GA 5th Grade Toolbox #5

TEACHER 

GEORGIA EXPERIENCE | GRADE 5 | UNIT 5 

TOOLBOX 

5 th Grade Unit 5 

Social Studies Themes 

TOOLBOX #5 

The Cold War 

Exactly what 

you need... 

Exactly when 

you need it! 

SAMPLE 

©Gallopade • All Rights Reserved • www.gallopade.com 

Permission is granted to use Toolbox only with students for whom a current-year Experience Class Set is purchased. 


1

UNIT 5 OVERVIEW 

The Cold War 

UNIT ORGANIZATION 

& TOOLBOX SUMMARY 

UNIT 5: The Cold War 

Inquiry-Based Learning: Anticipatory Activity Unit Opener 

Social Studies Themes: Enduring Understandings 

CHAPTER 11: The Cold War Begins 

Learning Objectives, Correlations, Inquiry/Opener Activity, Essential Questions, Vocabulary-Builder, 

Instructional Strategies and Activities, Vocabulary Quiz, Study Guide, and More 

ExperTrack Online Assessment * : Checkpoint #06 

CHAPTER 12: Trying to Contain Communism 




CHAPTER 13: The Vietnam War 




SAMPLE 

* 

license required 

©Gallopade • All Rights Reserved • www.gallopade.com

UNIT 5 


INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING 

ANTICIPATORY ACTIVITY UNIT OPENER 

Begin with Student Workbooks closed. 

Inquiry-Based Learning 

Tell students they are starting a new chapter about the Cold War. 

Write “The Cold War” on your whiteboard. 

Have students develop questions about the Cold War: 

• Students spend the first few minutes writing questions independently. 

• Then the class or small groups collaborate to create a question board. 

• Give students time to think of new questions that build on the questions 

already shared. 

Examples of questions your students might create: 

• Why is it called the Cold War? 

• What countries was it between? 

• What was it about? 

• Who won? 

• How many people died? 

• When was it? 

• How long did it last? 

• Where was it? 

• Was the U.S. involved? 

• How did it start? How did it end? 

• Are those countries enemies or friends today? 

• Was it a world war? 

• What equipment/technology/planes/etc., did they use? 

• If somebody won, what did they get? 

• If somebody lost, what did they lose? 

SAMPLE 

Record questions and answers to revisit at the end of the chapter. 

Differentiation: 

Give students who need help formulating questions a copy of Gallopade’s 

Question Prompts Graphic Organizer as a scaffold for their questions. 



3

UNIT 5 


SOCIAL STUDIES THEMES 

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS 

Social Studies Themes 

These themes provide the underlying framework for many important “big picture” concepts 

that your students will be learning throughout this unit. Use the questions to help students 

apply what they learn about the Cold War toward their understanding of these Enduring 

Understandings throughout the unit. 

CULTURE 

Culture is how people think, act, celebrate, and make 

rules, and that is what makes a group of people special. 

How did the Cold War impact American culture? 

INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, & INSTITUTIONS 

What people, groups, and institutions say and do can help 

or harm others—whether they mean to or not. 

How did individuals, groups, and institutions react to the Cold War and the potential 

spread of Communism in the United States? 

BELIEFS & IDEALS 

People’s ideas and feelings influence their decisions. 

How did beliefs and ideals affect American society during the Cold War era? 

SAMPLE 

CONFLICT & CHANGE 

Conflict causes change. 

What global changes occurred as a result of the Cold War conflict? 

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS 

New technology has many different consequences, 

depending on how people use that technology. 

What technological innovations developed during the Cold War era? Why? 

How did technological innovation impact the Cold War? 

How did innovations affect the role of media in the Cold War era? 



4

CHAPTER 11 

The Cold War Begins 

CHAPTER TOOLS: 

Tool 

Multimedia Resource Gallery 

Learning Objectives + Correlations 

Inquiry-Based Learning Activity 

Essential Questions Activity Sheet 

Vocabulary-Builder 

When To Use 

(start, end, or with which page of Student Workbook) 

throughout 

start + ongoing 

opener; use FIRST 



Graphic Organizer #1 page 62 

Map Skill Builder page 63 

Leveled Literacy page 64 

Primary Source Analysis page 66 

Graphic Organizer #2 page 66 

Writing Prompt page 67 

Vocabulary Quiz 

Interactive Workbook Scavenger Hunt 

Study Guide Worksheet 

ExperTrack * Checkpoint #06 

SAMPLE 

EOC 

EOC 

EOC 

EOC (pretest optional) 

* 



CHAPTER 11 


Learning Objectives & Correlations 

THE COLD WAR BEGINS 

LEARNING TARGETS 

Students will be able to: 

GSE: 

ÎÎExplain the origin and meaning of the term “Iron Curtain.” 

ÎÎExplain how the United States sought to stop the spread of 

Communism through the Berlin Airlift. 


Communism through the Korean War. 


Communism through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

SAMPLE 

CORRELATIONS TO STANDARDS 

SS5H5a, b 

Map and Globe Skills: 6, 7, 9 

Information Processing Skills: 2, 9 



6

CHAPTER 11 



CHAPTER OPENER 


1. Divide students into small groups. 

Give each group a sheet of poster paper with one of these questions written on it: 

• Why does conflict occur? 

• Who should make the rules? 

• How do beliefs impact actions? 

2. Tell students to brainstorm possible answers to the question and to write them on their 

group’s poster. Walk around and make sure all students are given the opportunity to share 

ideas. Allow your students to have 10 minutes to work on this brainstorming activity. 

3. As a class, discuss the questions and students’ answers: 

• Start with: Was it easy or hard to think of answers? Why? 

• Let groups take turns sharing their responses. 

(Tell students not to repeat answers already said by another group.) 

• As students share answers, write them on your whiteboard to create a 

comprehensive list. 

• Rotate through groups until all answers have been shared. 

SAMPLE 

4. Once you have finished your class discussion, tape their responses to a central location 

so students may revisit their responses while working through “The Cold War Era Begins” 

chapter. 

5. Periodically throughout this unit, review the questions as a class and have students suggest 

additions and changes to the original answers based on what they have learned. Have 

students write their new responses with different-colored markers so that they will be able to 

identify when changes were made to their original responses. 

6. Review these posters and answers again at the end of the chapter as part of your review. 

Use your classroom technology to customize how you do this activity. 

• Students can digitally post their answers to a class discussion page. 

• Groups can post answers on digital sticky notes, and you can consolidate them on 

a single board. 



7

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



 

What meaning did the term “Iron Curtain” have after World War II? 

Essential Questions 

 

How did this new meaning of the term “Iron Curtain” originate? 

 

What action caused the need for the Berlin Airlift? 

 

Why did the U.S. participate in the Berlin Airlift? 

 

What was the result of the Berlin Airlift? 

 

What actions led to the start of the Korean War? 

 

Why did the U.S. participate in the Korean War? 

SAMPLE 

 

What was the outcome of the Korean War? 

 

What was the purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? 

 

What did the United States hope NATO would achieve? 

 

How did the Soviet Union react to the formation of NATO? 



8

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



DEFINE THESE TERMS BASED ON WHAT YOU LEARNED ALREADY. 

(IT’S OKAY TO FLIP BACK TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.) 

Allied Powers 


SAMPLE 

Axis Powers 

USE A DICTIONARY TO DEFINE THESE TERMS. 

communism 

democracy 

capitalism 

ideology 

containment 

Iron Curtain 

Berlin Wall 

The Cold War 

DEFINE THESE TERMS AS YOU LEARN THEM IN CLASS. 



9

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


COMPARE & CONTRAST 

COMPARE & CONTRAST THE UNITED STATES AND THE SOVIET UNION. 

Complete the Venn diagram based on the two countries in the mid-1900s. 

Include these characteristics as well as others you consider important: 

Graphic Organizer #1 

• Which side each country fought on in WWII 

• Each country’s ideologies about government and economy 

• Each country’s status/strength after WWII 

• Each country’s actions after WWII 

To add it to your workbook, cut along the dashed line, and fold on the solid line. 

Put glue on the BACK of the striped area, and glue it to the top of page 62. 

Glue it so it is readable when flat, and you can fold it upwards to read the workbook page. 

put glue on the BACK of this striped section 

United States 

BOTH 

Soviet Union 

SAMPLE 



10

ICELAND 

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 

FINLAND 


NORWAY 

COLD WAR MAP SKILLS 

On the map of Europe: 

DENMARK 

Map Skill Builder 

IC 

1. Color the areas that were 

communist red. IRELAND 

2. Color the areas that were 

democratic yellow. English 

Channel 

3. Draw a blue line along the 

border between communist and 

democratic countries. 

PORTUGAL 

On the map of Berlin: 

• Color communist East Berlin red. 

• Color democratic West Berlin yellow. 

MOROCCO 

• Draw Canary the Islands Berlin Wall in black. 

WESTERN 

SAHARA 

Complete the map legend: 

England 

SPAIN 

FRANCE 

ALGERIA 

Include the colors you used to represent MALI each item. 

MAURITANIA 

WEST 

GERMANY 

NIGER 

SENEGAL 

communist areas 

the Berlin Wall 

GAMBIA 

BURKINA NIGERIA 

GUINEA BISSAU 

democratic GUINEA areas 

BENIN 

GHANA 

the Iron Curtain 

IVORY TOGO 

SIERRA LEONE COAST 

CAMEROON 

Answer the questions: 

LIBERIA 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 

What is similar about the Berlin Wall and SAO the TOME Iron & PRINCIPE Curtain? 

GABON DEM. REP. RWANDA 

_____________________________________________________________________________________ 

OF CONGO 

What is different about the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain? 

ITALY 

AUSTRIA 

POLAND 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA 

HUNGARY 

ROMANIA 

BULGARIA 

ALBANIA 

GREECE 

CYPRUS 

LEBANON 

ISRAEL 

_____________________________________________________________________________________ 

NETH. 

BELGIUM 

Iron 

Curtain 

SWITZ. 

MAP LEGEND 

EAST 

GERMANY 

TUNISIA 

CONGO 

YUGOSLAVIA 

LIBYA 

CHAD 

CENTRAL AFRICAN 

REPUBLIC 

U.S.S.R 

(Soviet Union) 

EGYPT 

SUDAN 

BURUNDI 

UGANDA 

TANZANIA 

TURK 

SYRIA 

JORDAN 

ERITRE 

ETHIO 

KENYA 

©Gallopade • All Rights Reserved • www.gallopade.comMOZAMBIQUE 


ANGOLA 

ZAMBIA 

MALAWI 

• 

Berlin 

Berlin Wall = 43.1 kilometers (27 miles) 

SAMPLE 

11

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


THE BERLIN WALL 

At the end of WWII, the Allied Powers wanted to be sure that Germany did not 

rebuild its military and attempt to take over Europe again. So, the Allied Powers 

divided both Germany and its capital city of Berlin into four parts. 

Leveled Literacy 

The U.S., Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union each selected one section of 

Germany and one section of Berlin to oversee. Each country sent military forces to 

occupy and manage their territories. 

The Americans, British, and French occupied the three most western parts of Germany 

and Berlin. The Soviet Union occupied the 

eastern parts of Germany and Berlin. 

Over time, the three western regions merged 

together, forming West Germany and 

West Berlin. West Germany established a 

new democratic government and capitalist 

economy like that of its occupiers. 

Once this stability was in place, the 

American, British, and French forces left 

West Germany so German citizens could 

rebuild their lives and country. 

The Soviet Union established a communist and authoritarian government in East 

Germany, similar to the structure of other countries in the region that it also occupied. 

Soviet military forces did not actually leave East Germany and East Berlin but 

remained there in control. 

SAMPLE 

Under Soviet rule, East Germans were only allowed to travel to other communist 

countries. But democratic West Berlin sat right in the middle of East Germany! 

To prevent East Germans from traveling to West Berlin to escape communism and 

the power of the Soviet Union, the Soviets built a massive, fortified wall surrounding 

West Berlin. The Soviets controlled who went in and out of West Berlin! Except for by 

airplane, nothing could go in or out of West Berlin without going through communistcontrolled 

East Germany. 

How did the wall affect people in East Berlin? 

How did the wall affect people in West Berlin? 

 



12

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



The Allies won World War II. Germany and Japan lost. The Allies told Germany it could not 

make a new army. The Allies did not want Germany to start a new war. 

Leveled Literacy 

Who would make Germany obey the Allies’ rules? The Allies would! 

Four Allies took charge. They split Germany 

into four parts. They split Germany’s capital 

city, Berlin, into four parts too. Each Ally 

was in charge of one part. Each Ally sent its 

army to its part. 

The four Allies in charge were: 

• The United States 

• France 

• Great Britain 

• The Soviet Union 

The United States, France, and Great Britain helped their three parts form a new 

country. The new country was called West Germany. The new capital was called West Berlin. 

People had many rights and freedoms in their new country. West Germany was a democracy. 

That means people can vote! People in West Germany could choose how to use their 

money. That is called capitalism. 

SAMPLE 

East Germany was not like West Germany. The Soviet Union was in control of East Germany. 

East Germany was communist. The government had authority to make the rules. 

People in East Germany did not get rights and freedoms. The Soviet Union kept control. 

East Germans were not allowed to go to West Germany or West Berlin. 

Why not? East Germans were not allowed to go to places with democracy. 

Why not? The Soviet Union did not want East Germans to leave and not come back. 

There was a problem: West Berlin was in the middle of East Germany. 

The Soviet Union built a very tall wall around West Berlin. East German soldiers worked at 

the wall. They decided who could enter and who could exit. 

How did the wall affect people in East Berlin? 

How did the wall affect people in West Berlin? 

 



13

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS 

STUDENT OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

Primary Source Analysis 

What do you observe about the location? 

(Describe what you see.) 

______________________________________ 

______________________________________ 

______________________________________ 

What can you conclude about the 

location? (Support your observations with 

evidence, inferences, and/or reasoning.) 

____________________________________ 

____________________________________ 

____________________________________ 

Use a world map to identify where the photograph was taken. 

(Hint: It’s in Asia.) 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Describe the action. What do you see? What do you think might be occurring? 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

SAMPLE 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Use what you see and what you learned to make inferences based on the photograph. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

After your teacher shares additional information, expand on your observations and conclusions. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 



14

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



TEACHER NOTES 


Before World War II, Japan ruled the Korean peninsula as 

its colony. When Japan lost the war, the Allies made Japan 

give up its colony. But the Allies had to decide what to do 

with the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. and the Soviet Union 

agreed to divide the peninsula along the 38th parallel of 

latitude. The Soviets occupied the northern half, and the 

U.S. occupied the southern half. 

In the Korean War, the north and south regions fought 

over control of the whole peninsula. After three years, they agreed 

to stop fighting. The ceasefire left the dividing line very close to where it had started, and even 

though it does not run exactly along the 38th parallel, it crosses it. 

To avoid constant fighting along the border, two kilometers on each side of the line that 

separates North Korea and South Korea were designated as a demilitarized zone (DMZ). 

This area is considered neutral, and it is off-limits to most people. 

The areas north and south of the DMZ are heavily fortified. But inside this four-kilometer strip 

that stretches across the peninsula, nature has taken over! The DMZ is one of the most natural, 

undeveloped areas in Asia. Thousands of birds, fish, and mammals, many endangered, live here. 

The boundary line is marked off by 1,292 identical signs, placed at intervals across the 

peninsula. US COB 728MP stands for the U.S. 728 th Military Police Battalion Company B, 

which has provided security and order along the border since the end of the Korean War. 

The north-facing side of the signs are written in Korean and Chinese, and the south-facing 

sides are written in Korean and English. Today, the signs are aging and rusting. 

SAMPLE 

POSSIBLE STUDENT OBSERVATIONS: 

(You can prompt for some of these with questions if needed.) 

• rural; evidence = no buildings 

• hilly/mountainous 

• dry; evidence = dust, no trees 

• sign looks older than signs today 

• trucks could be military or moving dirt and rocks 

• sign is in English 

With additional information from teacher notes, students can deduce: 

• the trucks are traveling from North Korea to South Korea 

• the trucks are probably military vehicles because the area is too dangerous for 

anyone else to be allowed here 



15

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


INFERENCE LADDER 

EXPLAIN WHY CHINA WAS MOTIVATED TO HELP NORTH KOREA. 

Complete the inference ladder based on events related to the Korean War. 

Graphic Organizer #2 

To add it to your workbook, cut along the dashed line and fold on the solid line. 

Put glue on the shaded area, and glue it to the top of page 66. 

Glue it face-down so it opens up as if climbing up off the top of the page. 

Conclusions 

Assumptions 

Prior 

Knowledge 

Close 

Observation 

Source 

My explanation or prediction from applying critical thinking to my assumptions: 

What I assume when I combine what I notice with what I know: 

What I already know: 

What I notice: 

SAMPLE 

What I read, saw, or heard: 

START AT THE BOTTOM AND CLIMB YOUR WAY UP! 

Why was China motivated to help North Korea? 

put glue on this shaded section 

START 

HERE 



16

CHAPTER 11 


Write a newspaper article to report on an important Cold War event. 

Use the inverted triangle writing style popular in news articles: lead off with the most important 

facts and details first. Include who, what, when, where, and why. You can include first-hand 

accounts and quotes from people who witnessed the event, facts and statistics, or other details 

of what was seen, heard, or experienced. Don’t forget to give your story a catchy headline. 

You can report the news from any perspective, but describe your perspective on the back of the 

sheet (who you are, where you are, who your readers are, and when you are reporting). 

Writing Prompt 

COLD WAR NEWS 

News reported by: 

_________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

SAMPLE 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 



17

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


THE COLD 

WAR BEGINS 

Complete the crossword puzzle. 


Down 

1. efforts to prevent the spread of communism beyond where it already exists 

2. a political system where citizens have power over government, and citizens’ 

rights are protected 

3. Germany, Japan, and Italy in WWII 

Across 

4. the U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R., and other countries who fought against fascist 

aggression in WWII 

5. an economic system where citizens own property and have freedom to make 

their own financial decisions 

6. the core beliefs of a person, group, or country 

5. a political-economic system, where government owns the 

factories and natural resources and controls the production of 

goods, and citizen have few rights 

7. a period of high tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union 

that divided the world into two sides without actual fighting 

SAMPLE 

8. the political, military, and ideological “barrier” that separated 

communist countries from non-communist countries after WWII 



18

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



SCAVENGER HUNT 

1. Find and highlight each of these items or facts in your Student Workbook: 

Interactive Workbook 

A. the Iron Curtain (on a map) 

B. the Korean War Armistice Line (on a map) 

C. a definition of communism 

D. an explanation of how the Iron Curtain got its name 

E. how long the Berlin Airlift lasted 

F. the area of democracy the U.S. helped protect in the Korean War (on a map) 

G. the reason why NATO was formed 

H. the organization formed by the Soviet Union and its allies in response to NATO 

I. a definition or short description of the Cold War 

2. Circle and write “PS” by a primary source in this chapter. 

SAMPLE 

3. Beside each map in the chapter, identify what type of map it is. 

(examples: political, physical, resource, population, or special purpose [describe it]) 



19

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


THE COLD WAR ERA — OVERVIEW 

Who was involved in the Cold War? 

When did the Cold War begin? (date + context) 

Study Guide page 1 

Why did the Cold War begin? (explain each of these causes in detail) 

• feelings about each other: 

• beliefs about government: 

• actions after WWII: 

What was the Cold War about? 

• main U.S. goal: 

• main Soviet goal: 

• general goals: 

Why is it called the Cold War? 

How does communism differ from democracy? 

GERMANY & BERLIN 

Why did the Allied Powers occupy Germany after WWII? 

Which countries occupied Germany and where? 

What political and economic systems developed in areas occupied by the U.S., France, and Britain? 

What political and economic system developed in the area occupied by the Soviet Union? 

What was the Berlin Wall? 

SAMPLE 

What was the purpose of the Berlin Wall? 




20

CHAPTER 11 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


THE IRON CURTAIN 

What was the Iron Curtain? 

Where did the term Iron Curtain originate? 

Who coined the term “Iron Curtain,” and what did it mean post-World War II? 

Study Guide page 2 

What action directly led to the Berlin Airlift? 

What occurred in the Berlin Airlift? 

Why did the U.S. participate in the Berlin Airlift? 

What was the result of the Berlin Airlift? 

What was the Korean War? 

Why did the U.S. participate in the Korean War? 

What was the result of the Korean War? 

THE BERLIN AIRLIFT 

THE KOREAN WAR 

NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) 

What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? 

Why was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization created? 

THE WARSAW PACT 

How did the Soviet Union react to the formation of NATO? 

What was the Warsaw Pact? 

SAMPLE 



21

CHAPTER 12 

Trying to Contain 

Communism 


Tool 






When To Use 


throughout 





Writing Prompt page 69 

Graphic Organizer page 69 






EOC 

EOC 

SAMPLE 

EOC 

EOC 


* 



CHAPTER 12 



TRYING TO 

CONTAIN COMMUNISM 



GSE: 

ÎÎIdentify Joseph McCarthy and his role in the Cold War. 

ÎÎIdentify Nikita Khrushchev and his role in the Cold War. 

ÎÎDiscuss the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

SAMPLE 


SS5H5c, d 

Information Processing Skills: 12 



23

CHAPTER 12 


TRYING TO 




1. Ask students: Where did the events of the Cold War we learned about so far take place? 

(Correct answers are Europe and Asia) 

2. Ask students to describe the overall mood in America up until now. 

As they do, write key words on your whiteboard. 

(Answers will likely include terms like strong, successful, powerful, determined, winning, etc.) 

If needed, remind students: 

• The U.S. had recently emerged from World War II as a world power. 

• The U.S. was cooperating with most of our Allies, but not Russia. 

• The U.S. had successfully helped Berlin with the airlifts. 

• The U.S. helped form NATO to unite democratic countries against communism. 

• The U.S. had also helped South Korea hold strong to its territory against China and 

North Korea, even pushing North Korea far north for a short time. 

3. Say: In this next stage of the Cold War, a new feeling crept in the mix. Who can guess 

what that feeling or emotion was? 

• As students call out guesses, write them down and say “possibly,” “yes,” or “close.” 

• When someone calls out “fear” (or afraid/scared), write that word big, circle it, and say, 

“Let’s talk more about fear.” 

4. Ask students to recall a time when they were afraid or scared of something. 

Ask for volunteers to share their fear with the class. 

You may need to start the conversation by describing a time you were afraid of something to 

make your students comfortable enough to share with their classmates. 

As students share their experiences, write descriptive words of their fears on the whiteboard. 

You may want to conclude this opening discussion with how everyone has fears and is afraid 

of something, no matter how big or small. 

SAMPLE 

5. Tell students: 

• We are going to be learning about the fears Americans developed during the 

Cold War. 

• We will explore major fears that caused wide-spread panic throughout America. 

• We will investigate how Americans dealt with these fears—sometimes in ways 

that were productive and sometimes in ways that were harmful. 

• We will examine how America’s leaders dealt with Cold War fears, too. 



24

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


TRYING TO 


 

Who was Joseph McCarthy? 


 

What actions are Joseph McCarthy best-known for during the Cold War? 

 

Who was Nikita Khrushchev? 

 

How did Nikita Khrushchev most influence the Cold War? 

 

What action caused the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis? 

SAMPLE 

 

Why was the Cuban Missile Crisis a “crisis”? 

 

What important decisions were made as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis? 



25

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


TRYING TO CONTAIN COMMUNISM 

1. Define each term as instructed below. 

2. Find each word within the text in your Student Workbook, and highlight it. 


accusation 

ambassador 

blockade 

crisis 

spy 

arms race 

blacklist 

communist 

“McCarthyism” 

missile 

nuclear war 

premier 



SAMPLE 



26

CHAPTER 12 


Write a news release to express the concerns of a possible nuclear war! 

Use the inverted triangle writing style popular in news articles: lead off with the most important 

facts and details first. Include who, what, when, where, and why. You can include first-hand 

accounts and quotes from people who witnessed the event, facts and statistics, or other details 

of what was seen, heard, or experienced. Don’t forget to give your story a catchy headline. 

You can report the news from any perspective, but describe your perspective on the back of the 

sheet (who you are, where you are, who your readers are, and when you are reporting). 

Writing Prompt 

IS THIS THE END? 

News reported by: 

_________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

SAMPLE 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________ 



27

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


PROBLEM & SOLUTION 

WHY WAS THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS A PROBLEM? HOW WAS IT SOLVED? 

Complete the diagram to explain the problem and solution in the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

Graphic Organizer 

To add it to your workbook, cut along the dashed line, and fold on the solid line. 

Put glue on the BACK of the striped area, and glue it to the top of page 69. 

Glue it so it is readable when flat, and you can fold it upwards to read the workbook page. 

put glue on the BACK of this striped section 

Whose 

problem is it? 

PROBLEM 

SOLUTION 

Why is 

it a problem? 

SAMPLE 

RESULTS 

BIG RESULTS/EFFECTS 



28

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



STUDENT OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 


Write down your observations to these questions while viewing the “American Home Front in 

the Cold War” series in the Cold War Multimedia Gallery. 

1. Describe the people shown in the images. 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

2. Why might so many people look happy when it was a time of growing fear? 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

3. What change can you identify about who is affected by the Cold War? 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

4. What can you infer might be occurring to cause this change? 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

SAMPLE 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

5. What influence did Cold War propaganda have on American society? 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 



29

CHAPTER 12 



TEACHER NOTES 


Tell students: We are going to do a Think-Pair-Share activity while we view a series of Cold War 

images. Project the “American Home Front in the Cold War” series of images from the Multimedia 

Gallery. 

As you show each image, give students time to analyze what they see. 

Then give them 60 seconds to share their observations with a neighbor. 

Allow groups to share their responses with the class before moving to the next image. 

Once you have shown all the “American Home Front in the Cold War” series of images, give students time 

to complete the Primary Analysis Student Observations and Conclusions Sheet. Discuss as a class. 

Finally, connect the discussion back to the beginning of the chapter conversation about fear. Have 

students use their observations and analysis to predict and describe the fears they think are developing in 

America. Record their responses on your whiteboard. Ask students for clarification as needed, and praise 

students for applying logical or creative thinking skills. 

ADDITIONAL FACTS TO SHARE: 

• Ordinary Americans built bomb shelters in their backyards. 

• Bomb shelters ranged in cost from $100 to as much as $5,000 for an underground suite with phone and toilet. 

• Some people estimate that hundreds of thousands of personal shelters were built in the 1950s and early 1960s. 

• Civil defense films instructed people on what supplies to stock in their shelter. Items recommended included 

beans, bread, canned water, battery-powered radios, books, board games, and a pack of tranquilizers to reduce 

the stress of being stuck inside a small space for several weeks. 

• In major cities, some public buildings large enough to hold thousands of people were designated as fall-out 

shelters and stocked with supplies. 

• A farmer in Iowa built a fallout shelter for 200 cows. 

• Millions of comic books were distributed to school children featuring a cartoon turtle called Bert who urged 

them to “duck and cover” in the event of an atomic strike. Bert’s safety strategy was lie flat on the ground, 

shield your eyes with one arm, and protect your head with the other arm. 

• Many schools issued students metal identification tags similar to military dogtags. 

• Schools had frequent bomb drills, frightening students because they never knew whether it was a drill or real 

danger. 

• Spotters were assigned to watch the skies for anything that looked suspicious or out of the ordinary. 

• Hollywood produced nuclear war doomsday films, including On The Beach, The Last Man On Earth, The Day the 

World Ended, Atomic Kid, and Dr. Strangelove. 

• One of the most popular toys of the time were miniature A-bombs. Kids inserted a gunpowder cap inside the 

toy. When the toy bomb hit the ground, there was a loud pop! 

SAMPLE 

Propaganda: Some of these images might look funny to us today. But, at the time, people’s fears 

were very real. The government tried to reduce fear and panic, and many of the images published by 

government agencies showed a much rosier picture than reality. At times, the government encouraged 

people to build shelters that today (and probably then) we know would not have provided much 

protection. Other times, the government warned that a shoddy homemade shelter could broil its 

occupants “to a crisp” or squeeze them “like grapefruit.” Either way, the expectations of what the 

shelters could achieve seems pretty far-fetched. But for many people, there was a lot of comfort in taking 

whatever action they had and feeling prepared in the event their fears really came true. 



30

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


TRYING TO CONTAIN 

COMMUNISM 

Complete the crossword puzzle. 


Across 

2. a weapon that travels long distances through the air and explodes when it reaches its target 

3. a person who supports communism and helps implement communist policies in government 

5. a person who secretly collects information from their enemy to use against them 

Down 

1. a list of people who are to be avoided because they have been deemed untrustworthy or 

unacceptable 

4. war using weapons that release highly destructive energy, such as atomic bombs 

6. the leader of a country or government 

SAMPLE 

8. a claim that someone has done something wrong or illegal 

9. the act of stopping people or goods from entering or leaving a place 

11. a competition between superpowers where each tries to create and stockpile the most powerful 

weapons in order to gain military superiority 

12. an intense, difficult time when actions and decision have major consequences 

7. the practice of accusing someone of treason (especially communism) without evidence 

10. an official representative sent to a foreign country 



31

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


TRYING TO 





A. How the House of Representatives responded to the Communist threat in the U.S. 

B. How Hollywood reacted to “blacklisted” entertainers 

C. A definition of blockade 

D. An explanation of how the term “McCarthyism” got its name 

E. The comment Nikita Khrushchev made to Western ambassadors in 1956 

F. What happened in Berlin during the early 1960s 

G. The actions President Kennedy took during the Cuban Missile Crisis 

H. How long the Cuban Missile Crisis lasted 

I. The solution to the Cuban Missile Crisis 

SAMPLE 

2. Circle and write “PS” by a primary source in this chapter. 

3. Beside each map in the chapter, identify what type of map it is. 

(examples: political, physical, resource, population, or special purpose [describe it]) 

4. On the map of the United States on page 71, draw a star where you live in Georgia. Then, 

research to see how far your town or city is from Cuba. 

Write: “I live ________ miles from the country of Cuba” underneath the map. 



32

CHAPTER 12 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


TRYING TO CONTAIN COMMUNISM 

Why were Americans afraid of potential communist spies in the country? 

Who was Joseph McCarthy? 

Study Guide 

What did Joseph McCarthy do during the early 1950s? 

What does the term “McCarthyism” mean? Is it a positive or negative term? 

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS 

Who was Nikita Khrushchev, and what comment did he make during a speech in 1956? 

How did Nikita Khrushchev impact Cold War tensions? 

What is an “arms race,” and how did it affect the relationship between the United States and the 

Soviet Union? 

Where is Cuba located? 

SAMPLE 

Who supported Cuba’s leader, Fidel Castro? 

Who was the U.S. president during the Cuban Missile Crisis? 

How long did the Cuban Missile Crisis last, and how did it conclude? 

What steps were taken to avoid nuclear war in the future? 



33

CHAPTER 13 

The Vietnam War 


Tool 









When To Use 


throughout 





EOC 

EOC 


SAMPLE 

* 



CHAPTER 13 



THE VIETNAM WAR 



GSE: 

ÎÎDiscuss the importance of the Vietnam War. 

SAMPLE 


SS5H5d 

Information Processing Skills: 15 



35

CHAPTER 13 





1. Before starting Chapter 13, have your students interact with a mini-lesson that has them 

taking a clear stance on their opinion of pizza. 

2. On your whiteboard, draw a chart with two columns. Label one column that says “Love 

Pizza” and another column that says “Hate Pizza.” 

3. Next, poll your class to discover how many students either love or hate pizza. First, 

determine who loves pizza, and then draw tally marks on your whiteboard in the correct 

column. Then, determine who hates pizza, and then draw tally marks on your whiteboard in 

the correct column. 

4. After you have polled your students: 

• Tell your students: How does it make you feel knowing that there are 

students in this class that feel differently than you do about pizza? 

• Call on several students and have them express their opinion with the class 

by answering why they either love or hate pizza. 

• After several students have shared, conclude the opening activity by tying 

in that Americans were split over the Vietnam War and that thousands of 

Americans protested the war. 

• If needed, explain what a protest is so that students can draw on this 

knowledge during the chapter. Consider displaying an image of a peaceful 

protest with signs. 

SAMPLE 

5. After you have completed this activity with your students, have them open their Student 

Workbook to page 72 and have them begin. 

Use your classroom technology to customize how you do this activity. 

• Flip the assignment, and have your students work on this activity prior to class. 

• Create a discussion board on your website that students can respond to and 

interact with one another. 

• When students arrive the following day for instruction, review their comments as a 

class, and then continue with the tie-in aspect of this activity to begin the chapter. 



36

CHAPTER 13 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



 

Which area of Vietnam was controlled by the Communist Party? 


 

How did the United States get involved in the Vietnam War? Why? 

 

Explain why people were worried about the “Domino Theory” and the fall of South Vietnam. 

 

Were Americans united on the decision to invade and fight in Vietnam? Explain. 

 

How did the Vietnam War end? 

SAMPLE 



37

CHAPTER 13 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 



DEFINE THESE TERMS BASED ON WHAT YOU LEARNED ALREADY. 

(IT’S OKAY TO FLIP BACK TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.) 


Cold War 

communism 

cease-fire 

conflict 

divide 

support 

allies 

Domino Theory 


SAMPLE 




38

CHAPTER 13 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 






A. The term “domino theory” and its definition 

B. A word that describes how Americans felt about the U.S. role in Vietnam 

C. The type of government Vietnam has today 

2. Circle and write “PS” by two primary sources in this chapter. 

3. Underneath the list of North Vietnam allies, explain the most important thing these 

allies had in common with North Vietnam. 

SAMPLE 



39

CHAPTER 13 

NAME: _____________________________________________ 


VOCABULARY-BUILDER REVIEW 

Define these terms: 

• allies 

Study Guide 

• cease-fire 

• conflict 

• divide 

• Domino Theory 

• support 

Which political party controlled North Vietnam? 


What did people believe could have happened if South Vietnam became Communist? 

What countries sided with North Vietnam? 

What countries sided with South Vietnam? 

How did the Vietnam War end? 

SAMPLE 

Were Americans united on the decision to send troops to Vietnam? Explain. 



40

GA 5th Grade Toolbox #5

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