Even as the Cold War escalated in the 1950s and early 1960s, American presidents took steps to try to ease tensions with the Soviet Union. While it is difficult to quantify the impact of diplomacy and cultural programs, they were an integral piece of both American and Soviet foreign policy. In an era often remembered for brinksmanship and the threat of mutually assured destruction, this building-block inquiry explores attempts at cooperation a decade before détente.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
How can the government foster cooperation in a time of crisis? (Cold War)
Standards
D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
Instructional Snapshot
Class begins with students brainstorming conflicts between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. If needed, the teacher prompts students to consider ideological differences as well as geopolitical hotspots (for example: brinksmanship, nuclear weapons, Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Suez Crisis…). The teacher then challenges students to answer the compelling question: How can the government foster cooperation in a time of crisis? Working in teams, students consider ways the American and Soviet governments could have eased tensions during the Cold War, recording their examples on sticky notes or pieces of paper that can be manipulated later in the class period.
Next, students arrange their ideas for cooperation to build a spectrum from easiest to the most challenging for governments to achieve, using the spectrum on the graphic organizer if needed. The teacher then distributes the Source Set Student Cards to each group. Students place the examples of cooperation that were taken by the U.S. and Soviet Union on the spectrums they created.
Formative Tasks
PRODUCE: Generate examples of ways governments could foster cooperation in a time of crisis.
COLLABORATE: Arrange the ways governments could cooperate from easiest to most difficult to achieve.
DELIBERATE: Assess where historic examples of Cold War cooperation fall on the spectrum.
Sources
Source Set: Cold War Cooperation
Summative Performance Task
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Taking Informed Action
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