold War Tensions Between the US and the USSR

•     Activate Prior Knowledge--Show photo of Potsdam and have students write a caption to explain what is happening at the meeting

•     Review how the war in the Pacific ended through US/USSR cooperation and atomic bombs

•     Review differences in Communism/Free Market representative govt

•     Pass out primary source documents or pull up on device--groups summarize passages and write on chart paper

•     Groups present their summaries; students take notes from presentations

•     As class discussion,use SmartNotebook to create mind map graphic organizer to show connections between the documents using terms:

               Self-determination

               Economic aid

               Greece

               Turkey

               Unrest

               Gen. George Marshall

               Pres. Harry Truman

               Truman Doctrine

               Marshall Plan

               Warsaw Pact

               NATO

               Soviet Union

               Eastern Bloc

               Western Bloc

•     Students should include the graphic organizer in their notes.  Write one question in the margin which could be answered by the graphic organizer.  Turn and share your question.

•     Writing wrap-up--What steps did the Soviet Union and the United States take to protect their interests during the early years of the Cold War?

Second session:

•     Activate prior knowledge: Show the graphic organizer created at the end of the last session and read some a couple of exemplary writing pieces from the wrap-up.

•     Pass out https://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/advisethepresident/truman-soviet-union

•     Explain the idea of deliberation using the nifi.org explanation.  Establish norms for discussion. Display norms during discussion.

•     Students read background whole group on p. 2-4

•     Groups examine p. 5 & 6 for geography, beliefs and desires of USSR and US. Groups highlight the most important factors they agree on for page 6.

•     Randomly assign groups to each option of the Issues Guide. Students should study their options , highlighting the significant points under “What We Could Do” that agree with their values on p. 8-13. Take about 20 minutes to discuss.

•     Students should all turn to the Summary and read the three options, again highlighting major points with which they agree. Take about 7 minutes to read silently and highlight.

•     Students should decide which option they feel strongly about and move to the section of the room that is labeled with their option.  As groups gather, have them compare highlights and notes from their Issues Guides. 

•     Conduct a Philosophical Chairs discussion, allowing students to change their position as they deliberate. Take about 20 minutes.

•     Read p. 18-19 whole group.  Discuss which option President Truman chose.

•     Homework: Use what you have learned to write an essay. First, summarize the beliefs and desires of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. in the early years of the Cold War. Next, summarize the trade-offs and benefits of the option you preferred. Finally, compare your option to the choices President Harry Truman made.