March 3-March 7 Lesson Plan Roundup
This week, we continued our focus on Greece, then paused for a moment to create lesson plans that could help teachers explain the current situation with Ukraine and Russia to their students.
Classical Greece (4th/5th Centuries BCE) - Battle of Thermopylae 480 BCE
Through the investigation of selected primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain how a vastly outnumbered and outgunned Greek force was able to hold out against a much larger and more powerful Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae and why this battle is considered to be a watershed event in the history of western civilization.
Classical Greece (4th/5th Centuries BCE) - Spartan Society
Through the investigation of selected primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the organization of Spartan society in the age of Classical Greece, the roles males and females each played in that society, and how Spartans themselves saw the concepts of freedom and equality for all citizens.
Classical Greece (4th / 5th Centuries BCE) - Plato: Euthyphro
Through the investigation of selected primary and secondary sources, including a full text reading of Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basics of the Socratic argument behind defining piety and justice, how Socrates uses logical reasoning to question Euthyphro’s assertions, and what modern readers can take from the story.
Cold War (1947-1991) - NATO vs. Warsaw Pact
Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basics of the Cold War armed standoff between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Using this knowledge, students will then theorize and debate as to whether or not Putin’s latest moves in the Crimea signal his attempt to create another eastern bloc to oppose the modern incarnation of NATO, and what moves (if any) the members of the western alliance might be able to do to stop Russian advances in Eastern Europe.
Cold War (1947-1991) - Russia’s Iron Curtain
Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, including a full text reading of the Yalta Agreement from 1945, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basics behind how the Russians came to dominate Eastern Europe in the last days of the Second World War, why Russian leaders (especially Stalin) insisted on the creation of a buffer zone between Russia and the West and how and why the Soviet sphere of influence collapsed in the late 1980s. Using this knowledge, students will then analyze the moves taken by current Russian President Vladimir Putin in sending troops into the Crimea, theorizing as to whether Putin’s moves might signal the beginning of a new Iron Curtain and perhaps the opening of a new Cold War with the West. Has the old Russian Mama Bear finally awaken from its hibernation?
Crimean War (1853-1856) - Russian Expansionism in the Black Sea Region
Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basics behind the Crimean War of 1853-56, how Russian expansionism helped precipitate the war, why the French and British empires decided to back the Ottoman Empire, and how the results of the war ultimately led to even more trouble for the “sick man of Europe” in Constantinople.
Russian Involvement in Ukraine - An Overview
Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basics behind Russian involvement in the Ukraine, how the region was incorporated into the Russian Empire before the Great War, how it was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922 and why the two countries continue to maintain an uneasy, yet symbiotic relationship since the fall of the USSR in 1991.