Scholars Online: Videos for Lessons
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History
The printed curriculum unit The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History probes the complex relationship between the United States, Russia, and Cuba, and examines the crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. (See detailed description and ordering information.)
Videos for Lessons: The videos below accompany lessons in the teacher's guide of the printed curriculum unit.
Videos for Readings follow the outline of the printed curriculum unit.
Scholars
Jim Blight
Brown University
janet Lang
Brown University
Sergei Khrushchev
Brown University
Day Two: Retracing the Path to October 1962
These video clips can be used to supplement the Day Two lesson plan in The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History. The clips will help students prepare for their presentations on the Cuban, U.S., and Soviet points of view. The printed lesson helps students explore the differences in perspectives that divided the three countries.
How did many Cubans view U.S. influence in Cuba in the 1950s? [Blight/Lang - 1:24]
What were U.S.-Cuban relations like leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis? [Blight/Lang - 1:42]
What did the Soviet people think of Fidel Castro? [Sergei Khrushchev - 0:58]
Optional Lesson I: Examining the Documents of the Cuban Missile Crisis
These video clips can be used to supplement the Optional Lesson I in The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History. These video clips offer differing analyses of the letters exchanged between the three leaders. The printed lesson helps students assess the policy choices faced by Kennedy, Castro, and Khrushchev.
Why did Khrushchev send two letters to Kennedy? [Sergei Khrushchev - 5:35]
How did Kennedy react to Khrushchev’s letters of October 26 and 27? [Blight/Lang - 2:44]
How did Khrushchev react to Castro’s letter of October 26? [Blight/Lang - 2:10]
Day Five: The Cuban Point of View and Lessons for Today
These video clips can be used to supplement the Day Five lesson plan in The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History. The printed lesson has students consider recent historical discoveries about the missile crisis and explore its historical lessons and implications. The clips also explore the method of "Critical Oral History," which led to these discoveries about the crisis.
How is the Cold War taught to students in Russia today? [Sergei Khrushchev - 1:42]
How did Soviet submarines increase the chance of nuclear war? [Blight/Lang - 3:30]
How close did we come to nuclear war? [Blight/Lang - 3:04]
What is critical oral history? [Blight/Lang - 1:32]
What is the value of bringing former adversaries together? [Blight/Lang - 1:23]
What lessons have you learned from critical oral history? [Blight/Lang - 1:41]
