Teaching the Common Core: Citing Evidence

Teaching the Common Core: Citing Evidence Who Caused the Cold War? Crimean Conference--Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Marshal Joseph Stalin at the palace in Yalta, where the Big Three met / /U.S. Signal Corps photo. February, 1945. Source: Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/96522032/ Literacy Strategy: Analyzing evidence to evaluate and write arguments. According to Churchill and Stalin, Who Caused the Cold War? This World or American History grade lesson is designed as part of a larger lesson on the causes of the Cold War. The lesson s focus on the speeches of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, provides teachers with an opportunity to increase students reading comprehension and disciplinary understanding. Through a close reading of excerpts from the speeches, students can further develop their abilities to compare and contrast documents, identify point of view, and make their own historical interpretations. In answering the lesson focus question, students learn about the causes of the Cold War and the points of view of both sides in this conflict. Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 1

Standards Alignment: Common Core State Standards Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Science Grades 6-12 RH1 (Grades 9-10): Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information. RH1 (Grades 11-12): Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole. Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12 WHST2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. WHST9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. California Content Standards 10.9 Students analyze the international developments in the post-world War II world. 10.9.1 Compare the economic and military power shifts caused by the war, including the Yalta Pact, the development of nuclear weapons, Soviet control over Eastern European nations, and the economic recoveries of Germany and Japan. 10.9.2 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. 11.9 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II. 11.9.1 Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy. Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 2

Procedures Step 1: A First Look at the Texts by Churchill and Stalin (Class Time: 10 minutes) Introduce the lesson focus question, According to Churchill and Stalin, who caused the Cold War? Tell students that they begin to answer the lesson focus question by reading two different texts from two leaders that defined the East and West at the end of WWII British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. The first text is the transcript of a speech identified as Churchill s Iron Curtain (Sinews of Peace) Speech that he delivered at Westminster College in Missouri on March 5, 1946. The second text is a transcript of an interview in which Stalin gave his response to Churchill. The interview was printed in the Soviet newspaper, Pravda, later that month. Distribute Student Handout 1: Viewpoints of Churchill and Stalin. Give students a few minutes to read both versions independently before reading them aloud as a class. Tell them to annotate the readings-to write notes and circle any obvious disagreements between the two authors. Next, have the students answer the two questions in pairs: 1) What disagreements do you notice between the documents?; and 2) Why do you think these leaders disagreed on these issues? This exercise allows students to form initial thoughts about the differences between the speeches that they will revisit later. Step 2: Comparing the Language of the Texts by Churchill and Stalin (Class Time: 20 minutes) Students will now closely study the language of each text. Distribute Student Handout 2: Analyzing Churchill s Iron Curtain Speech and Student Handout 3: Analyzing Stalin s Response to Churchill. This activity, deconstructing sentences, helps students see how words and phrases are combined to make meaning and convey information. Students will sort the text into four categories 1) condition/connection, prepositional and introductory phrases that show time and relationship; 2) nouns and adjectives that show students the subject of the sentence; 3) verbs that show what action is taking place; and 4) who or what? / context, that shows who or what is receiving the action. The follow-up questions on the handouts guide students through analyzing the texts to understand the authors arguments. Step 3: Check Student Understanding (Class Time: 5-10 minutes) Student Handout 2: Analyzing Churchill s Iron Curtain Speech and Student Handout 3: Analyzing Stalin s Response to Churchill aim to guide students observation and analysis of the texts and help them determine the chief points of disagreement. Ask students to share their observations and explain any points they have missed. First, students should notice that Churchill is accusing the Soviet Union of denying civil liberties to the people of Eastern Europe. By listing the rights of citizens and describing democratic government, Churchill was implying that the Soviet Union did not allow those rights to its own citizens or to the people of Eastern Europe. Secondly, students should understand that Stalin s description of the suffering of the Soviets during World War II shows his anger at the US and Great Britain for the long-delayed second front in Europe during the war. He is justifying Soviet control over Eastern Europe by saying that the Soviet Union wants the security of controlling loyal governments in nearby countries, while also ignoring Churchill s argument about civil liberties. Tell students to add any new insights to their Student Handout 1: Viewpoints of Churchill and Stalin notes. Have students discuss in small groups how new observations help answer the focus question. One student from each group can report their group s discussion to the class. Finally, have students write on the back of Student Handout 1: Viewpoints of Churchill and Stalin what they know, how this will help them answer the focus question, and what they still do not understand. Based on what they still do not understand, you may need to do some small group or whole class re-teaching. Step 4: In Your Own Words (Class Time: 10 minutes) To prepare students for writing (in Step 6 below) and reinforce new learning, this activity gives them practice with paraphrasing. Have students explain what certain parts of each text mean in Student Handout 4: In Your Own Words. Students can work on this together but they must be able to explain their choices for both columns. The varying answers to What does this mean? will give teachers a good gauge of student understanding of the texts and reveal which students will have a difficult time with the lesson assessment. Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 3

Step 5: Collecting Evidence (Class Time: 15 Minutes) Distribute Student Handout 5: Pre-writing Notes and Evidence Analysis Chart. Tell students that the final assignment for the lesson is to write a paragraph answering the focus question. First, they will need to collect evidence for writing. As a class, read the focus question, background information, introduction, and thesis from the handout. Have students circle the key words in the focus question and underline the two main arguments of the thesis: that Churchill and Stalin each blamed the other for causing the Cold War, and that while Churchill blamed the Soviets for imposing Communism and denying civil liberties to the people of Eastern Europe, Stalin argued that Communist bravery and Soviet sacrifice in World War II justified the Soviets desire to have loyal governments in Eastern Europe. Have students select evidence to support each of these points and paraphrase the evidence in their own words in the second column. In the third column of the chart, they should write a sentence explaining what the evidence means and how it supports the argument. In the final column, the students should write down the citation information. Step 6: Answering the Focus Question (Class Time: 20 minutes) Students will now answer the lesson focus question. Have students refer to all their previous lesson notes to complete Student Handout 6: Answering the Focus Question. The sentence frames will guide students through the process of synthesizing the evidence and making interpretations based upon the primary sources. Students can either quote from the sources or paraphrase in their own words. The written analysis of the text will show whether they understand Churchill and Stalin s views on the causes of the Cold War. Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 4

Student Handout 1: Viewpoints of Churchill and Stalin Iron Curtain ( Sinews of Peace ) Speech (excerpts) Winston Churchill, delivered at Westminster College, March 5, 1946 We cannot be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by individual citizens throughout the British Empire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, some of which are very powerful. In these States control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of all-embracing police governments All this means that the people of any country have the right, and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections, with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell. That freedom of speech and thought should reign; that courts of justice, independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws which have received the broad assent of large majorities or are consecrated by time and custom. A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organization intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytizing tendencies. [Here are] certain facts about the present position in Europe. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. Citation: Winston S. Churchill, Iron Curtain Speech, March 5, 1946, Internet Modern History Sourcebook, ed. Paul Halsall, 1997, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.asp. Response to Churchill (excerpts) Joseph Stalin, interview in Pravda, March 14, 1946 In substance, Mr. Churchill now stands in the position of a firebrand [instigator] of war. And Mr. Churchill is not alone here. He has friends not only in England but also in the United States of America. It may be that some quarters are trying to push into oblivion these sacrifices of the Soviet people which insured the liberation of Europe from the Hitlerite yoke. But the Soviet Union cannot forget them. One can ask therefore, what can be surprising in the fact that the Soviet Union, in a desire to ensure its security for the future, tries to achieve that these countries should have governments whose relations to the Soviet Union are loyal? Mr. Churchill wandered around the truth when he speaks of the growth of the influence of the Communist parties in Eastern Europe.The growth of the influence of Communism cannot be considered accidental. It is a normal function. The influence of the Communists grew because during the hard years of the mastery of fascism in Europe, Communists showed themselves to be reliable, daring and self-sacrificing fighters against fascist regimes for the liberty of peoples. Citation: Joseph V. Stalin, Interview to Pravda Correspondent Concerning Mr. Winston Churchill s Speech at Fulton, March, 1946, Marxist Internet Archive, http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1946/03/x01.htm. 1) What disagreements do you notice between the documents? 2) Why do you think these leaders disagreed on these issues? Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 5

Student Handout 4: Stalin v. Churchill, in Your Own Words Instructions: From the list below choose the correct paraphrased statement and write it in the middle column. Then explain the meaning in the final column. By voting in secret without the fear that someone will punish them for their vote Authoritarian governments use different forceful methods to control the citizens in these countries Eastern European cities and people are now under Soviet control All people have the right and deserve the authority To accept, reject, or transform both the kind of government they have and their officials In many nations people do not have the same rights as British citizens do A firm barrier exists between Western and Eastern Europe From actions allowed to the people by law In the Iron Curtain Speech, Churchill said We cannot be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by individual citizens throughout the British Empire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, In these States control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of all-embracing police governments the people of any country have the right, and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections, with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. Choose and write the correct paraphrased statement from above What does this mean? Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 16

Stalin v. Churchill, in Your Own Words (continued) Instructions: From the list below choose the correct paraphrased statement and write it in the middle column. Then explain the meaning in the final column. Because the Soviet Union lost so much in World War II, they want the security of Communist governments loyal to the Soviet Union in Eastern European nations. The US agrees with Churchill Certain people (such as Churchill and the US) are ignoring that the Soviet Union took the leading role in World War II and freed Eastern Europe from German rule Churchill is instigating war The Soviets will never forget how much they had to sacrifice in World War II In the Pravda interview, Stalin said In substance, Mr. Churchill now stands in the position of a firebrand [instigator] of war. And Mr. Churchill is not alone here. He has friends not only in England but also in the United States of America It may be that some quarters are trying to push into oblivion these sacrifices of the Soviet people which insured the liberation of Europe from the Hitlerite yoke. But the Soviet Union cannot forget them. One can ask therefore, what can be surprising in the fact that the Soviet Union, in a desire to ensure its security for the future, tries to achieve that these countries should have governments whose relations to the Soviet Union are loyal? Choose and write the correct paraphrased statement from above What does this mean? Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 17

Student Handout 4 (Key): Stalin v. Churchill, in Your Own Words In the Iron Curtain Speech, Churchill said We cannot be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by individual citizens throughout the British Empire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, In these States control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of allembracing police governments the people of any country have the right, and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections, with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. Choose and write the correct paraphrased statement from above In many nations people do not have the same rights as British citizens do Authoritarian governments use different forceful methods to control the citizens in these countries All people have the right and deserve the authority From actions allowed to the people by law, By voting in secret without the fear that someone will punish them for their vote To accept, reject, or transform both the kind of government they have and their officials A firm barrier exists between Western and Eastern Europe Eastern European cities and people are now under Soviet control What does this mean? The Soviet Union has taken away the civil liberties of the people in Eastern Europe Communist governments use totalitarian force and secret police to control the people People have the natural right (to choose their own government) and all people should be able to do this The laws of every nation should allow people to choose their own government (and implying that Communist gov ts. don t allow this) The gov t. should not know how people voted nor should it force people to vote a particular way (and implying that Communist gov ts. don t have free elections) (People have the natural right and should have the power) to select or change their government (implying that the Soviet Union did not allow the people in the Eastern European nations to choose any gov t. except communism; the Communists are the only legal political party.) Soviet actions have cut Eastern Europe off from the West. This is a reference to the barbed-wire fences on the borders. Eastern European Communist gov ts. did not allow their people to travel to the West. All of Eastern Europe and its people are imprisoned by the Soviets. The Soviet Union is controlling the gov ts. of Eastern Europe unfairly and for its own profit. Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 18

Student Handout 4 (Key): Stalin v. Churchill, in Your Own Words (continued) In the Pravda interview, Stalin said In substance, Mr. Churchill now stands in the position of a firebrand [instigator] of war. And Mr. Churchill is not alone here. He has friends not only in England but also in the United States of America It may be that some quarters are trying to push into oblivion these sacrifices of the Soviet people which insured the liberation of Europe from the Hitlerite yoke. But the Soviet Union cannot forget them. One can ask therefore, what can be surprising in the fact that the Soviet Union, in a desire to ensure its security for the future, tries to achieve that these countries should have governments whose relations to the Soviet Union are loyal? Choose and write the correct paraphrased statement from above Churchill is instigating war The US agrees with Churchill Certain people (such as Churchill and the US) are ignoring that the Soviet Union took the leading role in World War II and freed Eastern Europe from German rule The Soviets will never forget how much they had to sacrifice in World War II Because the Soviet Union lost so much in World War II, they want the security of Communist governments loyal to the Soviet Union in Eastern European nations. What does this mean? Stalin thinks that Churchill insulted the Soviet Union and that Churchill s words show that he is provoking conflict The US is behind Churchill s ideas, or Churchill is saying what the Americans think. The Soviet Union was the force that really defeated the Nazis and won World War II. The US and Great Britain do not pay enough attention to how many Russians were killed fighting against the Germans before the US and Great Britain attacked at Normandy and made a second front against Germany. (Again, Stalin thinks this is an insult.) The Soviets lost a lot in World War II & preventing this from happening again is their main concern for the post-war world. The reason that the Soviet Union made the Eastern European nations accept communist gov ts. which are under the direction of the Soviet Union is to protect the Soviet Union from future attack from the West. Eastern Europe will be a buffer zone of defense. Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 19

Student Handout 5: Pre-Writing Notes and Evidence Analysis Chart Instructions: Your next assignment is to write a 150-word report answering the following focus question: According to Churchill and Stalin, who caused the Cold War? The thesis is written below. It has five main points. First, find one piece of evidence to support each of the five main points from the two texts. Use your notes from the Student Handout 4: Stalin v. Churchill - In Your Own Words to complete the Paraphrase column. In the Analysis column, explain what the evidence means and how it supports the point. In the Citation column, write the name of the author, the title of text, and the date. The first one is done for you. Background: In 1946, disagreements between the US, Great Britain and the Soviet Union over arrangements for post-war Europe were escalating into a Cold War. In his Iron Curtain speech, Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned the US and the West about Soviet actions in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, responded angrily in an interview published by Pravda later in March. Thesis: Both Churchill and Stalin argued that the other was responsible for the actions that were later called the Cold War. While Churchill blamed the Soviets for imposing Communism on Eastern Europe and denying the people civil liberties, Stalin argued that Communist bravery and Soviet sacrifice in World War II justified the Soviets desire to have loyal governments in Eastern Europe. Thesis Point Evidence (Direct Quotation) all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. Paraphrase (Indirect Quotation) Eastern European cities and people are now under Soviet control. Analysis (what does evidence mean and how does it support the thesis?) All of Eastern Europe and its people are imprisoned by the Soviets. The Soviet Union is controlling the gov ts. of Eastern Europe unfairly and for its own profit. Churchill was accusing the Soviet Union of breaking the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, in which Stalin promised that the Soviets would allow free elections in Eastern European nations after the war. Instead the Soviet Union was controlling those nations, which was dividing Europe and that was causing the Cold War. Citation (author, title, date) British Prime Minister Winston Church, Iron Curtain Speech, March 5, 1946 Churchill argued Soviet Union was to blame Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 20

Student Handout 5: Pre-Writing Notes and Evidence Analysis Chart (Continued) Thesis Point Stalin argued Churchill (and US) were to blame Evidence (Direct Quotation) Paraphrase (Indirect Quotation) Analysis (what does evidence mean and how does it support the thesis?) Citation (author, title, date) Soviets forced Communism on Eastern Europe Soviets denied people civil liberties Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 21

Student Handout 5: Pre-Writing Notes and Evidence Analysis Chart (Continued) Thesis Point Evidence (Direct Quotation) Paraphrase (Indirect Quotation) Communists were brave & won support of Eastern European people Analysis (what does evidence mean and how does it support the thesis?) Citation (author, title, date) Soviet sacrifice in WWII justifies wanting loyal governments Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 22

Student Handout 6: Answering the Focus Question Paragraph Frame In 1946, disagreements between the US, Great Britain and the Soviet Union over arrangements for post-war Europe were escalating into a Cold War. In his Iron Curtain speech, Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned the US and the West about Soviet actions in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, responded angrily in an interview published by Pravda later in March. Both Churchill and Stalin argued that the other was responsible for the actions that were later called the Cold War. While Churchill blamed the Soviets for imposing Communism on Eastern Europe and denying the people civil liberties, Stalin argued that Communist bravery and Soviet sacrifice in World War II justified the Soviets desire to have loyal governments in Eastern Europe. In his Iron Curtain Speech, delivered in March, 1946, Prime Minister Winston Churchill argued that. In an interview printed in Pravda later in March, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin responded that Implying that the Soviets had imposed communism on Eastern Europe, Churchill charged that. Churchill also accused the Soviets of denying In contrast, Stalin argued that Communist bravery Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 26

Student Handout 6: Answering the Focus Question (continued) Stalin argued that Soviet sacrifices in World War II justified (Write a concluding sentence restating the thesis.) Teaching the Common Core Webinar Series - 27