Goals and Objectives
-Students will understand key polices which allow for freedom of speech and press
-Students will compare a totalitarian country’s press policies to countries with free press.
-Students will create a newspaper for both a totalitarian country (USSR) and one for a country with free press (Britain/France).
-Students will compare a totalitarian country’s press policies to countries with free press.
-Students will create a newspaper for both a totalitarian country (USSR) and one for a country with free press (Britain/France).
California State Content and Common Core Standards
10.9 Students will analyze the international developments in the post- World War II world.
2- Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam, and Chile.
5- Describe the uprisings in Poland (1952), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968) and those countries' resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s as people in Soviet satellites sought freedom from Soviet control.
7- Analyze the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the weakness of the command economy, burdens of military commitments, and growing resistance to Soviet rule by dissidents in satellite states and the non-Russian Soviet republics.
2- Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam, and Chile.
5- Describe the uprisings in Poland (1952), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968) and those countries' resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s as people in Soviet satellites sought freedom from Soviet control.
7- Analyze the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the weakness of the command economy, burdens of military commitments, and growing resistance to Soviet rule by dissidents in satellite states and the non-Russian Soviet republics.
Lesson Introduction
The students will listen and watch Ronald Regan’s speech in Berlin demanding Gorbachev to demolish the Berlin Wall. The students will reflect on the images they see and the emotion in the crowd.
Vocabulary
Students will incorporate vocabulary (if applicable) into their newspaper project:
- Berlin Wall
- Ronald Reagan
- Iron Curtain
- Totalitarianism
- Freedom of Press
- Mikhail Gorbachev
- Berlin Wall
- Ronald Reagan
- Iron Curtain
- Totalitarianism
- Freedom of Press
- Mikhail Gorbachev
Content Delivery
The lesson will be introduced through the students watching a clip of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate demanding Gorbachev to both open the Brandenburg Gate and to tear down the Berlin Wall.
The instructor will then pass out directions for the students (group of 4) to create two newspaper front pages surrounding Ronald Reagan’s visit and/or speech in Berlin. The students will create one USSR newspaper surrounding the event and one European newspaper whose country has a freedom of press.
The instructor will provide the students with examples of US newspapers of the event to scaffold the student’s frame of reference for what all should be included. Over 50% of the information presented on the poster board must be typed.
Duration of project: Five (5) days to complete the two newspapers along with presenting their newspaper and posting them on the walls.
Groups will be chosen through numbering students 1-10, all (1) students will be together, all (2) students, etc.
The instructor will then pass out directions for the students (group of 4) to create two newspaper front pages surrounding Ronald Reagan’s visit and/or speech in Berlin. The students will create one USSR newspaper surrounding the event and one European newspaper whose country has a freedom of press.
The instructor will provide the students with examples of US newspapers of the event to scaffold the student’s frame of reference for what all should be included. Over 50% of the information presented on the poster board must be typed.
Duration of project: Five (5) days to complete the two newspapers along with presenting their newspaper and posting them on the walls.
Groups will be chosen through numbering students 1-10, all (1) students will be together, all (2) students, etc.
Student Engagement
Day 1:
The students will be introduced to the project and will be given the directions. After a quick discussion of the speech at Brandenburg Gate, the students will be numbered 1-10 to determine groups.
The students will begin researching the event through both Britain/ France’s perspective and the USSR’s perspective. They will be allowed to use the textbook, outside resources, and will be permitted to use computers/ their smart phones (with strict supervision).
Day 2:
The students will finish their research and begin planning and coordinating their newspapers organization. The students will need to include 2 pieces of media, plus one individually created piece (hand drawn picture, graph, political cartoon, etc.) to enhance their understandings of the event through both perspectives. ½ the day will be spent finishing their research and the other ½ will be spent beginning their creation of the newspaper. Additional time at home will be needed to develop and gain more research.
Day 3:
The students will continue working on their poster board newspapers. They will begin to include their typed work of the event as the newspaper content along with their media.
Day 4:
This day will be spent mostly on adding their finishing touches to the newspapers. Presentation rubrics will be given out to the students for both how they are to present and how they will assess other groups’ newspapers.
Day 5:
The last day will be given to the students to do a “Gallery Walk” where they will walk around and visit three (3) newspaper presentations.
Two (2) members of each group will be in Group A and the other two in Group B. Group A will present first as Group B goes around to three (3) displays and watches a presentation on both free press and totalitarian press in coordination with Reagan’s speech.
Each presentation should be about 2 minutes per newspaper (5 minutes/ group). After the time has expired, the class will rotate to another display and watch their presentation.
After the first 15 minutes, the presenters will now switch to Group B and Group A will circle the room watching presentations.
As the presentations are informing the observers, it is the job of the observer to rate each presentation based on the rubric they were given to assess. The students will turn in all three (3) presentation assessments at the end of class.
The students will be introduced to the project and will be given the directions. After a quick discussion of the speech at Brandenburg Gate, the students will be numbered 1-10 to determine groups.
The students will begin researching the event through both Britain/ France’s perspective and the USSR’s perspective. They will be allowed to use the textbook, outside resources, and will be permitted to use computers/ their smart phones (with strict supervision).
Day 2:
The students will finish their research and begin planning and coordinating their newspapers organization. The students will need to include 2 pieces of media, plus one individually created piece (hand drawn picture, graph, political cartoon, etc.) to enhance their understandings of the event through both perspectives. ½ the day will be spent finishing their research and the other ½ will be spent beginning their creation of the newspaper. Additional time at home will be needed to develop and gain more research.
Day 3:
The students will continue working on their poster board newspapers. They will begin to include their typed work of the event as the newspaper content along with their media.
Day 4:
This day will be spent mostly on adding their finishing touches to the newspapers. Presentation rubrics will be given out to the students for both how they are to present and how they will assess other groups’ newspapers.
Day 5:
The last day will be given to the students to do a “Gallery Walk” where they will walk around and visit three (3) newspaper presentations.
Two (2) members of each group will be in Group A and the other two in Group B. Group A will present first as Group B goes around to three (3) displays and watches a presentation on both free press and totalitarian press in coordination with Reagan’s speech.
Each presentation should be about 2 minutes per newspaper (5 minutes/ group). After the time has expired, the class will rotate to another display and watch their presentation.
After the first 15 minutes, the presenters will now switch to Group B and Group A will circle the room watching presentations.
As the presentations are informing the observers, it is the job of the observer to rate each presentation based on the rubric they were given to assess. The students will turn in all three (3) presentation assessments at the end of class.
Lesson Closure
The students will be given a journal prompt at the end of Day 5, after their presentation assessments were turned in.
“-How did this project help inform on the perceptions of press?
-What did you learn?
-What did you find interesting?
-What was difficult?
-How would you change the project to help students learn optimally?”
“-How did this project help inform on the perceptions of press?
-What did you learn?
-What did you find interesting?
-What was difficult?
-How would you change the project to help students learn optimally?”
Assessment
Progress Monitoring: The teacher will ensure that the students are pace to finish by Day 5 presentation. They will circle the room as the students are performing their tasks with a notebook to take notes on students who are actively on task and others who are allowing others to work more.
Summative: Each day the teacher will make sure the students have finished what was required of them.
At the end of Day 5, the teacher will go to each display and visually assess their newspapers while listening to each Sub Group presentation on each perspective.
The students will turn in their assessments of each group’s newspaper and presentation while stapling that to their quick write journal for the teacher to further assess their understanding of the material.
Summative: Each day the teacher will make sure the students have finished what was required of them.
At the end of Day 5, the teacher will go to each display and visually assess their newspapers while listening to each Sub Group presentation on each perspective.
The students will turn in their assessments of each group’s newspaper and presentation while stapling that to their quick write journal for the teacher to further assess their understanding of the material.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers, and Students with Special Needs
Tools will be provided to the students who are in need of further accommodations such as transcripts for the video speech, further scaffolding for striving readers and English learners. Students who need special access to materials will be accommodated