Cold War Drama at HMS

Check out this great lesson that our seventh grade social studies students participated in recently.  Thanks to Assistant Principal Jason Crutchfield for the write-up!

On the Brink

You are the President of the United States during the height of the Cold War. You have just found out that Fidel Castro has been allowing the Soviets to store and set up nuclear missiles less the 100 miles off the coast of the United States. How do you know this? You have just been presented sets of satellite photographs of the missiles being transported and set up. What are you going to do?

This was the charge to Mr. Strzepek , Mrs. Bledsoe and Mrs. Goodin’s 7th grade Social Studies classes last week. 7th grade US2 students were given the opportunity to relive the Cuban Missile Crisis, through this authentic Cold War experience. Students were placed into groups, as they imagined that they were members of President Kennedy’s Cabinet, preparing to provide him a recommended course of action.

The teachers join in the fun by playing top advisors to the President. Their enthusiasm sells the lesson and provides a motivating environment. TOP ADVISERS to the President, provide student groups with great primary source documents; satellite images of Cuban missile sites. Once analyzed, they first come up with their own creative solution to the crisis. The Top Advisors then generalize the students’ original solutions, to develop a list of possible responses to the crisis.

Once all possible responses are considered, the teachers reveal the actual response used by President Kennedy. Students are proud to find that their original responses were very similar to what government officials considered.

Using this simulation strategy, students were able to apply many of the Lifelong Learning Standards in learning about the Cuban Missile Crisis. LLS#’s 2-4 and 6, seem the most appropriate to me. If I had to choose just one, it would be #6, Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve new and increasingly complex problems.