In this lesson, students will interpret an English version of Federico García Lorca’s Ballad of the Spanish Civil Guard, critique the work using a list of guided questions, and analyze how it serves as a social commentary for both the Spain of Lorca’s time and of today.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of Columbus’ First Voyage to the New World, why he undertook the challenge of sailing west to reach the east, why the Spanish monarchs supported the voyage, and finally how the world was forever changed on 12 October 1492.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students here will understand the story of the Viking exploration of Greenland and Vinland as told in the Icelandic and Greenlandic sagas, the role Erik the Red and Leif Erikson played in exploration, and how the Viking sagas may have played a role in Columbus’ decision to sail west five hundred years later.

Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the Battle of Stalingrad, why the Germans wanted to take the city, how the Soviets were able to defend it, how the Soviet counterattack led to the surrender of a large German army and why the battle was seen as the turning point in the Second World War (or as the Russians call it, the “Great Patriotic War”).

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the October Revolution of 1917, how Lenin and the Bolsheviks took control of Petrograd and what Lenin’s basic plan was for creating a socialist state in the early days of the Bolshevik revolution.

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.

Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain how Peter the Great came to power in Russia, how he modernized different segments of Russian society such as the military, the church and the government, and finally how and why he built St. Petersburg as his new capital.

Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain how Panslavism developed in Eastern Europe, what role Panslavism played in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, and how it reached its zenith in the years leading up to the Great War, and how it ultimately led to Tsar Nicholas’s decision to mobilize his troops in defense of Serbia in late July 1914.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, including a full reading of Dostoevsky’s short story, The Little Orphan, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain how Dostoevsky’s works focused on the moral depravity he saw as inherent in the emerging industrial society of mid-late 19th century urban Russia, and specifically how his stories used strong religious and moral overtones to send a message warning the emerging urban middle class of its responsibilities to society’s less fortunate members.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, including a full reading of the parable of the Grand Inquisitor from Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the story and character development found in the parable, how Dostoevsky’s last work focuses on the moral contradictions he saw as inherent in organized Christianity, and yet how the ending passages also show the author’s undeniable hope he has for humanity through its reliance on faith and beliefs.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, including a full reading of Dostoevsky’s novella, Notes from Underground, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain how Dostoevsky’s works focused on the moral depravity he saw as inherent in the emerging industrial society of mid-late 19th century urban Russia, how the major characters in Notes from Underground solicit both sympathy and disgust from readers, and finally how the novella fits into the genre of 19th century existential philosophy.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, including a full text reading of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918), students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the provisions of the treaty, how the Germans forced the Russians into signing the treaty, and why Lenin and most of the Soviet leadership believed that peace at any cost was necessary.

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.

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.

Today, most American high school students learn about the Spanish American War through stories and images of Teddy Roosevelt and his Roughriders charging up San Juan Hill in Cuba, but few teachers discuss Puerto Rico. Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students here will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of how and why the United States came to rule over the island of Puerto Rico, what legal and constitutional status the US granted Puerto Rican citizens, and how the relationship between the US and Puerto Rico has evolved since 1898.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the true story behind the “Schindler Jews” and the famed “list”, how Oskar Schindler’s actions on behalf of his Jewish workers put the businessman in grave danger and cost him his fortune, and how the story of the list came to light for the public.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, including radio broadcasts from the BBC and various video sources from the time, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the German invasion of Poland on 01 Sep 1939, how the Germans were able to achieve such a complete victory over the Poles, and how the Western Allies (Britain and France) responded to Hitler’s moves against their Polish allies.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the provisions of the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939, why the two ideological enemies signed the pact, and what the consequences were for Eastern Europe as a result of the pact.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, including radio broadcasts from the BBC and various video sources from the time, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the German invasion of Poland on 01 Sep 1939, how the Germans were able to achieve such a complete victory over the Poles, and how the Western Allies (Britain and France) responded to Hitler’s moves against their Polish allies.

How were the Spanish able to conquer the Incas so easily? What advantages did the Spanish have over the Incas in terms of technology? Why did Atahualpa discount the threat posed by Pizarro and the Spanish? Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students here will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of how and why the Spanish were able to conquer the Inca Empire of Peru, why the Indians (especially Chief Atahualpa) discounted the Spanish threat until it was too late, and finally what the legacy of the conquest meant for the native population of Peru then and today.