The Cold War: Think-Aloud

Alabama State Standards

The learning goals for this lesson meet the following 9th Grade World History standards in the Alabama Course of Study:

• Standard 14 – Describe the causes and consequences of World War II.
• Standard 15 – Describe post-World War II realignment and reconstruction in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, including the end of colonial empires.

In addition, the learning goals for this lesson meets the following 6th Grade United States History standard in the Alabama Course of Study:

• Standard 11 – Identify critical events occurring in the United States and throughout the world from the Truman through the Johnson Administrations, including the Cold War, Berlin Airlift, Korean Conflict, space race, construction of the Berlin Wall, Bay of Pigs invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam War.

Finally, the learning goals for this lesson meets the following 11th Grade United States History standard in the Alabama Course of Study:

• Standard 8 – Describe the international role of the United States from 1945 through 1960 relative to the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Blockade, and NATO.

National History Standards

The following National History Standards for United States History were addressed in this unit:

Era 8 – The Great Depression and World War II (1929 – 1945)

• Standard 3 – The causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs.

Era 9 – Postwar United States (1945 to the early 1970s)

• Standard 2 – How the Cold War and conflicts in Korea and Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics.
• Standard 2A

Standard 3 – Domestic policies after World War II.

• Standard 3A

National Council for the Social Studies Standards

The learning goals for this unit correspond with the following NCSS Thematic Strands:

Strand II: Time, Continuity, and Change

• Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time.
  • Middle Grades – Standards e, f
  • High School – Standard e

Strand V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

• Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.
  • Middle Grades – Standard b
  • High School – Standard b

Strand VI: Power, Authority, and Governance

• Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance.
  • Middle Grades – Standards c, f, g
  • High School – Standards c, f, g, j

Strand IX: Global Connections

• Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and interdependence.
  • Middle Grades – Standard c
  • High School – Standard c, e

Mr. Mac Matthews

Mac Matthews is a classroom instructor, Vertical Team leader, and Social Studies Department Head for grades 8-9 at Auburn Junior High School in Auburn, Alabama.

Mac serves as a mentor teacher for the Persistent Issues in History Network, focusing his efforts on developing lessons/units in the classroom that can be showcased for other instructors. He is passionate about assisting in the training of future teachers through early exposure to the practical nature of PIH-based teaching. He has worked with many lab students and interns from Auburn University.

Prior to his current position in the Auburn City School system, Mac was a classroom teacher in Georgia from 2000-2002, served as a Youth Minister in various churches from 1993-2000, and taught in Alabama from 1991-1993. Mac received his B.A. in History from Samford University in 1987 and his M.Ed. in Social Studies from Auburn University in 1990.

Auburn Junior High School

Auburn Junior High School is located in a small southeastern U. S. city that is also the home to a land-grant university. Seven hundred and sixty-four students in grades 8-9 attend the school with 31% of the population participating in the free and reduced lunch program. The student body is 68% white, 28% black, and 4% Asian.

The featured lesson was taught in a 9th grade modern World History course that featured 98-minute class periods. Class size at AJHS averages 22 students, but the case study class was unusually small with 13 students. Class members reflected the diversity of the school and varied in ability and motivation.

Teacher Pre Interview

Teacher Post Interview