ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB 11thGradeUSHistoryInquiry
WasContainmenta
Success?
Imagefoundonline:https://studyingthehumanities.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/containment.jpg
SupportingQuestions
1. WhatpoliciesdidtheUnitedStatesputintoplacetolimitorcontainpostWWIIidea
ortheories?
2. WhatpostWWIIideasortheoriesthreatenedtheUnitedStates?
3. TowhatextentwereUnitedStatespolicieseffective?
ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB 11thGradeUSHistoryInquiry
WasContainmentaSuccess?
ArkansasStandardsfor
SocialStudies
Era9.5.USH.3Analyzesourcesofconflictandconfrontationduringthepost-WorldWarIIera(e.g.,
atomicbomb,TrumanDoctrine,Korea,Vietnam,China,Berlin,Afghanistan,Cuba).
StagingtheQuestion
ViewapictureoffallingdominoesanddiscusswhythisbecameametaphorforU.S.ColdWarpolicies.
SupportingQuestion1
WhatpoliciesdidtheUnitedStatesput intoplacetolimitorcontainpost
WWIIideasortheories?
SupportingQuestion2
WhatpostWWIIideasortheories
threatenedtheUnitedStates?
CreatealistofpoliciestheU.S.
employedtocombatgeo-political
threatsafterWWII.
FeaturedSources
Formative
PerformanceTask
Createanannotatedmapthatshows
wherepoliticalproblemsweremost
pronouncedandexplainthethreat
theseareasposedtotheU.S.
SourceA:DepartmentofState:
DescriptionoftheTrumanDoctrine
SupportingQuestion3
TowhatextentwereUnitedStates
containmentpolicieseffective?
Formative
PerformanceTask
FeaturedSources
SourceA:MappingHistory:ColdWar
Map
SourceB:DepartmentofState:
DescriptionoftheMarshallPlan
SourceB:DepartmentofState:
DescriptionoftheBerlinAirlift
SourceC:GWU:Kennan“Long
Telegram
SourceC:MediaRichLearning:Cold
WarPart1–FromWorldWartoCold
War
Formative
PerformanceTask
Writeaclaimandcounterclaimabout
theextenttowhichtheU.S.
containmentpoliciesweresuccessful.
FeaturedSources
SourceA:UNH:Contemporary
editorialabouttheeffectivenessofthe
MarshallPlan
SourceB:NationalArchives:
DescriptionoftheKoreanConflict
SourceC:DepartmentofState:
DescriptionofNSC-68
ARGUMENTWasContainmentaSuccess?Constructanargument(e.g.,detailedoutline,poster,essay)that
discussesthecompellingquestionusingspecificclaimsandrelevantevidencefromhistoricalsourceswhile
acknowledgingcompetingviews.
Summative
PerformanceTask
EXTENSIONParticipateinaclassroomforumonwhethercontainmentasaresponsetocommunisminthe
1950s-60sisseenasasuccesstoday.
UNDERSTANDInvestigateacurrentthreatcausedbydifferingideas/theoriesfocusingononeormore
groupsofpeoplewhoaretryingtomakeachangeeconomicallyorpoliticallyinU.S.policy.
ASSESSExaminetheextenttowhichthecurrentthreatissuccessfulandstateone’spersonalperspective
onthejustificationofthethreat.
TakingInformed
Action
ACTWriteaneditorialfortheschoolorlocalnewspaperonacurrent“threatorissuearisingfromdifferent
ideas/theories”.Inthiseditorial,studentscandiscusstheirpositionsontheeffortsofthoseengagedin
these“threats”andtheextenttowhichthoseeffortsarecurrentlysuccessful.
*Featuredsourcesaresuggestedandlinksareprovided.Itmaybethattheselinksarebrokenandweapologizeinadvanceforthe
inconvenience.
THISWORKISLICENSEDUNDERACREATIVECOMMONSATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE4.0
INTERNATIONALLICENSE.
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ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB Overview
InquiryDescription
ThisinquiryleadsstudentsthroughaninvestigationofContainment.Byinvestigatingthecompelling
question“WasContainmentaSuccess?”studentsevaluatetheneedforandpoliciesofcontainment.The
formativeperformancetasksbuildonknowledgeandskillsthroughthecourseoftheinquiryandhelp
studentsmakejudgementsonthepoliciesofcontainment.Studentscreateanevidence-basedargument
abouttherelativesuccessorfailureofcontainment.
Inadditiontothestandardslistedpreviously,thisinquiryhighlightsthestandard:
•
Era9.5.USH.3Analyzesourcesofconflictandconfrontationduringthepost-WorldWarIIera(e.g.,atomic
bomb,TrumanDoctrine,Korea,Vietnam,China,Berlin,Afghanistan,Cuba).
Note:Thisinquiryisexpectedtotakeeighttoten40-minuteclassperiods.Theinquirytimeframecouldexpandif
teachersthinktheirstudentsneedadditionalinstructionalexperiences(i.e.,supportingquestions,formative
performancetasks,andfeaturedsources).Teachersareencouragedtoadapttheinquiriesinordertomeetthe
needsandinterestsoftheirparticularstudents.Resourcescanalsobemodifiedasnecessarytomeet
individualizededucationprograms(IEPs)orSection504Plansforstudentswithdisabilities.
StructureoftheInquiry
Inaddressingthecompellingquestion“WasContainmentaSuccess?”studentsworkthroughaseriesofsupporting
questions,formativeperformancetasks,andfeaturedsourcesinordertoconstructanargumentsupportedby
evidencewhileacknowledgingcompetingperspectives.
StagingtheCompellingQuestion
Instagingthecompellingquestion,“WasContainmentaSuccess?”teachersmaypromptstudentswithapictureof
fallingdominoesandparticipatinginadiscussionastohowandwhythisbecameametaphorforU.S.ColdWar
policies.
SupportingQuestion1
Thefirstsupportingquestion—“WhatpoliciesdidtheUnitedStatesputintoplacetolimitorcontainpostWWII
ideasortheories?”—hasstudentsinvestigatesourcesanddiscussvarioustypesofresponsesandorganizethemby
name.TheformativeperformancetaskasksstudentstocreatealistofpoliciesthattheU.S.employedtocombat
geo-politicalthreatsafterWWII.ThefeaturedsourcesforthisquestionintroducestudentstotheTruman
Doctrine,theMarshallPlan,andtheKennanstatementonContainment.FeaturedSourceAisabriefstate
departmentstatementonthefeaturesoftheTrumanPlananditsgoals.FeaturedSourceBisabriefstate
departmentstatementonthefeaturesoftheMarshallPlananditsgoals.FeaturedSourceCisthestatementby
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ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB GeorgeKennanthatfirstmentionedcontainmentanditgivesabroaderviewoftheoverallgoalsofthe
containmentpolicyitself.
LinkstoFeaturedSources:
SourceA:DepartmentofState:DescriptionoftheTrumanDoctrine
SourceB:DepartmentofState:DescriptionoftheMarshallPlan
SourceC:GWU:Kennan“LongTelegram”
SupportingQuestion2
Forthesecondsupportingquestion—“WhatpostWWIIideasortheoriesthreatenedtheU.S.?”—studentsneedto
analyzebothtextsandmaps(ifavailable)todeterminewherecommunismorothernon-democraticideaswere
circulating.Inadditiontotheresourcesfromtheprevioussupportingquestion,thefeaturedsourcesprovide
studentswithadditionalmaterialsthatallowthemtovisualizetheareasourinterestspossiblycouldbethreatened
withanyspreadofcommunismoranti-democracysentiment.FeaturedSourceAisaninteractiveColdWarMap.
FeaturedSourceBisastatedepartmentstatementontheBerlinAirlift.FeaturedSourceCisapairofYouTube
videosthatgiveathoroughbackgroundofthedifferingphilosophiesoftheUnitedStates,BritainandtheSoviet
Unionandcanhelpstudentsvisualizetheareasmostthreatenedandthenatureofthosethreats.
LinkstoFeaturedSources:
SourceA:MappingHistory:ColdWarMap
SourceB:DepartmentofState:DescriptionoftheBerlinAirlift
SourceC:MediaRichLearning:ColdWarPart1–FromWorldWartoColdWar
SupportingQuestion3
Thethirdsupportingquestion—“TowhatextentwereU.S.policieseffective?”asksstudentstowriteaclaimand
counterclaimabouttheextenttowhichtheU.S.containmentpolicieswereeffective.Inadditiontotheprevious
featuredsources,thesourcesforthistaskgivestudentsdifferentviewsonthehistoricalperspectiveon
containment.FeaturedSourceAasksiftheMarshallPlandidn’tpropeltheColdWar.FeaturedSourceBisanother
viewoftheKoreanconflict.FeaturedSourceCisVietnamaspartoftheDominoTheory.
LinkstoFeaturedSources:
SourceA:UNH:ContemporaryeditorialabouttheeffectivenessoftheMarshallPlan
SourceB:NationalArchives:DescriptionoftheKoreanConflict
SourceC:DepartmentofState:DescriptionofNSC-68
SummativePerformanceTask
Atthispointintheinquiry,studentshaveexaminedeightvarieddocumentsfromtheendofWWIIandintothe
ColdWar.
Studentsshouldbeexpectedtodemonstratethebreadthoftheirunderstandingsandtheirabilitiestouseevidence
frommultiplesourcestosupporttheirclaims.Inthistask,studentsconstructanevidence-basedargumentusing
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ARKANSASC3TEACHERSHUB multiplesourcestoanswerthecompellingquestion“WasContainmentSuccessful?”.Itisimportanttonotethat
students’argumentscouldtakeavarietyofforms,includingadetailedoutline,poster,oressay.
Students’argumentswilllikelyvary,butcouldincludeanyofthefollowing:
•
TheU.S.policyofcontainmentwassuccessfulinkeepingAmericansawareofworldeventsandwaryof
growingSovietpoweraswellasgivingtheU.S.asenseofvictorybecauseofnoactualwar.
•
TheU.S.policyofcontainmentwasonlyoneofmanyelementsofforeignpolicyandbethesolecauseoffailure
thatleadtoseveralnationsfallingtoCommunism.
•
Containmentasaconceptwaseasytopromoteandunderstand,butwasdifficulttoproducewhenitcameto
nationsweneitherinfluencednorcouldfullysupport.
Toextendtheirarguments,teachersmayhavestudentsparticipateinaclassroomforumonwhethercontainment
asresponsetocommunisminthe1950s-60sisseenasasuccesstoday.
StudentshavetheopportunitytoTakeInformedActionbydrawingontheirunderstandingsofContainment.To
understand,studentscaninvestigateacurrentissueintheUnitedStatesthatseemstopromotedisagreementand
potentialconflictbyfocusingongroupsprotestingoradvocatingchange.Toassesstheissue,studentsdetermineif
acontainmenttypepolicycouldbeeffectiveincontrollingchallengingorconflictingthoughtsandideastoday.To
act,studentswriteaneditorialfortheschoolorlocalnewspaperonacurrentissuethathasconflicting
theories/ideas.Withintheeditorialstudentsshoulddiscusstheirpositionsontheeffortsofthoseengagedinthe
conflictandtheextenttowhichthoseeffortsarecurrentlysuccessful.
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