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Making an informed decision utilizing Primary sources

Lesson Author
Eastman, Lisa
Course(s)
American History
Required Time Frame
1-2 weeks
Subject(s)
Cuban Missile Crisis
Grade Level(s)
9
10
11
12
Lesson Abstract
Using primary sources to analyze the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Description

Cooperative learning/technology/primary sources

  • Students will be given a historical crisis and have to make a decisions as the presidents before them have based on Primary sources from the respective Presidential libraries and official transcripts:

Kennedy (https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Services.aspx)

  • Bay of Pigs

  • Cuban Missile crisis

  • Assassination of MLK

  • Assassination of Kennedy himself

Rationale (why are you doing this?)

I am doing this so students learn how to utilize online resources and learn the importance of reliable sources and appreciate what exactly the president does in his decision making process.

Lesson Objectives - the student will
  • Be able to understand the importance of primary sources and reliable information

  • Be able to understand the magnitude of the decision making process a president has to go through

District, state, or national performance and knowledge standards/goals/skills met
  • WI State standards:

  • B.12.1 Explain different points of view on the same historical event, using data gathered from various sources, such as letters, journals, diaries, newspapers, government documents, and speeches

  • B.12.2 Analyze primary and secondary sources related to a historical question to evaluate their relevance, make comparisons, integrate new information with prior knowledge, and come to a reasoned conclusion

  • B.12.3 Recall, select, and analyze significant historical periods and the relationships among them

  • B.12.4 Assess the validity of different interpretations of significant historical events

  • B.12.5 Gather various types of historical evidence, including visual and quantitative data, to analyze issues of freedom and equality, liberty and order, region and nation, individual and community, law and conscience, diversity and civic duty; form a reasoned conclusion in the light of other possible conclusions; and develop a coherent argument in the light of other possible arguments

  • B.12.6 Select and analyze various documents that have influenced the legal, political, and constitutional heritage of the United States

  • B.12.8 Recall, select, and explain the significance of important people, their work, and their ideas in the areas of political and intellectual leadership, inventions, discoveries, and the arts, within each major era of Wisconsin, United States, and world history

  • B.12.11 Compare examples and analyze why governments of various countries have sometimes sought peaceful resolution to conflicts and sometimes gone to war

Secondary materials (book, article, video documentary, etc.) needed
  • https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_3?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mlk+assassination&sprefix=MLK%2Cstripbooks%2C134&crid=1QMLQ4ZN1EZQR

  • https://www.amazon.com/John-F.-Kennedy/e/B000APFSFC/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

  • https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Days-Memoir-Missile-Crisis/dp/0393318346/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501076095&sr=1-1&keywords=cuban+missile+crisis

Primary sources needed (document, photograph, artifact, diary or letter, audio or visual recording, etc.) needed
  • https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Search-Our-Collections/Browse-Digital-Collections.aspx

  • https://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/washington

  • http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/bay-of-pigs-invasion

 

Fully describe the activity or assignment in detail. What will both the teacher and the students do?
  • Students will be randomly chosen and work in teams of 4-5 to research and develop a powerpoint on the era of Kennedy crisis and explain what outcomes they have gleaned from primary sources and historical fact. They will than present their finding to the class.  

 

Assessment: fully explain the assessment method in detail or create and attach a scoring guide
  • Students will be self/peer assessed on their presentation and have to write a 2-3 page essay on what they have learned through the process as they see it from the presidents prospective.

Research PowerPoint                  Name:  _______________________

Evaluation Rubric


 

10 slides    10pts:                          0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10


 

 

5-10  minutes 10pts:              0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10


 

 

Included sources 10pts:                             0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Color Scheme, Font and Etc 10pts:              0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Images, Related Info 10pts: 0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Links 10pts: 0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Appearance 10pts: 0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Organization 10pts: 0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Spelling & Grammar 10pts: 0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

Objectives Met 10pts: 0     ½      1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10



 

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