This lesson is a series of videos that cover Cold War fears of the 1940s and 50s. It describers how the American Public were given measures to protect themselves against and invasion or an atomic attack. The lesson also has the student to view several videos on the domestic policies of the United states and a general overview of Cold war policies. Students will have to interpret point of view and argumentation from both sides of the political spectrum.

Outline of the 1973 Allende Coup in Chile and Pinochet's Junta (this video under CC-BY-SA). Created by Sal Khan.

 American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.Senior Contributing AuthorsGlen Krutz (Content Lead), University of OklahomaSylvie Waskiewicz, PhD (Lead Editor)

In an increasingly digital world in which pedagogical trends are de-emphasizing rote learning and professors are increasingly turning toward active-learning exercises, scholars are fleeing traditional textbooks. Yet for those that still yearn for the safe tether of a synthetic text, as either narrative backbone or occasional reference material, The American Yawp offers a free and online, collaboratively built, open American history textbook designed for college-level history courses. Unchecked by profit motives or business models, and free from for-profit educational organizations, The American Yawp is by scholars, for scholars. All contributors—experienced college-level instructors—volunteer their expertise to help democratize the American past for twenty-first century classrooms.

These primary source excerpts are broken into 2 groups: Cuban perspectives and American perspectives of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Consider having students work in pairs or small groups to read, discussion and answer the questions for their perspective. Then have students from both perspectives share observations. Consider using a guided question such as "Why are views so different for the same event, especially of those who fought at the Bay of Pigs?"

Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. This lesson plan will introduce students to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read novella, Animal Farm, which is available on Project Gutenberg.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Atomic Bomb and the Nuclear Age it started. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion. Created by Sal Khan.

This is a 4 minute 30 second video about the Bay of Pigs Invasion. It covers basics behind the invasion, including the plans for the invasion, the leaking of the information to Cuban exiles, the actual failed invasion, and its aftermath. Also included is an assignment that asks students to research the Bay of Pigs Invasion and discover what went wrong, then consider possible preventative steps that might have changed the outcome of the invasion.

The documents for this activity are drawn from those that might be typically found on an advanced placement history test, supplemented by materials featured in Teachrock lessons. As such, this activity may be used as a means to prepare students for an advanced placement test, or as an assessment tool at the end of a Cold War unit. A variety of approaches are provided that allow teachers to use the documents to engage their students in the classroom.

This lesson highlights the changing relationship between the city center and the suburb in the postwar decades, especially in the 1950s. Students will look at the legislation leading up to and including the Federal Highway Act of 1956. They will also examine documents about the history of Levittown, the most famous and most important of the postwar suburban planned developments.

This lesson plan attempts to dissolve the artificial boundary between domestic and international affairs in the postwar period to show students how we choose to discuss history.

 This unit leads students to create an overview of the Cold War, from 1945-1991. Students will work in groups of four, reading and researching the texts and web address provided. They will develop a timeline of the unit followed by generating Quizlet flashcards. The teacher will include Quizlet Live as a formative assessment by using links to each groups’ Quizlets for Quizlet live games. 

The most important part of this packet is Section VII, which contains roughly 50 documents—mostly drawn from primary sources—about the Cold War and Red Scare in Washington state. The other sections of this packet seek to place the documents in historical perspective and to offer some suggestions for how to use the documents in the classroom.

This resources is a listing of materials that may potentially be used within a variety of lessons related to The Cold War

Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense and former President of the World Bank reminisces with host Harry Kreisler about public service, the War in Vietnam, and the dangers of the superpower confrontation during the Cold War. (59 min)

U.C. Berkeley's Harry Kreisler welcomes diplomat Peter Tarnoff for discussion of the evolution of U.S. foreign policy from the height of the Cold War through the Clinton Administration. (56 min)