Read all of these directions carefully before you begin. If you do not understand the task please ask me for help.
Big Questions:
How and why were Cuba and Afghanistan involved in the Cold War?
What were the long-term impacts of these conflicts?
Task:
Research and accumulate documents that provide information on the Cold War conflicts in Cuba (Cuban Missile Crisis) and Afghanistan (Soviet Invasion). Use these documents to answer the big questions by participating in class discussion and explaining information in a written assessment.
Purpose:
Ø Your documents should help you to explain the causes and effects of these major world events.
Ø You should be able to explain the conflict from the perspective of all sides involved. In other words, what was the Soviet reason(s) for the conflict? What were the reasons for US actions? What was happening in Cuba/Afghanistan during and after the conflict?
Ø Your documents must help to explain the geopolitical importance of the regions involved.
Ø Your documents should help to explain how these conflicts fit into the Cold War.
Ø The documents you collect will be used to discuss and analyze the conflicts in Cuba and Afghanistan. You must not only print these documents but you must also study them and be prepared to discuss them with the class.
Ø You will also use these documents on your upcoming Unit Test as part of the written task on that test.
Procedure:
Research the topics with a partner using the Internet. Locate documents that will help you explain the topics and print a copy of each document. You should have at least 4 documents for each conflict, a total of 8 documents minimum. Read your documents carefully to acquire information related to the big questions and the points listed in the purpose.
Due date:
You should have all of your documents accumulated by the end of the period on Friday. We will begin discussing these conflicts on Monday, so please read through your materials by then. I expect everyone in the class to be prepared to contribute to our discussion.
Helpful websites:
Below are listed a few sites that will be helpful in gathering evidence. I also encourage you to do your own searches to locate other sources. Keep in mind that as you research you will see that the conflicts in Cuba and Afghanistan can be interpreted in different ways depending upon whose view you consider.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/20/
http://www.proxsa.org/resources/9-11/Reagan820310-Proclamation.htm
http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/Foreign%20Affairs/us-afghan/us_covert_0.htm
http://cfrterrorism.org/havens/afghanistan_print.html
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/10/
http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/subject/missile-crisis/ch03.htm
http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/r/x/rxb297/CUBA/MAIN.HTML
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/cuba.htm