The Cold War Primary Sources are just what teachers need to help students learn how to analyze primary sources in order to meet Common Core State Standards!
Students participate in active learning by creating their own interpretations of history using historical documents. Students make observations, generate questions, organize information and ideas, think analytically, write persuasively or informatively, and cite evidence to support their opinions, hypotheses, and conclusions. Students learn how to integrate and evaluate information to deepen their understanding of historical events.
The 20 Cold War Primary Sources are:
- Photograph of German children watching 20 tons of flour being unloaded from a USAF airplane during the Berlin Airlift – 1948
- Photograph of German children playing with toy American aircraft, simulating supply planes landing in western Berlin during the Berlin Airlift – 1948
- Photograph depicting the 38th parallel—dividing line between communist North Korea and the anti-communist South Korea – 1950
- Photograph of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—American citizens found guilty of passing information about the U.S. atomic bomb to the Soviet Union – 1951
- Example of anti-Communist propaganda during the 1950s—specifically targeting the entertainment industry
- Cartoon of Fidel Castro—established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere in Cuba in 1959
- Photograph of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev viewing wreckage from American U-2 aircraft shot down by the Soviets – 1960
- Photograph of the seven Project Mercury astronauts—first U.S. astronauts chosen as the U.S. and the Soviet Union competed in the “space race” – 1960
- Photograph of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during Vienna Summit – 1961
- Map of the United States used by President Kennedy and his advisors during the Cuban Missile Crisis—map shows the potential range of missiles shot from Cuba – 1962
- Photograph of Cuban soldiers near anti-aircraft guns during the Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962
- Photograph of members of peace activist group Women Strike for Peace hold signs regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962
- Photograph of teletype machine set up as a “hotline” between the Kremlin and the White House in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis – 1963
- Photograph of U.S. Marine escorting a Viet Cong suspect near Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam – 1965
- Propaganda leaflet urging Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers to defect to the government of Vietnam – circa 1965–1971
- Photograph of U.S. hostages held in Iran for 444 days returning to the United States – 1981
- Photograph of President Ronald Reagan delivering a televised speech about the Strategic Defense Initiative – 1983
- Photograph of people atop the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate as wall came down in 1989
- Satellite photograph of Berlin with a yellow line showing where the Berlin Wall once stood – created 2002
- Photograph of remains of the Iron Curtain in the Czech Republic – 2007
Your students will:
- Think critically and analytically, interpret events, and question various perspectives of history.
- Participate in active learning by creating their own interpretations instead of memorizing facts and a writer’s interpretations.
- Integrate and evaluate information provided in diverse media formats to deepen their understanding of historical events.
- Create a more relevant and meaningful learning experience.
Download the Gallopade Free Online Teacher's Guide for Primary Sources PDF located in "Additional Info."
All levels. 8 x 11 inches each. Cardstock.
