Lesson 1: Analyzing Primary Sources

Date: October 5 Teacher’s Name: Katie Rachman

Subject: Social Studies Grade Level: 8
Learning Segment Title: The Origins of the Cold War: 1945-1949
Length of each lesson: 50 Minutes

Central Focus:
This unit will build on students’ prior knowledge of reading primary sources to understand the
document's historical context, focusing on documents from the Cold War. Students will be able
to demonstrate their learning when they write a primary source paper in which they will
centralize the document into its historical time period and support arguments regarding the
document’s significance assisted by secondary sources. The abilities to build and support
arguments that will be obtained throughout the unit and demonstrated in students’ primary
source papers will have further applications across other subjects, such as ELA, or other topics
in social studies where students will need to gather and interpret evidence in order to support
their claims. Students will learn background knowledge about the origins of the Cold War from
1945-1949. Students will conceptualize how Cold War policies shaped and changed both the
United States and the globe during 1945-1949 in order to support writing their papers.

Essential Question(s):
Unit/Lesson: How do primary sources allow us to make connections to the past?

Learning Standards:
Content: 8.7a The Cold War was an ongoing struggle between the two nuclear superpowers,
the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War shaped the reconstruction of national
boundaries and political alliances across the globe.
-Students will locate on a map the nations that were aligned with the United States,
those aligned with the Soviet Union, and the non-aligned nations.
Practice: Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence

Pre-Assessment:
THIS IS THE MAIN PRE-ASSESSMENT FOR THE UNIT AND TEACHER WILL REVIEW
BEFORE LESSON 1- IF STUDENTS ARE NOT READY THEY WILL UNDERGO MORE
SUPPORT FOR CREATING STRONG ARGUMENTS. THIS WILL SUPPORT WITH THEIR
SUMMATIVE EVALUATION PRIMARY SOURCE PAPER.

The teacher has previously identified that students enjoyed engaging with primary sources in an
informal way. Therefore, the teacher has determined that students will enjoy creating arguments
regarding primary source papers. Therefore, the teacher needs to ensure that students can
create strong arguments backed up with evidence, an essential skill relative to a primary source
paper.
Teachers will ensure that students contain prior knowledge regarding how to support an
argument with evidence. The teacher will use previous writing samples to determine if students
contain this knowledge.

If 75% of students can use evidence to back up their claims and 85% of the students can
formulate historical arguments, they are ready to move on.

If benchmarks are not met, students will complete remedial instruction on the steps to writing
well-thought-out arguments. The claim, evidence, and explanation format will be utilized. Certain
students (15%) who struggled may work in small groups with the teacher during
independent/small group work time.

Academic Language
Language Function Students will analyze primary source documents. Students will
develop arguments using the primary source document as
evidence.
Vocabulary Primary source, secondary source, analyze, historical context
Syntax Students will fill out primary source graphic organizers to practice
primary source analysis.
Discourse Students will participate in guided practice for analyzing primary
source documents. Students will partner work with a buddy to
analyze a document.

Differentiation:

● Gifted Learners: Gifted learners will be encouraged to dive deeper into primary source
analysis. This may include the option to choose more complex documents to analyze.
This may also include adding another aspect to their arguments in which they attempt to
assess the limitations of the source they are looking at.
● ELLs: ELL students will be supported according to their varying needs. Some students
may be paired with a buddy with the same L1. Other ELL students will be given sentence
starters for writing prompts, texts translated into their L1, and/or pictures to help them
decipher meaning. They may dictate their arguments to the teacher and the teacher will
transcribe for them. (Shared writing).
● Struggling students: Struggling students were identified as the 15% who got the
pre-assessment answer incorrect. These students will be grouped together so the
teacher can support them. They will undergo extra instruction regarding the events of
WWII and tensions that occured between the two nations.
● Students with disabilities: These students will have accommodations to fit their individual
needs and IEPs. Accommodations can include, but are not limited to, technology
assistance, one on one aids, student buddies, or small groups with teachers.
Outcomes
Students will:
-Students will be able to explain the
differences between primary and secondary
sources
-Students will be able to fill out the primary
source analysis checklist and answer the
guiding questions
-Students will be able to develop arguments
about a primary source.
Assessments
-Assessment will include in-class work such
as student responses during the guided
instruction (to determine if students are ready
to work with a partner on primary source
analysis) and graphic organizers that
students fill out.
-During buddy work, further assessment will
take place through anecdotal notes by the
teacher during buddy group work.

Introduction (5 mins) :

Sponge Activity (Before Class): Students will be presented with a historical photo. They will try
their best to analyze who was the photographer, the intended audience, where/when the photo
was taken. (This will begin to introduce the students to the skills necessary to analyze primary
documents.

Anticipatory Set: Students will share their answers from the sponge activity.

Activating Prior Knowledge: “In the past, we have worked on writing strong arguments and
supporting them with evidence, such as in argumentative essays. Today we are going to expand
on how we create strong arguments by analyzing primary source documents.”

Initial Phase (15 mins):

Direct Instruction:
1:-Teacher will begin with an explanation of what a primary source document is
-A source created at the actual time in history (speech, photograph, phone call,
government document, etc)
2:-Teacher will then explain that the first step to analyzing primary sources is to contextualize
the document
-Students must ask themselves:
-Who is the author? What do we know about them?
-Who is the intended audience? How does this affect the tone?
-What type of source is this? Book? Article? Policy document?
-When/where was it created? What else is happening at this time/place?
-What is the topic of the document?
3:-Students will be prompted to create a checklist to have on hand whenever they are analyzing
primary documents
4:-Teacher will explain that after these initial observations are made arguments regarding the
document can be formulated
-Students must ask themselves:
-What is the main idea of the document? (In a written document this is usually
underlined)
-What is the significance of the document? What does it illuminate about the past
within the historical time period?
-The arguments that students create can be supported by the primary source as well as
secondary sources

Middle Phase (25 mins):

Guided Practice:
1:-Teacher will project a primary source text on the board (Atlantic Charter, 1941) (we are using
a document from WWII as students have not had any instruction on Cold War before this
lesson, thus lacking the background knowledge- this instruction will begin in Lesson 2)
2:-Teacher will complete a read aloud of the text
3:-Then the teacher will begin going through the initial checklist and writing out answers to the
questions that help students contextualize the document; the teacher will utilize the primary
source analysis worksheet to facilitate their board notes
4:-Once this is complete, the teacher will call on students to help identify the main idea of the
text and the significance
5:-Together the students and teacher will work through what arguments could be formulated
about the text and how they would be supported

Independent Practice:
-Students will be paired in groups
-The students will buddy read a short primary source text (Memorandum from James H. Rowe,
Jr. to Grace Tully, February 2, 1942)
-Then, working in pairs, the students begin to analyze the primary source. They will be assisted
by their primary source checklist and graphic organizer.

Concluding Phase (5 mins):

Closure/Summary:
-Students will be brought in for a final group discussion about what they believe the value of
using primary sources is. The teacher will conclude by explaining that primary sources are
important as they allow people to understand what was really going on in the heads of historical
figures. They give different perspectives to events that were occurring and provided insight into
how different people understood the world around them.

Follow up:
-No homework for this lesson
-Students will be reminded that at the end of this learning segment, they will complete a primary
source analysis paper and they will utilize the skills they learned today to help facilitate writing
that paper

Materials:
-Atlantic Charter:
-Memorandum from James H. Rowe, Jr. to Grace Tully, February 2, 1942:
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/pdfs/internment.pdf (Document 3)

Resources:
The Avalon Project : THE ATLANTIC CHARTER. (n.d.). Avalon Project. Retrieved October 12,
2022, from https://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/atlantic.asp
FDR AND JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT. (n.d.). FDR Library. Retrieved October 12,
2022, from http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/pdfs/internment.pdf
Primary Sources in Your Classroom | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.
(n.d.). History House Gov. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from
https://history.house.gov/Education/Primary-Sources/Primary-Source-Analysis/
 Lesson 2: Sources of Discord, 1945-1946
Date: October 6 Teacher’s Name: Katie Rachman
Subject: Social Studies Grade Level: 8
Learning Segment Title: The Origins of the Cold War: 1945-1949
Length of each lesson: 50 Minutes

Central Focus:
This unit will build on students’ prior knowledge of reading primary sources to understand the
document's historical context, focusing on documents from the Cold War. Students will be able
to demonstrate their learning when they write a primary source paper in which they will
centralize the document into its historical time period and support arguments regarding the
document’s significance assisted by secondary sources. The abilities to build and support
arguments that will be obtained throughout the unit and demonstrated in students’ primary
source papers will have further applications across other subjects, such as ELA, or other topics
in social studies where students will need to gather and interpret evidence in order to support
their claims. Students will learn background knowledge about the origins of the Cold War from
1945-1949. Students will conceptualize how Cold War policies shaped and changed both the
United States and the globe during 1945-1949 in order to support writing their papers.

Essential Question(s):
Unit: How do primary sources allow us to make connections to the past?
Lesson: From the American perspective, why did wartime cooperation between the United
States and the Soviet Union collapse in 1945–46?

Learning Standards:
Content: 8.7a The Cold War was an ongoing struggle between the two nuclear superpowers,
the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War shaped the reconstruction of national
boundaries and political alliances across the globe.
-Students will locate on a map the nations that were aligned with the United States,
those aligned with the Soviet Union, and the non-aligned nations.
Practice: Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence

Pre-Assessment:
Teachers will ensure that students contain prior knowledge of the events of WWII and how it
came to a close. The teacher will make sure that students know the tensions that the Soviet
Union and the United States felt during the war. The teacher will assess this knowledge through
the previous unit quiz, where the content knowledge was assessed.

If 75% of students can explain the tensions between the Soviet Union and the US, and 85% of
the students can articulate the events of WWII, then they are ready to move on.

If benchmarks are not met, students will complete remedial instruction on the events of WWII
and tensions between the two nations. Certain students (15%) who struggled may work in small
groups with the teacher during independent/small group work time.
Academic Language
Language Function Students will articulate the agreements made at the Yalta and
Potsdam Conferences. Students will assess the strategic options
available to the US in 1946.
Vocabulary Cold War, nuclear superpower, postwar, Yalta Conference, Berlin
(Potsdam) Conference, George Kennan, Henry Wallace
Syntax Students will complete two graphic organizer worksheets to
indicate the agreements made at Potsdam and Yalta. Students
will create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the
arguments of George Kennan and Henry Wallace.
Discourse Students will participate in both small-group and full-class
discussions.

Differentiation:
● Gifted Learners: Gifted learners will be challenged by writing a paragraph to compare
and contrast the arguments of George Kennan and Henry Wallace rather than a Venn
Diagram.
● ELLs: ELL students will be supported according to their varying needs. Some students
may be paired with a buddy with the same L1. Other ELL students will be given sentence
starters for writing prompts, texts translated into their L1, and/or pictures to help them
decipher meaning. They may be given a choice bank for their Venn Diagram
assignment.
● Struggling students: Struggling students were identified as the 15% who got the
pre-assessment answer incorrect. These students will be grouped together so the
teacher can support them. They will undergo extra instruction regarding the events of
WWII and tensions that occured between the two nations.
● Students with disabilities: These students will have accommodations to fit their individual
needs and IEPs. Accommodations can include, but are not limited to, technology
assistance, one on one aids, student buddies, or small groups with teachers.

Outcomes Assessments
Students will: -In-class graphic organizer to indicate the
-Articulate the agreements made at Yalta and agreements made at Potsdam and Yalta
Potsdam regarding the nature of the postwar
world. -Take home Venn Diagram to compare and
contrast arguments of George Kennan and
-Assess the strategic options available to the Henry Wallace
United States in 1946.
Introduction (5 mins) :
Sponge Activity (Before Class): Students will complete an entrance ticket in which they jot down
anything they know about the Cold War.

Anticipatory Set: Students will call out what they remember learning about the Cold War and the
teacher will write ideas down on the board.

Activating Prior Knowledge: “In our last unit we focused on WWII. You may remember that the
Soviet Union and the United States were allies but had a tense relationship. The two nations
had different political goals that affected and later broke down their alliance. Due to these
differences between the two countries, this altered the Post-War world forever and their chance
of continued cooperation seemed unlikely.”

Initial Phase (15 mins):

Direct Instruction:
1:-Teacher will complete some explicit instruction on the background information related to this
lesson
1:-FDR died in 1945 meaning Truman took over the presidency
2:-Yalta and Potsdam Conferences- agreements made between Soviet Union and US
3:-Few months later, Truman administration believes that Stalin is not upholding their
end of the bargain
4:-Soviets did not want Western democratic elections and Truman believed that it
defeated whole point of WWII
5:-This created debate in the US about what their post-war policy should be
5.1:-Wallace: Stalin’s need for security should be acknowledged even if that
meant allowing Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe
5.2:-Kennan: Saw a threat to world peace that needed increased US security and
potentially military action
2:-Watch “The Big Three: Churchill, Roosevelt & Stalin Discuss Post-War Europe (1945)”
Youtube Video

Middle Phase (25 mins):

Guided Practice:
1:-Teacher will guide students to completing the Yalta Conference worksheet
2:-Teacher will project both the source and the worksheet (students will have own copy)
3:-Shared reading of the text, stopping to underline key agreements made at Yalta
4:-Teacher will call on students to help fill in the worksheet

Independent Practice:
-Students will be broken up into small groups of 3-4 students
-Together the groups will complete the Potsdam Conference worksheet using the text and
interactive map; they will be encouraged to discuss the text as they are reading and try to make
connections to today’s world
Concluding Phase (5 mins):
Closure/Summary:
-One student from each group will share some of their findings with the class
-Introduction of homework

Follow up:
-Homework: Students will complete a Venn Diagram in which they compare and contrast
arguments of George Kennan and Henry Wallace
-The completion of the Venn Diagram will be supported with Excerpts from Telegram
from George Kennan to Secretary of State George Marshall, February 22, 1946 (the
“Long Telegram”) and “Achieving an Atmosphere of Mutual Trust and Confidence”:
Henry A. Wallace offers an Alternative to Cold War Containment”

Materials:
Texts and Worksheets: https://edsitement.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/ColdWar01.pdf
Interactive Map: https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities/cold-war-europe-0
Youtube Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=155&v=mqYgQ6QAxIE&feature=emb_title

Resources:
Hahn, L., & Moser, J. (2009, November 13). Lesson 1: Sources of Discord, 1945–1946 |
NEH-Edsitement. EDSITEment. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/lesson-1-sources-discord-1945-1946
Venn Diagram. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indeed.com%2Fcareer-ad
vice%2Fcareer-development%2Fvenn-diagram&psig=AOvVaw2ls9K6HuRpzq7B2m_t9f
C3&ust=1665325410827000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCPCK_t3q
0PoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
 Lesson 3: The Strategy of Containment, 1947-1948
Date: October 7 Teacher’s Name: Katie Rachman
Subject: Social Studies Grade Level: 8
Learning Segment Title: The Origins of the Cold War: 1945-1949
Length of each lesson: 50 Minutes

Central Focus:
This unit will build on students’ prior knowledge of reading primary sources to understand the
document's historical context, focusing on documents from the Cold War. Students will be able
to demonstrate their learning when they write a primary source paper in which they will
centralize the document into its historical time period and support arguments regarding the
document’s significance assisted by secondary sources. The abilities to build and support
arguments that will be obtained throughout the unit and demonstrated in students’ primary
source papers will have further applications across other subjects, such as ELA, or other topics
in social studies where students will need to gather and interpret evidence in order to support
their claims. Students will learn background knowledge about the origins of the Cold War from
1945-1949. Students will conceptualize how Cold War policies shaped and changed both the
United States and the globe during 1945-1949 in order to support writing their papers.

Essential Question(s):
Unit: How do primary sources allow us to make connections to the past?

Lesson:
Unit: How do primary sources allow us to make connections to the past?
Lesson: What makes socialism and capitalism different?
To what extent was containment successful?

Learning Standards:
Content:8.7b The United States based its military and diplomatic policies from 1945 to 1990 on
a policy of containment of communism.
Practice: Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence

Pre-Assessment:
Teachers will utilize worksheets and Venn Diagram assignments from yesterday’s class to
ensure that students possess the background knowledge for this lesson. The background
knowledge includes indicating the agreements made at Potsdam and Yalta as well as
comparing/contrasting the arguments of George Kennan and Henry Wallace.

If 75% of students can compare and contrast the arguments of George Kennan and Henry
Wallace and 85% of the students can indicate the agreements made at Potsdam and Yalta, they
are ready to move on.
If benchmarks are not met, students will complete remedial instruction on these two topics.
Certain students (15%) who struggled may work in small groups with the teacher during
independent/small group work time.

Academic Language
Language Function Students will articulate the meaning and origins of the strategy of
containment. Students will evaluate the short and long-term
outcomes of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.
Vocabulary Containment policy, Truman doctrine, Marshall plan,
communism, capitalism
Syntax Students will complete a debate graphic organizer worksheet to
prepare them for small group work. Students will write a letter to
President Truman.
Discourse Students will participate in small group debates.

Differentiation:
● Gifted Learners: Gifted learners will be challenged by writing a response to their letter
from President Truman’s POV regarding the Marshall Plan. They will be grouped
together in their debate groups (at least one gifted student on each side in these
groups).
● ELLs: ELL students will be supported according to their varying needs. Some students
may be paired with a buddy with the same L1. Other ELL students will be given sentence
starters for writing prompts, texts translated into their L1, and/or pictures to help them
decipher meaning. They will be given sentence starters for their debates.
● Struggling students: Struggling students were identified as the 15% who got the
pre-assessment answer incorrect. These students will be grouped together so the
teacher can support them. They will undergo extra instruction regarding topics they
struggled with in the pre-assessment. Their debate groups may include extra teacher
support.
● Students with disabilities: These students will have accommodations to fit their individual
needs and IEPs. Accommodations can include, but are not limited to, technology
assistance, one on one aids, student buddies, or small groups with teachers.
Outcomes Assessments
Students will: -Students will complete an in-class small
-Articulate the meaning and origins of the group debate assessing the pros and the
strategy of containment. cons to the Truman Doctrine They will create
graphic organizers to plan out their debates
-Evaluate the short and long-term outcomes and the teacher will collect them. Additionally,
of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall the teacher will visit with each group as they
Plan. debate and take anecdotal notes.

-Students will write a letter to President

Truman in which they express their support
for or against the Marshall Plan.

Introduction (5 mins):
Sponge Activity (Before Class): Students will complete an entrance ticket in which they will use
the Venn Diagram they completed for homework to support either George Kennan or Henry
Wallace’s plan for the US after WWII.

Anticipatory Set: A few students will share their entrance tickets.

Activating Prior Knowledge: “Yesterday we learned about Henry Wallace and George Kennan’s
suggestions for the post-world era in the US. Today, we are going to see how their ideas played
out and what direction the US moved towards regarding foreign policy.”

Initial Phase (15 mins):

Direct Instruction:
1:-Teacher will complete some explicit instruction on the background information related to this
lesson
1:-Once Kennan and Wallace presented their different arguments regarding the next
steps for America, Truman decided to push America into a larger international role
2:-The Truman Doctrine was introduced in 1947, which stated that the US would take on
responsibility for protecting “free people” from communist regimes
3:-Watch Here's How the Truman Doctrine Established the Cold War | History
4:-Define communism and contrast to capitalism
5:-Also in 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a plan in which the US
would send aid to European countries after WWII. It launched in 1948
6:-The US’s new involvement in Europe was dubbed containment policy by George
Kennan
7:-The belief was that the Soviet Union was the ultimate threat to capitalism, so they
needed to be challenged wherever their influence was spread to promote democracy
and capitalism abroad

Middle Phase (25 mins):

Guided Practice:
1:-The independent practice portion of this lesson will consist of a small group debate- the
teacher will model a good debate explaining what the attributes of a good debate should look
like
-They will be posted on the board for students to reference throughout the lesson
Independent Practice
-Students will be broken up into groups of 4- 2 buddies per group that will be on each side of the
debate
-Buddy group 1 will read Excerpts from Harry S. Truman’s “Truman Doctrine” address, which he
delivered to Congress on March 12, 1947
-Buddy group 2 will read Henry A. Wallace, Speech on the Truman Doctrine, March 27, 1947
-The two groups will debate about Truman’s proposal
-Buddy group 1 will advocate for US assistance in Europe
-Buddy group 2 will counter with reasons that Congress should reject the policy

Concluding Phase (5 mins):

Closure/Summary
-Finish up debate by calling attention to a line in Truman’s speech "I believe that it must be the
policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressures." Explain how this has implications for how the United
States has approached foreign policy since 1947.
-Introduce homework

Follow up:
-Homework:
Students will read these four texts:
-Speech by George C. Marshall at Harvard University, June 15, 1947
-Rep. Charles W. Vursell (R-IL), Speech on the Marshall Plan, December 4, 1947
-Political Cartoon by Herblock, "It's the Same Thing, Without the Mechanical Problems,"
Washington Post, January 26, 1949
-Political Cartoon by Edwin Marcus, "While the Shadow Lengthens," New York Times, March
14, 1948
They will then write a letter to President Truman in which they express their support or
opposition to the Marshall Plan. They will use evidence from the text to support their opinions.

Materials:
Texts: https://edsitement.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/ColdWar02.pdf
Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb8aW46T3bg
Resources:
Debate Worksheet | Classroom Debate Planner. (n.d.). Games4esl. Retrieved October 10,
2022, from https://games4esl.com/esl-worksheets/debate-worksheet/
Moser, J. (2009, October 11). Lesson 2: The Strategy of Containment, 1947–1948 |
NEH-Edsitement. EDSITEment. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/strategy-containment-1947-1948
 Lesson 4: The Formation of the Western Alliance, 1948–1949
Date: October 8 Teacher’s Name: Katie Rachman
Subject: Social Studies Grade Level: 8
Learning Segment Title: The Origins of the Cold War: 1945-1949
Length of each lesson: 50 Minutes

Central Focus:
This unit will build on students’ prior knowledge of reading primary sources to understand the
document's historical context, focusing on documents from the Cold War. Students will be able
to demonstrate their learning when they write a primary source paper in which they will
centralize the document into its historical time period and support arguments regarding the
document’s significance assisted by secondary sources. The abilities to build and support
arguments that will be obtained throughout the unit and demonstrated in students’ primary
source papers will have further applications across other subjects, such as ELA, or other topics
in social studies where students will need to gather and interpret evidence in order to support
their claims. Students will learn background knowledge about the origins of the Cold War from
1945-1949. Students will conceptualize how Cold War policies shaped and changed both the
United States and the globe during 1945-1949 in order to support writing their papers.

Essential Question(s):
Unit: How do primary sources allow us to make connections to the past?
Lesson: Why did the United States formally commit itself to the defense of Europe by joining
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

Learning Standards:
Content:8.7b The United States based its military and diplomatic policies from 1945 to 1990 on
a policy of containment of communism.
Practice: Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence

Pre-Assessment:
Teachers will utilize discussion graphic organizers and letters to President Truman assignments
from yesterday’s class to ensure that students possess the background knowledge for this
lesson. The background knowledge includes articulating what containment looked like in the
United States and how the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine implemented it.

If 85% of students can articulate what containment looked like for the US and 75% of the
students can explain how the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine implemented it, they are
ready to move on.

If benchmarks are not met, students will complete remedial instruction on these two topics.
Certain students (15%) who struggled may work in small groups with the teacher during
independent/small group work time.
Academic Language
Language Function Students will analyze the motives for the Soviet Union's blockade
of West Berlin in spring 1948. Students will evaluate the extent to
which the Berlin Airlift was successful and the decision by the
United States to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Vocabulary Stalin, Berlin, Brussels Pact, NATO

Syntax Students will complete a T-Chart to list the reasons why Truman
should evacuate Berlin and the reasons why he should stay.
Students will complete a graphic organizer to begin developing
their essays.
Discourse Students will discuss Truman’s options regarding Berlin and
whether or not he should keep troops in the city or withdraw.
They will also take part in small group discussions.

Differentiation:
● Gifted Learners: Gifted learners will be asked to extend their primary source chart to
include what is missing from the document/what bias it holds.
● ELLs: ELL students will be supported according to their varying needs. Some students
may be paired with a buddy with the same L1. Other ELL students will be given sentence
starters for writing prompts, texts translated into their L1, and/or pictures to help them
decipher meaning. They will be given extra support when beginning to write their papers
such as writing in their L1 or dictating their paper to the teacher who will write for them.
● Struggling students: Struggling students were identified as the 15% who got the
pre-assessment answer incorrect. These students will be grouped together so the
teacher can support them. They will undergo extra instruction regarding topics they
struggled with in the pre-assessment.
● Students with disabilities: These students will have accommodations to fit their individual
needs and IEPs. Accommodations can include, but are not limited to, technology
assistance, one on one aids, student buddies, or small groups with teachers.
Outcomes
Students will:
-Analyze the motives for the Soviet Union's
blockade of West Berlin in spring 1948.
-Evaluate the extent to which the Berlin Airlift
was successful.
-Evaluate the decision by the United States
to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
-Analyze primary source documents to build
and support arguments.
Assessments
-Students will help the teacher complete a T
chart to list the reasons why Truman should
evacuate Berlin and the reasons why he
should stay.
-Students will take part in a small group
discussion as the teacher takes anecdotal
notes.
-Students will complete a graphic organizer
to begin developing their primary source
papers.

Introduction (5 mins) :

Sponge Activity (Before Class): Students will have a few minutes to start looking over primary
source options for their papers.

Anticipatory Set: Students will be told “Imagine it is the end of the 1940s. The Cold War is
starting to affect your daily lives more and more. How would you feel living in such a time of
uncertainty? Can anyone relate to living in a time of uncertainty?”

Activating Prior Knowledge: “Yesterday we learned about containment policy and how that
would look for America. Today we are going to continue learning about the Cold War and how it
began to alter the United State’s foreign policy forever.”

Initial Phase (15 mins):

Direct Instruction:
1:-Teacher will complete some explicit instruction on the background information related to this
lesson
1:-As we know, by the end of 1947 and beginning of 1948, the United States has
implemented a strategy of containment in regards to their foreign policy approach
2:-Since the end of WWII, there had been negotiations with the Soviet Union regarding
Germany’s fate
3:-The USSR rejected any plan that suggested aligning Germany with the West
-The US believed that keeping Germany divided was interfering with Europe’s economic
recovery
4:-In 1948 Britain and the US said that they were merging their zones
5:-Later France merged its zone with them too
6:-The USSR saw this as a threat and Stalin cut off traffic between West Berlin and West
Germany- this meant that many soldiers and citizens had no fuel or food
7:-The US carried necessary supplies into Berlin by air for 11 months
 8:-Eventually Stalin had to decide whether to shoot down these airlifts or lift the blockade
9:-He lifted it in May of 1949
10:-Before this some European nations had talked about a mutual security agreement to
defend against future German aggression- Brussels Pact
11:-Now they wanted the US to get involved and Truman signed the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) in April of 1949
12:-In July he asked Congress for monetary aid
13:-This was the 1st time that the US had committed itself to the defense of other
nations in peacetime

Middle Phase (25 mins):

Guided Practice:
1:-Before the guided practice, students will be given time to familiarize themselves with excerpts
from:
-Telegram, dated June 25, 1948, by Alfred M. Bingham, et al. to President Harry S.
Truman
-CIA memorandum, dated June 30, 1948, for President Harry S. Truman from Rear
Admiral, U.S. Navy, R.H. Hillenkoetter, Director of the CIA
-Top Secret report, dated July 28, 1948, titled "U.S. Military Courses of Action with
Respect to the Situation in Berlin"
-Translation of a letter, dated July 14, 1948, by Alexander S. Payushkin [the Soviet
Ambassador to the United States) to U.S. Secretary of State
-From newspaper editorial, “West Can Pull Out of Berlin Proudly,” Los Angeles Times,
September 12, 1948
2:-Teacher will guide students to complete a T-chart presented on board to list the reasons why
Truman should evacuate Berlin and the reasons why he should stay

Independent Practice:
-Students will now read a few more primary documents:
-The North Atlantic Treaty, April 4, 1949
-Speech by President Harry S. Truman to the U.S. Senate, April 12, 1949
-Sen. Robert A. Taft (R-OH), Speech on the North Atlantic Treaty, July 26, 1949
-They will then take place in a small group discussion in which they will imagine themselves as
1948 US citizens and evaluate the arguments of both Taft and Truman.

Concluding Phase (5 mins):

Closure/Summary
-Introduction of primary source paper- In these papers students will utilize what they have
learned in Lesson 1 in order to formulate an argument about a primary source.

Follow up:
-Homework: Students will be allowed to choose from any primary source text from this unit to
analyze for their primary source paper. If they only looked at an excerpt in class, they will be
required to seek out the entire text. They will begin to read the text, underlining main points.
Then they will begin to fill out a chart about the author, the audience, the historical context, the
type of document, and the main idea of the text. This will help support them to develop their
arguments for their papers.

Materials:
Texts: https://edsitement.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/ColdWar03.pdf

Resources:
Blank T-Chart by Paty's Products. (n.d.). Teachers Pay Teachers. Retrieved October 11, 2022,
from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Blank-T-Chart-2826623
Moser, J., & Hahn, L. (2009, November 13). Lesson 3: The Formation of the Western Alliance,
1948–1949. EDSITEment. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/lesson-3-formation-western-alliance-1948-1949
Primary Sources in Your Classroom | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.
(n.d.). History House Gov. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from
https://history.house.gov/Education/Primary-Sources/Primary-Source-Analysis/
 Lesson 5: The Primary Source Paper
Date: October 9 Teacher’s Name: Katie Rachman
Subject: Social Studies Grade Level: 8
Learning Segment Title: The Origins of the Cold War: 1945-1949
Length of each lesson: 50 Minutes

Central Focus:
This unit will build on students’ prior knowledge of reading primary sources to understand the
document's historical context, focusing on documents from the Cold War. Students will be able
to demonstrate their learning when they write a primary source paper in which they will
centralize the document into its historical time period and support arguments regarding the
document’s significance assisted by secondary sources. The abilities to build and support
arguments that will be obtained throughout the unit and demonstrated in students’ primary
source papers will have further applications across other subjects, such as ELA, or other topics
in social studies where students will need to gather and interpret evidence in order to support
their claims. Students will learn background knowledge about the origins of the Cold War from
1945-1949. Students will conceptualize how Cold War policies shaped and changed both the
United States and the globe during 1945-1949 in order to support writing their papers.

Essential Question(s):
Unit/Lesson: How do primary sources allow us to make connections to the past?

Learning Standards:
Content:8.7b The United States based its military and diplomatic policies from 1945 to 1990 on
a policy of containment of communism.
Practice: Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence

Pre-Assessment:
Teachers will ensure that students contain prior knowledge regarding how to analyze a primary
source. The teacher will utilize the buddy work that students completed in Lesson 1 to
determine if students contain the necessary information.

If 75% of students can answer the questions on the checklist and 85% of the students can
formulate arguments about the text and support them with evidence, they are ready to move on.

If benchmarks are not met, students will complete remedial instruction on the steps to writing
well-thought-out arguments and the primary source checklist. Certain students (15%) who
struggled may work in small groups with the teacher during independent/small group work time.

Academic Language
Language Function Students will analyze primary source documents. Students will
develop arguments using the primary source document as
evidence.
Vocabulary Primary source, secondary source, analyze, historical context
Syntax Students use their primary source organizers from homework to
help support writing their papers.
Discourse Students may discuss with peers to bounce ideas off of each
other for their papers.

Differentiation:

● Gifted Learners: Gifted learners will be encouraged to dive deeper into primary source
analysis. This may include the option to choose more complex documents to analyze.
This may also include adding another aspect to their arguments in which they attempt to
assess the limitations of the source they are looking at.
● ELLs: ELL students will be supported according to their varying needs. Some students
may be paired with a buddy with the same L1. Other ELL students will be given sentence
starters for writing prompts, texts translated into their L1, and/or pictures to help them
decipher meaning. They may dictate their arguments to the teacher and the teacher will
transcribe for them. (Shared writing).
● Struggling students: Struggling students were identified as the 15% who got the
pre-assessment answer incorrect. These students will be grouped together so the
teacher can support them. They will undergo extra instruction on primary source
analysis. The teacher will support writing their paper with sentence starters, breaking
down how paragraphs will be structured, etc.
● Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities will have accommodations to fit their
individual needs and IEPs. Accommodations can include but are not limited to,
technology assistance, one on one aids, student buddies, or small groups with teachers.

Outcomes Assessments
Students will: -This lesson gives free work time to complete
the final summative evaluation for the
-Students will be able to develop arguments learning segment. The product will be the
about a primary source. primary source paper.

-Students will be able to write primary source
papers in which they contextualize the source
and develop/back-up arguments about what
the source tells about the past and the
significance of that today.
-Formative assessment will take place when
the teacher meets one on one with students.
This will help determine what students may
need extra support before the deadline.

Introduction (5 mins):
Sponge Activity (Before Class):
The students will complete a warm-up where they will evaluate why primary sources are
valuable. (This assesses if students remember from lesson 1)

Anticipatory Set:
Students will share their answers from the sponge activity.

Activating Prior Knowledge:

“In Lesson 1, we talked about analyzing primary documents. Yesterday, you began to work on
selecting a source to analyze and filling out your graphic organizer. Today, we are going to talk
about the structure of primary source papers and begin writing. I will have quick meetings with
students to go over your papers and help guide you.”

Initial Phase (15 mins):

Direct Instruction:
1:-Teacher will talk about the structure of these primary source papers
-Paragraph 1- This paragraph will introduce the source briefly and state the main idea.
The student will present their argument.
-Paragraph 2: This paragraph will set the document into the historical context. The
student will talk about when/where and how that shapes the author’s perspective on the
issue/main idea. They will begin to develop their arguments about the text here.
-Paragraph 3: This paragraph will allow students to expand on their arguments. They will
bring in secondary sources to support their claims.
-Paragraph 4 (optional; encouraged especially for gifted students): This paragraph will
assess the limitations of the source

Middle Phase (25 mins):

Guided Practice:
1:-Teacher will present a sample essay on the board
2:-The teacher will highlight the different aspects of each paragraph, showing how the writer
followed the structure

Independent Practice:
-Students will have independent time to work on their papers
-During this time, the teacher will conference with the students to check their progress

Concluding Phase (5 mins):

Closure/Summary:
-Students will be reminded one last time about the importance of primary source documents in
learning about the past.
-Students will be reminded of the due date for the paper.

Follow up:
-Homework is for students to complete their papers by the set deadline.

Materials:

Resources:
Primary Sources in Your Classroom | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.
(n.d.). History House Gov. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from
https://history.house.gov/Education/Primary-Sources/Primary-Source-Analysis/