Materials

• Internet access
• Textbook
• “The Cuban Missile Crisis” (Attachment A)
• “Consider Your Options Decision-Making Chart” (Attachment B)

Instructional Activities

1. Have the students locate Cuba on the map, and explain to students that the United States was concerned about having a communist country so close to its shores. Explain that for fourteen days in October of 1962, the United States was at the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The Soviets, with the cooperation of Cuba, were shipping nuclear missiles to the island and building launching sites. President Kennedy and his advisors had to decide how they would respond to this act of aggression.
   
   
2. Explain to students that they will be examining documents and letters related to the crisis. By examining this information, they will attempt to identify the options open to President Kennedy and the possible consequences of carrying out each option. They will then decide which option they believe was the best. Have students work in groups of three or four. Provide each group with materials and resources, including the worksheets at Attachments A and B. Have students use their textbooks and other resources to learn more about the situation. The Web site Cold War, CNN Interactive at <http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/> offers transcripts and audio of a meeting Kennedy held with ExCom members, as well as Kennedy’s speech to the American people. Cybersleuth-kids.com at <http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/russian/Cold_War__Cuban_Missile_Crisis.html> offers copies of letters exchanged between Khrushchev and Kennedy during the crisis.
   
   
3. After the students have completed the decision-making exercise on the attachments, discuss the outcome of the crisis: Khrushchev removed the missiles in return for the United States ending the blockade, removing U.S. missiles from Turkey, and promising not to invade Cuba again. Point out that publicly, however, the removal of the missiles from Turkey was not part of the deal, because Kennedy was concerned about negative reactions from U.S. allies in Europe. Why?