Lesson Plan #: CC-0080

Lesson 1: The United States and the Soviet Union Were Engaged in a Cold War.


Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. define the concept of "cold war."

2. explore the major historical/political events occurring during this era that were directly related to the cold war.

3. interpret a fictional account of the reality of cold war.

4. discuss the dangers of a cold war.


Description of lesson/activity:

1. The students should be introduced to the concept of "cold war" through teacher chosen resources. Available library resources and textbooks should be utilized. An excellent additional resource is the May, 1991 issue of "Cobblestone Magazine".

2. The students should work cooperatively to come up with a definition of "cold war." Some possible responses might be:

    A hostility between nations that steps just short of open war.
    A war of words, threats, economics, and politics.
    The period after World War II of a state of tension between
    nations without actual fighting.
    An uneasy peace marked by constant tension.

Definitions from each group should be represented on a chart and combined to form one definition agreed upon by the entire class.

3. Students should listen to an oral reading of _The Butter Battle Book_, by Dr. Seuss. (This is also available on video.) Attention should be given to the gradual building of arms and how this fictional story might relate to the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Stop at various points during the story for group discussion.

4. Having heard _The Butter Battle Book_, students should write a story prediction describing what would happen next, explaining their reasons why these events might occur. In cooperative groups, students should combine ideas from all story predictions and develop one result. On a large piece of paper divided in half horizontally, print out the predicted ending on the bottom and include an illustration depicting the story theme on the top.

5. Using the completed class pictures, students should compile a list of the dangers involved in a cold war.


Resources for Lesson 1:

Amazing Century: 1945-1960. (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1992).

Boutis, Virginia. Looking Out. (New York: FourWinds, 1989).

Cobblestone. The Cold War. (May 1991, Vol.12, Number 5).

The Eagle and the Bear: A History of Soviet/American Relations. From 1945 to the Present (Video). Knowledge Unlimited, P.O. Box 52, Madison, Wisconsin 53701-0052.

Seuss, Dr. The Butter Battle Book. (New York: Random House, 1984).

Westerfield, Scott. The Berlin Airlift. (New Jersey: Silver Budett Press, Inc., 1989).