Mapping the Cold War Dec. 1

No bellwrite today. Instead, please work on the memorization. Part 6 will be due tomorrow.

In class, students colored/labeled maps to help them understand the "lay of the land" during the Cold War. We considered a map that shows the members of the two alliances during the Cold War: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Warsaw Pact (Please note that the United States is still a member of NATO today). We noted that Germany was divided. We discussed how the location of Berlin within East Germany made West Berlin into an "island" which was cut off, leading to the Berlin Airlift. We also noted that this division would later lead to the construction of the Berlin Wall. We also looked at a map that shows the modern-day countries that were part of the Soviet Union. We noted that Ukraine was once part of the Soviet Union. The Crimean Peninsula was given to Ukraine by Russia in the 50s, but is now one of the contested territories as Putin seems to be seeking territorial enlargement. (Note, the peninsula is connected by land to the Ukraine, NOT to Russia, which means electricity, gas, water, etc. must be supplied through Ukraine.) We will continue working with these maps tomorrow. Class B began to mark some other significant locations for the Cold War, including North Korea, South Korea, Seoul, Pyongyang, the 38th Parallel, Vietnam, Hanoi. Class B also discussed the origins of the term "Third World." (NATO constituted the first world, the Warsaw Pact the second, and neutral countries the third. In the 1960s the term "third world" started being associated with characteristics of poverty, disease, pre-industrialization, and dependence on foreign aid.)

Class A took the comma quiz today. If you were absent or on the field trip, please make sure to ask me about it.

We also began reading together from our next book, Man's Search for Meaning. Students will not be writing an academic essay about this book; rather, they will be asked to write some type of personal reflection on the meaning of suffering in their lives. More details to come.

Homework: Memorize Jacob 5 part 6 for tomorrow.