Developing a Performance Assessment

United States Foreign Policy Choices after World War II

Level:

11^th grade

Connections to Curriculum:

This assessment is intended to be administered during the first half of a unit on the Cold War, which will allow students to examine the political, economic, and social consequences of World War II, and how those consequences impacted foreign relations with the Soviet Union.

Author:

Kathryn Leighton

Advisor:

Adrea Lawrence

Inquiry Question:

How did the impact of international affairs and the political, economic, and social consequences of World War II affect the United States’ post-war foreign policy, specifically its relations with the Soviet Union?

Fairfax County Public Schools Social Studies Standards Assessed:

12.1 The student analyzes the impact of international affairs on the foreign policy of the United States after World War II.

12.3 The student traces the rise of the United States as a major economic power in the Post-War Era.

Overview:

In this assessment, students will answer the inquiry question through a debate on US foreign policy options towards the Soviet Union after World War II. In order to better understand the implications and consequences of the four options that US foreign policy makers faced in the post-war era, students will be divided up into four groups, each with the task of arguing in favor of their foreign policy option. This simulation is meant to reconstruct the debate that took place among US policymakers in late 1946. Each option, as outlined by the Choices Program curriculum simulation which will be used for this assessment, is grounded in a clearly defined philosophy about the US role in the world, Soviet ambitions in Europe after World War II, and the future of international relations. Choices Program readings, which will be used to supplement the classroom textbook, center around primary sources, including speeches, newspaper articles and editorials, and political cartoons from the mid-1940s. The ultimate goal of the debate is for students to place themselves within the context of the material. Students will then analyze such choices after the debate and use them to clarify their own perspectives on the US Cold War strategy and articulate their own views on US foreign policy, which will be conveyed through a two page reaction paper.

Materials Needed:

• Choices Program curriculum unit, The Origins of the Cold War: US Choices after World War II
• Rubric

Time Allotment:

135 minutes – one and a half 90 minute class periods

Prior Learning:

• Identification and understanding of cause and effect relationships
• Understanding of how to read and analyze primary sources
• Development of skills needed to compare and contrast different sources
• Identification of the major events that led to the US involvement in World War II
• Understanding of how World War II affected the home front
• Identification of the impact of World War II on science and technology
• Public speaking skills
• Development of persuasive writing skills

Teacher Administration Instructions:

DAY ZERO: 1. Distribute background readings from the Choices Program unit guide. These should be read for homework in preparation for the next class meeting.

DAY ONE: 1. Divide students up into four groups and carefully distribute packets to each of the groups. They should have already read through the background readings the night before as their homework. Make sure that each person only receives the background material for their stance, and not all four of the stances.

2. Go over the directions for the assessment, their role in the debate, and what a general overview of what their culminating task will be – to write a two page paper persuading the reader as to the choice that they believe the US should have made in late 1946. Make sure that the rubric for the debate part of the assessment is clearly understood by all students.

3. Make it clear to students that they should be spending the rest of the period planning with their group for the debate.

4. Once all questions have been answered, allow students to work within their groups to prepare for the debate. Any preparation that is not completed in class is to be assigned as homework.

DAY TWO: 1. Before students come into the classroom, have the desks arranged into four different groups around the room, in a “square” formation so that all students are facing the center of the “square.”

2. Carefully go over the ground rules for the debate.

3. Proctor the debate. Make sure that you leave at least ten minutes at the end of the class period so that you can go over the directions for the response paper.

4. Go over the directions and rubric for the response paper. Allow time for students to ask clarifying questions before the period ends.

Bibliography:

Choices for the 21^st Century Education Project, The Origins of the Cold War: US Choices after World War II (Providence, RI: Brown University), http://www.choices.edu.

United States Foreign Policy Choices after World War II

Directions: For this assessment, you will seek to uncover the different options that US foreign policy makers faced after World War II. The class will be divided up into four groups, and you will be provided with one of four choices to defend during an in class debate. After the debate, you will be responsible for writing a two page response paper in which your goal is to persuade the reader as to which of the four options, or your own development of an option that is either different from or a combination of parts of the choices, is the best fit for the US.

Scenario: It is late 1946, and World War II has just recently ended. In order to better understand the implications and consequences of the four options that US foreign policy makers faced in the post-war era, the class will be divided up into four groups, each with the task of arguing in favor of their foreign policy option. This simulation is meant to reconstruct the debate that took place among US policymakers in late 1946. Each option is grounded in a clearly defined philosophy about the US role in the world, Soviet ambitions in Europe after World War II, and the future of international relations.

Tasks to Complete:

1. OVERALL TASK: Your overarching task is to better understand what US foreign policy makers thought might work in the post-war era. Through your background readings and organization of materials in favor of your policy choice, your eventual goal is to understand how that option fits within the context of the other options that your classmates will outline for you. You are then to decide which option will work best for the US in light of current political, economic, and social constraints.

2. DEBATE PREPARATION: You are to spend your class time working with your group mates to organize effective arguments in favor of your choice. You should also be prepared how to defend your choice against any counter arguments that other groups may bring up. In addition, you should prepare questions to ask the other three groups that show the weakness in those other foreign policy options.

3. THE DEBATE: Your teacher will be proctoring the debate in order to ensure that the debate runs smoothly. Do not worry about who will keep the debate in order. Instead, worry about the construction of your arguments – those in favor of your own choice that you are defending as well as those that bring out the weaknesses in the other three choices.

4. REACTION PAPER: For homework, you will be asked to complete a two page reaction paper, in which you are to analyze the four choices and use them to clarify you own perspective on the US Cold War strategy that might have been used in late 1946. As a result, you need to articulate on your own views of US foreign policy, and argue which choice is best for the US, whether it is one of the four choice specifically or a development of your own option, which might combine parts from two or more of the choices outlined in the debate. You are not necessarily going to argue for the foreign policy option that your group defended in the debate. Instead, you are to critically think about the four options and determine what is best for the US.