The Red Scare
Goals & Objectives
Goals:
Students will understand how Paranoia and fear of Soviet spies had an affect on the U.S. domestic policies during the 50's.
Students will understand the possible consequences of mass fear and paranoia
Objective:
Students will be able to create a timeline of the Red Scare during the 40's and the 50's by identifying at least 5 significant events with a description of their significance.
Students will understand how Paranoia and fear of Soviet spies had an affect on the U.S. domestic policies during the 50's.
Students will understand the possible consequences of mass fear and paranoia
Objective:
Students will be able to create a timeline of the Red Scare during the 40's and the 50's by identifying at least 5 significant events with a description of their significance.
Content Objectives
11.9.3 Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including the following: The era of McCarthyism, instances of domestic Communism (e.g., Alger Hiss) and blacklisting
Lesson Introduction
I will draw students into the lesson by having them do a scenario/game. First I will lie to the class that there will be a pop quiz. I will tell them only some will be able exempt from the quiz. I will have students grab a folded index card from a jar. There will be total of 5 index cards with a red dot, and the rest will be in black dots. (I will make certain that there will be enough index cards for everyone in the class) I will instruct students not to share their index cards with anyone. I will tell the students to form groups of 5. However each group cannot have anybody with red dots—who will be Soviet Spies. Then I will tell the students there are 15 people with red dots. If a group is able to have no red dots this group will be rewarded by being exempt from taking the pop quiz. However, I will tell the students with red dots, if they can successfully penetrate themselves into groups then he or she as a spy would have completed his or her mission as a spy and will be exempt from the quiz as well. I will give the class five minutes to find themselves in groups.
The hope will be that students start getting paranoid and getting scared and mistrusting their own peers to be exempt from taking the pop quiz. My hope is that they will start accusing one another for having a red dot/for being a spy. Some will be unfortunate enough to not include in groups. After five minutes I will ask all the students to show me their index cards. I will tell the class that there were only 5 red dots. Then I will ask students few questions about how they felt during the scenario/game:
(to the whole class) How did you feel when you were forming your groups?
(to those who were unable to get into groups) how did you feel when your class mates did not trust you?
(to the whole class) How did you feel when you learned that there were only 5 red dots instead of 15?
(to the whole class) Do you believe that I (the teacher) was responsible for creating some chaos and paranoia?
I will tell the students there will be no pop quiz for anybody. I will explain to them during the late 40’s to the 50’s the American public went through a new Red Scare. Their fears of spread of communism and nuclear attack at home led to paranoia which would be exemplified in the U.S. domestic policies.
The hope will be that students start getting paranoid and getting scared and mistrusting their own peers to be exempt from taking the pop quiz. My hope is that they will start accusing one another for having a red dot/for being a spy. Some will be unfortunate enough to not include in groups. After five minutes I will ask all the students to show me their index cards. I will tell the class that there were only 5 red dots. Then I will ask students few questions about how they felt during the scenario/game:
(to the whole class) How did you feel when you were forming your groups?
(to those who were unable to get into groups) how did you feel when your class mates did not trust you?
(to the whole class) How did you feel when you learned that there were only 5 red dots instead of 15?
(to the whole class) Do you believe that I (the teacher) was responsible for creating some chaos and paranoia?
I will tell the students there will be no pop quiz for anybody. I will explain to them during the late 40’s to the 50’s the American public went through a new Red Scare. Their fears of spread of communism and nuclear attack at home led to paranoia which would be exemplified in the U.S. domestic policies.
Vocabulary
Subversion
Perjury
Censure
Fallout
Fallout Shelter
Loyalty Review Program
Alger Hiss
McCarran Act
McCarthyism
Perjury
Censure
Fallout
Fallout Shelter
Loyalty Review Program
Alger Hiss
McCarran Act
McCarthyism
Content Delievery
Once the scenario is complete I will start a lecture on the U.S.'s Red Scare from 1940's to 1950's
red_scare_lecture_notes.docx | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Student Engagement
Students will create a timeline of the Red scare in the U.S. Students will form groups of three or four. As groups they will identify at least 6 major events that had occurred in the U.S. that came as a result of the Red Scare in the United states during the 40's and the 50's. Students will use their notes and their textbook as a resource to complete this assignment.
Assignment Check List
5 Significant and relevant events that has connection to the Red Scare. (5 points)
5 Paragraphs, each explaining the five significant events the group has chosen to represent on the timeline. (10 points)
5 Images that accurately represent and (5 points)
Total of 20 points
Assignment Check List
5 Significant and relevant events that has connection to the Red Scare. (5 points)
5 Paragraphs, each explaining the five significant events the group has chosen to represent on the timeline. (10 points)
5 Images that accurately represent and (5 points)
Total of 20 points
Demonstrated Learning
Students will be able to successfully create a timeline with five significant events that are representative of the U.S. Red Scare during the 1940's and 1950's. On the bottom is an example of what I would like to see.
Lesson Closure
I will explain that, U.S. during the 1940's and the 1950's allowed their fears of communism to grow uncontrollably. The government created laws that encroached on the peoples' civil liberties in the name of "national security." Individuals like Joseph McCarthy used the prevalent fear and paranoia can be used as a tool or weapon to attain objectives. This tactic of using fear is still being used today. It is our job as informed citizens to see through these scare tactics such as the McCarthyism.
Accomodations
The definition of the vocabulary words are listed on the Presentation
Pictures and a short clip is provided in the presentation
Pictures and a short clip is provided in the presentation