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K E N N E DY ’ S P R E S I D E N T I A L
LEADERSHIP AND CUBA
HoweffectivewasPresidentKennedy’sforeignpolicyleadershiptowardCuba
duringtheearly1960s?
Program
ACTIVITY 1: KENNEDY IN
CASTRO ’S EYES: THE IMPACT
O F THE BAY O F PIGS INVASIO N
O N FIDEL CASTRO | 1 HR
DIRECTIO NS
1.IntroduceinformationabouttheBayofPigsinvasion.
Dividestudentsintopairsorsmallgroupsandensurethateachgrouphas
computeraccess.DirectstudentstotheJFKLibrary:BayofPigswebsite.Ask
studentstoreadtheinformationonthepageandtakenotesbyfillingoutthe
FiveWsChart.
2.RoleplayascenefromKillingKennedy.
HavetwostudentsreadtheBayofPigsSceneexcerptedfromtheKilling
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Kennedyscript.AssignonestudenttoplaytheroleofJohnF.Kennedyand
anothertoplaytheroleofJackieKennedy.Beforethetwovolunteersreadthe
selection,instructstudentstowritedownadjectivesthatwoulddescribe
PresidentKennedy’sbehaviorinthesceneastheylisten.
Havethetwostudentvolunteersreadthedialoguealoudfortheclass.After
reading,bringtheclasstogetherforawholeclassdiscussion.Ask:
WhatadjectiveswouldyouusetodescribePresidentKennedy’sbehaviorin
thisscene?Why?
Basedonthescene,howdidPresidentKennedyviewtheBayofPigs
invasion?
Makeaprediction:IfPresidentKennedyfeltthiswayaftertheBayofPigs
invasion,howdoyouthinkFidelCastromusthavefeltabouttheBayofPigs
invasion?
3.DiscusstheBayofPigsInvasion.
Writethefollowingfourquestionsonposterpaperorthewhiteboardfor
studentstosee.
WhatwastheobjectiveoftheBayofPigsinvasion?
WhydidtheAmericanleaderswanttooverthrowthegovernmentofFidel
Castro?
Whatactuallyhappened?
BasedontheAmericanobjectives,wastheBayofPigsinvasionasuccessora
failure?Why?
AskstudentstousewhattheylearnedfromreadingtheBayofPigsInvasion
handouttorespondindependentlytothequestionswrittenontheposterpaper
orwhiteboard.Givestudentsapproximately10minutestocompletetheir
responsesintheirnotebooks.
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Havestudentsformpairstodiscusstheirresponsestothequestions.Then,
bringtheclasstogetherandaskeachpairtosummarizeonemainpointfrom
theirdiscussion.Clearupanymisconceptionsbeforemovingon.
4.UseprimarysourcestoanalyzetheimpactoftheBayofPigsinvasionon
Castro.
TellstudentstheywilluseareadingstrategycalledSOAPSTonetoanalyzea
primarysourcedocumentaboutFidelCastroandtheBayofPigsinvasion.
DistributetheSOAPSToneworksheetandtheCastroandtheBayofPigs
Invasionworksheet.Leadstudentsincompletingtogetherthespeaker,
occasion,andaudiencesectionsoftheSOAPSToneworksheet.Tellstudents
theywilladdtothesesectionswhiletheyreadCastro’sspeech.Askstudentsto
readCastro’sspeechand,astheyread,tocompletethesubject,purpose,and
tonesectionsoftheSOAPSToneworksheet.
AfterstudentshavehadenoughtimetoreadCastro’sspeechandcompletethe
sectionsoftheSOAPSToneworksheet,leadstudentsinadiscussionaboutthe
speech.Ask:
WhatisCastro’scritiqueoftheUnitedStates?Supportyouranswerwith
evidencefromthetext.
WhydoesCastroconsidertheUnitedStatestobehypocritical?Supportyour
answerwithevidencefromthetext.
WhichleadersdoesCastrocomparetoJFK?Why?
WhydoesCastrobelieveCubaisnotathreattotheUnitedStates?
IsCastrojustifiedincallingtheAmericans“imperialists”?Arehisclaimsvalid?
Whyorwhynot?Supportyouranswerwithevidencefromthetext.
5.WritealetterasFidelCastrotoNikitaKhrushchev.
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Tellstudentsthefollowing:TheBayofPigsinvasionhadamajorimpactonthe
wayCastroviewedtheUnitedStates.Castro,believingthatAmericanleaderswould
soonattemptanotherattackagainsthim,soughtoutsupportfromtheother
globalpoweroftheday,theSovietUnion.Now,youwillputyourselfinCastro’s
shoesandimitatehislettertoSovietleaderNikitaKhrushchev.
ExplaintostudentsthattheywillwritealetterfromCastro’sfirst-person
perspective,appealingtotheSovietUnion.DistributetheWriteaLetterto
Khrushchevworksheet,readaloudthedirections,anddistributeandreviewthe
WriteaLettertoKhrushchevRubricsostudentsunderstandtheexpectationsof
thisexercise.HavestudentsreadandreviewtheBayofPigsInvasionandthe
FidelCastroSpeechhandoutsbeforewritingtheirletters.Askstudentstouse
SOAPSToneasapre-writingstrategyandtorefertotheirearlierSOAPSTone
workiftheyneedguidance.
Afterstudentshandintheirletters,leadtheminadiscussionabouttheir
experiencesinthisactivity.Answerquestionsstudentsmaystillhaveaboutthe
BayofPigsinvasion,FidelCastro’sreactionstotheinvasion,andtherelationship
betweenCastroandtheSovietUnion/Khrushchev.
Modification
APPARTSoradifferentreadingstrategyofyourchoicecanbeusedasan
alternativetotheSOAPSTonestrategy.
Tip
Checkforunderstandingthroughoutthelessonbyaskingstudentstosummarize
theimpactoftheBayofPigsinvasiononFidelCastro.
Modification
Ifcomputersarenotavailableforstudents,step1maybeassignedas
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homeworkthepreviousnight.
Modification
IfyouhavealreadytaughttheBayofPigsinvasiontostudents,forgothe
informationaltextinStep1andrelyonstudents’priorknowledge.
Tip
Toensureactiveparticipationandengagement,besuretoestablishclear
criteriaforclassdiscussionsbeforebeginninganydiscussion.Formore
informationonestablishingnormsfordiscussions,seeHumanRightsEducation
Associates:EstablishingRulesforDiscussion.
Tip
Toensurestudentsaresuccessfulinmeetingtheobjectivesofthisactivity,
facilitatestudentthinkingbyremindingthemthroughouttheactivitytoanswer
thequestionsandsupporttheirresponseswithevidencefromthesources.
Avoidtellingstudentsanswersiftheyarestuck.Poseadditionalquestionsto
supportstudentthinking.
AlternativeAssessment
Reviewstudents’lettersusingtheWriteaLettertoKhrushchevRubric.Excellent
letterswilldescribeCastro’sattitudeaftertheBayofPigsinvasionandpropose
apotentialrelationshipbetweenCubaandtheSovietUnion.Checkalllettersfor
specificityandclearexplanationsofreasoning.
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
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SocialStudies
UnitedStateshistory
Worldhistory
LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
identifyanddescribethecausesandoutcomesoftheBayofPigsinvasionby
readinganddiscussinganinformationaltext
describeCastro’sattitudetowardKennedyandtheUnitedStatesbyreading
andanalyzingaprimarysourcedocument
evaluatetheimpactoftheBayofPigsinvasiononCastro’smindsettoward
theUnitedStatesbywritingalettertoNikitaKhrushchevarguingforaSovietCubanalliance
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
Object-basedlearning
TeachingMethods
Discussions
Reading
Writing
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
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21stCenturyStudentOutcomes
Information,Media,andTechnologySkills
InformationLiteracy
LearningandInnovationSkills
CriticalThinkingandProblemSolving
CriticalThinkingSkills
Analyzing
Creating
Understanding
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
N AT I O N A L C O U N C I L F O R S O C I A L S T U DI E S C U RRI C U LU M
S TA N DA RDS
•Theme9:
GlobalConnections
I S T E S TA N DA RDS F O R S T U DE N T S (I S T E S TA N DA RDS *S )
•Standard1:
CreativityandInnovation
•Standard4:
CriticalThinking,ProblemSolving,andDecisionMaking
PREPARATIO N
BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
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Throughoutthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,Cuba—located145kilometers
(90miles)offthecoastofFlorida—wasextremelyimportantforlargeU.S.
corporations.AccordingtoaDepartmentofCommercesurveyreleasedin1956,
Americanfirmscontrolled90percentofCuba’stelephoneandelectricservices,
50percentofCuba’spublicrailways,and40percentofCuba’srawsugar
production.Asaresult,theUnitedStatesgovernmentactivelysupportedthe
pro-AmericandictatorFulgencioBatista,abrutalauthoritarianrulerwhothrived
inopulenceaspovertydecimatedmostCubanpeople.
Inthisclimateofoppression,theCubanpeopleralliedtoanenigmaticguerrilla
fighter,FidelCastro,whotoppledBatista’sgovernmentandeventuallypromised
tobringsocialismtoCuba.Unhappywiththisoutcome,theCIA,under
authorizationfromPresidentEisenhower,developedplanstooverthrowCastro.
PresidentKennedy,lessthanthreemonthsafterhisinauguration,authorized
theplan.ThisplotbecamethefailedBayofPigsinvasion,inwhichAmericanbackedCubanexilesfailedtostartapopularuprisingagainstCastro.
WhiletheBayofPigsinvasionwasanabjectfailurefortheUnitedStatesand
PresidentKennedy,theeventhadequallylargerepercussionsonCuba,allowing
CastrotoconsolidatehisauthorityovertheCubanpoliticalsystemandpushing
himintoacloseralliancewiththeSovietUnion.
PriorKnowledge
["GeneralunderstandingoftheoriginsoftheColdWarandU.S.distrustof
communismandtheSovietUnion","Basicunderstandingoffirst-person
narratives(e.g.,letters,diaryentries)"]
RecommendedPriorActivities
None
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Vocabulary
Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
communismnoun
typeofeconomywhereallproperty,includingland,
factoriesandcompanies,isheldbythegovernment.
dictator
noun
exile
noun
guerrilla
havingtodowithwarfareconductedbyorganizedgroups
adjective
ofcivilians,notsoldiersorthemilitary.
revolution noun
personwithcompletecontrolofagovernment.
forcedejectionfromacountry,orapersonwhofeels
forcedtoleave.
overthrowortotalchangeofgovernment.
systemoforganizationorgovernmentwhereallproperty,
socialism
noun
industry,andcapitalisownedbythecommunity,not
individuals.
Soviet
Union
(1922-1991)largenorthernEurasiannationthathada
noun
communistgovernment.AlsocalledtheUnionofSoviet
SocialistRepublics,ortheUSSR.
PARTNER
BeforeMovingontotheNextActivity
Askstudents:WasKennedyaneffectiveleaderattheBayofPigsinvasion?Whyor
whynot?Discussresponsesasaclassandtellstudentstheywillhaveanother
opportunitytoevaluateKennedy’sleadershipinthenextactivityontheCuban
MissileCrisis.
ACTIVITY 2: 13 DAYS:
PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND THE
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CU BAN MISSIL E CRISIS | 1 HR
30 MINS
DIRECTIO NS
1.ReadanexcerptfromtheKillingKennedyscript.
AssignstudentstoplaythedifferentrolesintheCubanMissileCrisisScene
selectionfromtheKillingKennedyscript.Havestudentsactoutthescene.
Beforereading,asktheremainingstudentstolistentoidentifywhatproblem
PresidentKennedyfacesinthisscene.After,ask:WhatproblemdidPresident
Kennedyfaceinthisclip?Explaintostudentsthatthisproblemhascometobe
knownastheCubanMissileCrisis.Itoccurredin1962.Forthirteendays,the
worldteeteredonthebrinkofnuclearwar.Ask:WhydidmissilesinCubaposea
threattotheUnitedStates?
2.ReviewKennedy’spolicyoptionsinthefaceoftheCubanMissileCrisis.
ExplaintostudentsthattheywillbeactingasKennedy’sadvisersduringthis
thirteen-dayperiod.Theywillneedtoresearchandanalyzethedocumentsthat
Kennedy’srealadvisershadavailabletothem,andthenpresenttheirfindings
tothepresident(you).
TellstudentsthatPresidentKennedyhadseveraloptionsinrespondingtothe
threatposedbytheplacementofmissilesonCubansoil.Askstudentswhat
optionstheythinkKennedyhad.Liststudentresponsesonposterpaperorona
whiteboard.Usethediscussiontopromptstudentstoincludealloftheoptions
listedbelow.Youmaywishtoprojectthelistforstudentstoread.
1. Donothing:AmericanvulnerabilitytoSovietmissileswasnotnew.Newly
placedmissilesinCubamadelittlestrategicdifferenceinthemilitarybalance
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ofpower.
2. Diplomacy:UsediplomaticpressuretogettheSovietUniontoremovethe
missiles.
3. Warning:SendamessagetoCastrotowarnhimofthegravedangerhe,and
Cuba,werefacing.
4. Blockade:UsetheU.S.NavytoblockanymissilesfromarrivinginCuba.
5. Airstrike:UsetheU.S.AirForcetoattackallknownmissilesites.
6. Invasion:LaunchafullforceinvasionofCubaandoverthrowofCastro.
3.StudentsresearchKennedy’spolicyoptionsusingprimaryresourcesand
role-playingasEXCOMM.
ExplaintostudentsthatafterthefailureofBayofPigsinvasion,Kennedy
encourageddissentamonghisadvisers.Ifanideawasbad,Kennedywantedhis
adviserstotellhim;hedidnotwant“yesmen”tohelphimmakedecisions.
ExplaintostudentsthatduringtheBayofPigsinvasion,membersofKennedy’s
staffwhodisagreedwiththeactionrefusedtovoicetheirnegativeopinions,not
wantingtocriticizethelargergroup.Afterthisfailure,Kennedyalteredhis
leadershipstyle,wantingtoexplorealloptionsbeforemakingadecision.
Tellstudentstheywillnowberole-playingasnationalsecurityadvisersto
PresidentKennedy,agroupknownduringtheCubanMissileCrisisasEXCOMM.
Eachstudentgroupwillbeassignedonepolicyoptionbrainstormedearlierand
willberesponsiblefor:
Listofprosandconsforthegroup’spolicychoice
Visualaid—onposterpaper—topresentprosandconstotheclass
Dividetheclassintogroupsandassignonepolicyoptionpergroupforfurther
exploration.DistributetheConfidentialFilestoeachgroup.Tellstudentsthey
willusetheseConfidentialFilestosupporttheirpolicychoices.DistributeaTCharttoeachgroupandinstructthemtouseittomakeapros/conschart.
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Distributeposterpaperandmarkerstoeachgrouptodevelopavisualaidthat
willidentifytheirpolicyoptionaswellasthepros/consofthatoption.
4.ActingasEXCOMM,studentspresenttheirpolicyargumentsandtheclass
comestoconsensusononeresponse.
Aftergroupsfinishdraftingtheirprosandconswithvisualaidsonposterpaper,
haveeachgrouppresenttheirpolicyanditsaccompanyingprosandcons.After
eachgrouppresents,studentsmayaskquestionsaboutthegroup’spolicyand
thinking.Havethewholeclasssummarizethepresentationbydeterminingthe
mostsignificantproandconforthepolicy.Askstudentstosupportall
statementswithevidencetakenfromtheConfidentialFiles.
Afterallgroupshavepresented,havestudentsdiscussalltheoptionsthatwere
presented.
5.ComparetheEXCOMMclassconsensustoKennedy’sactualresponsetothe
CubanMissileCrisis.
PlaytheRedThreatvideocliptotheclass.Afterwatching,ask:
WhatpolicychoicedidKennedymakeinresponsetotheCubanMissileCrisis?
Comparedtotheprosandconslistsdevelopedearlier,doyoubelieveKennedy
madethebestpossibledecision?Whyorwhynot?
6.ExaminetheoutcomesoftheCubanMissileCrisis.
ExplaintostudentsthefollowingoutcomesoftheCubanMissileCrisis.Project
thesepointsinaPowerPointpresentationorwritethemonapieceofposter
paper.
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Aftertheblockade,SovietPremierNikitaKhrushchevsentaletterto
Kennedy.KhrushchevagreedtoremovemissilesfromCubaiftheUnited
StatespromisednottoinvadeCubaandtoeventuallyremovemissilesfrom
Turkey.
Kennedyagreed.TheUnitedStatessecretlyremovedmissilesfromTurkey.
KhrushchevopenlyremovedmissilesfromCuba,endingtheCubanMissile
Crisis.
Closetheactivitywithadiscussionofthequestionsbelow.Ask:
TowhatextentwasKennedyasuccessfulleaderinthiscrisis?
WhywasKennedymoresuccessfulintheCubanMissileCrisisthanhewas
duringtheBayofPigsinvasion?Inwhatways?
Modification
Insteadofdiscussingsummaryquestions,formallyassessstudentsbyasking
themtorespondinwritingtothefinaldiscussionquestions.
Tip
InStep2,ifstudentsbrainstormotherfeasibleoptions,youmaychooseto
incorporatethemintotheactivityatyourdiscretion.
Tip
Thisactivityisextremelystudent-centered,involvingsmallgroupworkand
student-leddiscussion.Formoreinformationonestablishingproceduresfor
thesetypesofactivitiesinyourclassroom,pleaserefertotheOtherNotesin
thePreparationsection.
InformalAssessment
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Havestudentsrespondtothefollowingquestions,supportingtheirresponses
withevidencefromtheactivity.TowhatextentwasKennedyasuccessfulleader
inthiscrisis?WhywasKennedymoresuccessfulintheCubanMissileCrisisthanhe
wasduringtheBayofPigsinvasion?Inwhatways?
ExtendingtheLearning
Havestudentsresearchthepoliticsofdétenteandtheperiodofrelaxed
tensionsbetweentheUnitedStatesandtheSovietUnionfollowingtheCuban
MissileCrisis.
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
SocialStudies
UnitedStateshistory
Worldhistory
LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
argueinfavorofonecourseofactionforPresidentKennedyintheCuban
MissileCrisisbyidentifyingtheprosandconsofthatactionfromprimary
sourceevidence
evaluatePresidentKennedy’sleadershipintheCubanMissileCrisisby
identifyingtheoutcomesoftheevent
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
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TeachingMethods
Brainstorming
Cooperativelearning
Decision-making
Discussions
Issueanalysis
Reading
Roleplaying
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
21stCenturyStudentOutcomes
Information,Media,andTechnologySkills
InformationLiteracy
LearningandInnovationSkills
CommunicationandCollaboration
CreativityandInnovation
CriticalThinkingandProblemSolving
LifeandCareerSkills
LeadershipandResponsibility
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
N AT I O N A L C O U N C I L F O R S O C I A L S T U DI E S C U RRI C U LU M
S TA N DA RDS
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•Theme6:
Power,Authority,andGovernance
•Theme9:
GlobalConnections
PREPARATIO N
BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
FollowingtheBayofPigsinvasionin1961,FidelCastro,thecommunistleaderof
Cuba,becameconvincedthatatsomepointtheUnitedStateswouldattemptto
removehimfrompower.Asaresult,hegrewincreasinglydefiantofAmerican
policymakersandcourtedtheleadersoftheSovietUniontobolsterthestrength
ofhissmallislandcountry.In1962,SovietPremierNikitaKhrushchevofferedto
placeSovietnuclearmissilesonCubajust145kilometers(90miles)offthe
coastofFlorida.CastroeagerlyacceptedKhrushchev’soffer,believingnuclear
missilesinCubawoulddeterAmericanaggressionandsecureCuba’ssafety.
AnAmericanspyplaneeventuallydiscoveredtheexistenceofmissilesitesoff
thecoastofCuba,sparkingwhatwouldcometobeknownastheCubanMissile
Crisis.PresidentJohnF.Kennedydemandedthatallnuclearmissilesbe
removedfromCubaandblockadedtheislandtopreventfurtherdeliveriesof
nuclearwarheads.Duringthethirteen-daystandoffbetweentheUnitedStates
andtheSovietUnion,theworldteeteredonthebrinkofnuclearwar.Eventually,
SovietPremierKhrushchevacquiescedtoKennedy’sdemands,agreeingto
removethemissilesfromCubapublicallyiftheUnitedStatesmilitarywould
promisenottoinvadeCubaandsecretlyremovemissilesfromTurkey,averting
potentialdisasterandendingtheCubanMissileCrisis.
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PriorKnowledge
["UnderstandingoftheColdWarandthecausesofAmerican-Soviet
tensions","UnderstandingoftheBayofPigsinvasion","Understandingofand
experienceinusinghistoricalthinkingandproducingarguments/persuasive
writing","Basicunderstandingoftheconceptsofdeterrenceandcontainment"]
RecommendedPriorActivities
None
Vocabulary
Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
communismnoun
democracy noun
typeofeconomywhereallproperty,includingland,factories
andcompanies,isheldbythegovernment.
systemoforganizationorgovernmentwherethepeople
decidepoliciesorelectrepresentativestodoso.
systemoforganizationorgovernmentwhereallproperty,
socialism
noun
industry,andcapitalisownedbythecommunity,not
individuals.
Soviet
Union
(1922-1991)largenorthernEurasiannationthathada
noun
communistgovernment.AlsocalledtheUnionofSoviet
SocialistRepublics,ortheUSSR.
PARTNER
Rubric
DistributetheKennedyandCubaLeadershipAssessmentworksheet.Ask
studentstocompletethegraphicorganizertogenerateathesis,andthen
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respondtothesummativequestioninawell-writtenessay,supportingtheir
responsewithevidencelearnedinclass.Collecttheresponseandassess
studentworkontheprovidedrubric.
PARTNER
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