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Stories Behind the Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules

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Stories Behind the Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Plan B and other Reports Graduate Studies 5-2018 Stories Behind the Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules Nicholas Redmon Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports Part of the Cultural History Commons, Eastern European Studies Commons, European History Commons, Geographic Information Sciences Commons, German Literature Commons, Human Geography Commons, Secondary Education Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Redmon, Nicholas, "Stories Behind the Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules" (2018). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports. 1200. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1200 This Creative Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Plan B and other Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! 1! !! ! ! ! ! Stories!Behind!the!Berlin!Wall:!Lesson!Modules! Nicholas!Redmon! Utah!State!University! November!18,!2017! ! ! ! 2! Introduction!to!Lesson!Module! This!website!is!a!collection!of!primary!documents!focused!in!three!pivotal!years,! 1961,!or!at!the!construction!of!the!Wall,!1980,!almost!two!decades!into!the!midst!of! German!Democratic!Republic!(GDR!or!East!Germany)!since!the!Wall’s!erection,!and!1989,! as!the!Wall!is!brought!down.!This!component!on!the!website!is!a!lesson!module,!which!is!a! road!map!for!teachers!and!students!studying!what!life!was!like!in!the!GDR,!behind!the! Berlin!Wall.!These!lesson!plans!include!learning!objectives,!primary!documents!with! interpretations!and!prompts,!secondary!literature!discussions!and!debates,!bibliographic! links!for!further!learning,!interactive!lesson!ideas,!and!are!structured!as!day!by!day! curriculum.!Feel!free!to!use!these!lesson!plans!in!any!form!that!benefits!your!classroom,! whether!in!whole!or!by!the!utilization!of!specific!primary!documents!or!day!plans.! ! ! ! 3! Primary!Source!Analysis!! This!website!was!created!for!two!purposes:!1)!Allow!—students!and!individuals! interested!in!the!Cold!War!and!the!Berlin!Wall!to!analyze!the!events!with!a!variety!of! primary!and!secondary!sources!in!an!interactive!method;!2)!To!foster!an!understanding!of! how!to!analyze!primary!documents!like!newspapers,!photographs,!and!oral!histories!to! make!sense!of!them!and!look!for!elements!such!as!bias!and!objectives.!There!are!essential! questions!and!worksheets!tied!to!the!documents!to!aid!in!their!evaluation.!! The!Library!of!Congress!explains,!“Primary!sources!are!the!raw!materials!of!history.”! Any!primary!document!such!as!a!journal!entry,!postcard,!or!newspaper!article,!has!a!reason! for!its!creation.!These!documents!help!us!understand!the!complexities!of!the!past!and!can! give!us!a!greater!depth!of!knowledge!from!bygone!events.!When!students!understand!the! intricacies!of!primary!documents,!and!their!relationship!to!past!events,!they!gain!critical! thinking!skills!and!the!ability!to!analyze.!! Please!enjoy!this!website!and!subsequent!lesson!modules,!and!use!them!to!empower! our!rising!generation!to!be!able!to!think!critically.! ! ! ! 4! Format!of!Lesson!Modules! Here!is!a!skeleton!of!how!each!module!section!looks:! Pivotal(Year:!Example!of!1961! Essential(Questions:!These!are!the!main!overarching!themes!inquired!about!in!this!era.! These!questions!are!asked!of!students!several!times!to!answer!throughout!the!modules! using!primary!documents—!to!effectively!respond!to!the!questions.!! Learning(Outcome:!This!is!the!main!goal!of!what!students!should!know!at!the!end!of! the!lesson!unit!module.!!! Main(Project:!Each!unit!will!specify!a!performance!task!or!assessment!to!assess!if!the! learning!outcome!was!met.!A!short!essay!section!is!included!to!ask!students!to!effectively! answer!the!essential!questions!by!referencing!primary!documents.!! Unit(Days:!After!the!before!mentioned!essentials!and!outcomes,!there!are!sequential! daily!lessons!and!primary!documents!tied!to!them.!The!daily!lessons!are!formatted!to!fit!an! average!60`minute!classroom!length.!! Primary(and(Secondary(Documents:!The!actual!documents!can!be!found!after!the! bibliography!section!in!the!appendix!correlating!with!their!name!(example:!*Photograph! #3,!*Video!#2).!Students!will!analyze!these!and!when!prompted,!fill!out!a!primary! document!analysis!worksheet!and!answer!essential!questions—! ! ! ! ! 5! 1961! Module!#1! Essential(Questions:!How!and!why!was!the!Berlin!Wall!constructed?!How!did!the!Wall! disrupt!the!lives!of!families,!workers,!the!economy!and!transportation,!and!Germany! politically?!! Learning(Outcome:!Students!can!explain!why!the!Berlin!Wall!was!constructed!and!its! impact!on!the!lives!it!divided.!The!focus!of!this!module!is!the!disturbance!on!Germans!when! the!Wall!solidified!the!boundary!between!East!and!West.!! Main(Project((Assessment):!The!assessment!is!a!proctored!test,!with!multiple!choice,! short!answer!sections,!and!a!reflection!section!after!reading!a!primary!account.!! Note(on(Unit:!I!suggest!the!topics!that!would!be!appropriate!to!cover!and!include! primary!resources,!but!do!not!give!word!for!word!recantations!of!what!to!say!for! presentations.!This!means!I!have!not!created!a!test!for!this!unit’s!assessments,!as!I!am! 100%!sure!what!important!vocabulary!and!concepts!you!will!exactly!cover!in!this!unit.!I!do! this!to!allow!for!creativity!in!your!classroom.!I!have!included!PowerPoints,!worksheets,!and! notes!under!my!Links!page!on!the!website!if!you!do!want!more.!Additional!resources!are! provided…! Day(1:!!This!is!a!presentation!of!Cold!War!beginnings!and!why!Germany!was!divided.! Students!learn!about!the!true!reasons!the!GDR!built!the!Wall.!Key!points!in!presentation:!1)! Focus!on!the!3.5!million!drain!of!GDR!citizens!from!East!to!West.!2)!Explain!the!Night!of!the! Barbed!Wire,!aka!the!overnight!building!of!the!Wall.!The!night!of!August!12,!1961,! thousands!of!border!troops,!police,!fireman,!and!others!were!stationed!along!the!border!of! West!Berlin,!and!began!creating!a!barbed!wire!and!brick!fence!border!between!the!two.! ! 6! Citizens!had!been!fleeing!from!the!GDR!to!the!Federal!Republic!of!Germany!(BRD)!since!the! end!of!World!War!II!in!1945.!It!is!estimated!that!over!3.5!million!citizens!fled!for!financial,! family,!political,!or!other!reasons!to!the!west.!The!East!German!government!debated,! sought!advice!from!Moscow,!and!decided!to!build!the!barricade!to!stop!the!outflow!of! young!working!age!citizens!from!their!country.!! Day(2:!Secondary!Source!Analysis!Day.!Students!will!read!the!argument!put!forth!by! the!author(s)!and!assess!its!accuracy!or!applicability.!There!are!two!secondary!sources!to! analyze.!The!main!question!students!should!try!to!answer!after!reading!the!literature,!is! how!was!the!Berlin!Wall!was!portrayed!in!East!and!Western!media?!! *Secondary!Source!#1:!Burned!Bridge!by!Edith!Sheffer.!! This!text!analyzes!how!East!and!West!Germans!created!the!division!before!the!Wall! was!created!and!how!through!discourse!it!was!maintained.!Sheffer!investigates!the!city!of! Coburg,!which!is!the!largest!population!of!East!and!West!Germans!in!a!city!outside!of! Berlin,!and!their!allegiances!and!interests!that!divided!when!the!Soviet!and!Americans! occupied!it!after!World!War!II.!! Day(3:!Students!will!learn!about!the!transportation!disruptions!caused!by!the!Wall!–! such!as!highways!cut!off,!subways!traveling!by!“ghost!stations,”!etc.!Discuss!the!impact!on! jobs,!like!those!who!worked!in!the!West!but!lived!in!the!East.!! *Photograph!#1:!Map!of!the!U`Bahn!in!Berlin.!! Analysis:!This!map!is!of!the!Subway!rail!lines!in!East!Germany.!Let’s!take!the! Nordbahnhof!stop!for!example,!to!understand!more!about!the!Wall’s!impact!on! transportation!in!Berlin:!The!Nordbahnhof!was!a!heavily!guarded!ghost!station!where!no! trains!stopped!from!1961!to!1989.!Moreover,!it!contained!both!an!exit!to!East!Berlin! ! 7! (Invalidenstraße)!and!one!to!West!Berlin!(Gartenstraße),!which!made!it!ideally!suited!for! escape!attempts.!A!number!of!barriers!were!built!to!prevent!people!from!escaping.!To!get! from!Invalidenstraße!(East)!across!to!the!Gartenstraße!exit!(West),!a!fugitive!had!to!break! through!six!walls!and!a!steel!grate.!These!barriers—made!obsolete!in!1989!after!the!Wall! fell!and!the!Socialist!Unity!Party!of!Germany!(SED)!government!had!been!deposed—were! gradually!removed!and!the!station!was!re`opened!on!September!1,!1990.!! After!students!analyzed!the!Subway!map!and!understood!an!explanation!the!impact! on!the!transportation,!take!the!rest!of!the!class!time!to!analyze!several!primary! photographs!from!the!building!of!the!Wall.!Students!shall!write!reflection!paragraphs!on! why!these!photographs!were!taken,!what!stories!they!telling,!and!analyze!why!the!wall!was! built?! *Photographs!#2`5!are!located!in!the!Appendix.! Analysis!of!Photographs!of!Wall!(Photographs(from(“Die(Mauer:(Fakten,(Bilder,( Schicksale”(by(Kai(Diekmann):!It!was!unknown!throughout!West!and!East!Berlin!that! citizens!would!wake!up!August!13,!1961!to!be!divided!by!a!crudely!built!brick!and!barbed! wire!wall.!Soon!after,!in!the!coming!weeks!and!months,!the!Wall!slowly!took!on!its!elevated! menacing!form.!Review!the!photographs!and!try!to!interpret!the!reasons!for!the! photographs!being!taken!and!what!impact!the!Wall!had!on!Berliner!lives.!! Essential!Questions:!Write(2Q3(sentences(for(these(questions(using(this(primary( documents(as(evidence(towards(the(answers.((! 1)!How!did!the!Wall!disrupt!the!lives!of!families,!workers,!the!economy!and!
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