Exploros | Case Studies of Cold War Conflict

Overview

In this experience, students react to a photograph of a duck-and-cover drill during the Cuban missile crisis. Over the next three scenes they are introduced to the Cuban missile crisis, Cold War conflicts in the Middle East, and the space race, and generate questions about them. Next they choose a Cold War topic, develop inquiry questions, and conduct research to answer them. Then they follow the writing process to create a written case study. Finally, they read about the Mutually Assured Destruction strategy and write an imaginary diary entry of a political leader faced with difficult decisions. Students conclude by evaluating their case studies using a rubric.

Students were guided through the steps of choosing a topic, researching it, and writing a case study in a previous experience, “Case Study: Japanese Imperialism.” This experience summarizes the steps without going into detail, If necessary, refer students to the link in the Student Pack: Guidelines for Historical Research and Writing.

There is no quiz at the end of the experience. Instead, students will self-evaluate their work using a rubric. The rubric is available in the Student Pack for students to review before they begin work on their case studies.

At each stage, give students a time framework for their tasks. Be sure to set the duration of the experience to fit your projected time framework.

Objectives

Analyze major conflicts of the Cold War: Cuban missile crisis, Suez Canal Crisis, Afghanistan invasion, and the Space Race.
Describe the Cold War strategy of mutually assured destruction (MAD).

Engage

You have learned about two major military conflicts of the Cold War: the Korean War and the Vietnam War. As the two superpowers tried to prevent each other from expanding its influence, there were other crises. In this lesson you will learn about some of them and write your own case study.

Objectives

Analyze major conflicts of the Cold War: Cuban missile crisis, Suez Canal Crisis, Afghanistan invasion, and the Space Race.
Describe the Cold War strategy of mutually assured destruction (MAD).

two young girls sitting under a school desk while covering their heads with their arms

Duck and cover safety drill, 1951

The photo from 1951 shows a school safety drill. From what potential danger are the children learning to protect themselves? Answer in a word or short phrase.

Post your answer

Sample answers: bombs, nuclear weapons, atomic attack.

Students may connect the drill shown in the photograph to their own active shooter drills in school. Give them a chance to discuss their own fears.

The Student Pack contains an optional video teaching students how to “duck and cover.” The video runs over nine minutes. You may project it or have students watch it at home: Civil Defense for Schools: Duck and Cover.

Ask students: Based on what you learned about the atomic bomb, how much protection do you think that the “duck and cover” response would provide against a nearby explosion from a nuclear weapon? Students might rightfully respond that if the explosion is nearby, the impact of the explosion itself as well as the intense radiation would likely kill people even if they followed the duck and cover strategy. If far enough away, the strategy might protect them from falling debris.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.