Contemporary History

Contemporary History

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First/Third Quarter

CONTENT (General)

CONTENT (Specific)

ASSESSMENTS

ILLINOIS LEARNING STANDARDS

The Cold War	Why countries go to war?, Define power, diplomacy and force, Use of Atomic Warfare	Quiz	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E
The Cold War	Use of Atomic Warfare, Foreign Policy trends and areas of foreign policy interest, Leaders of the Cold War	Quiz	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17A, 17D
The Cold War	The Berlin Crisis, Korean War	Quiz	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17A, 17D
The Cold War	Bay of Pigs, The Cuban Missile Crisis	Quiz Paper on Cuban Missile Crisis	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17A, 17D
The Cold War	Cuban Missile Crisis, Overview of Vietnam, Détente	Quiz	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17A, 17D
The Cold War	Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Rise of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Iranian-Hostage Crisis	Quiz	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17A, 17D
The Cold War	Iranian Hostage Crisis, Election of Ronald Reagan/US military build-up, Ending of the Cold War	Test	14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17D
The 1960’s	Introduction of JFK, Assassination of JFK	Quiz	16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E
The 1960’s	Assassination of JFK	Quiz/Test	16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E

Second/Fourth Quarter

CONTENT (General)

CONTENT (Specific)

ASSESSMENTS

ILLINOIS LEARNING STANDARDS

The 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s and the early 21^st century

The Vietnam conflict, The Civil Rights Movement, Watergate, the oil crisis, the emergence of international terrorism, Operation Desert Strom/Shield, Whitewater, 2000 election, 9-11

RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS: (included in past years)

3 major issues that confronted the U.N. and how the organization handled the issues since its inception.
America’s relationship with Iran from 1945-1979.
America’s relationship with Iran from 1979-2007.
America’s role in Southeast Asia from 1945-1975.
American/Russian relations from 1991-2007.
Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors since 1945.
O.P.E.C.’s influence on the global economy.
Terrorism around the world in the 21^st century.
The A.I.D.S. epidemic in Africa.
The Civil Rights movement in the US from 1954-1968.
The Civil Rights movement in the US from 1969-2007.
The collapse of the Soviet Union.
The conflict in Northern Ireland.
The crisis in Darfur.
The history and current state of America’s Missile Defense Shield program.
The oil crisis then (1970’s) and now (2000’s).
The Olympics as an extension of the Cold War (1972, 1980, 1984).
The rise and fall of Apartheid in South Africa.
The rise of China into a world power.
The rise of women in political power around the world since 1945.
The rising tide of fundamentalist Islam in the Arab World.
The Watergate Scandal.
U.S./Soviet relations between 1945-1990.
The highs and lows of America’s space program.

PRESENTATION TOPICS: (included in recent years)

“Blood Diamonds” in Africa.
“Camelot”: The Kennedy Presidency.
“McCarthyism”.
9-11-2001
America and terrorism in the 1980’s.
Child labor in the 21^st century.
Communism in Latin America (Cuba/Nicaragua).
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
The 1960 U.S. Presidential election.
The assassinations of US leaders throughout the 1960’s (JFK, Malcolm X, MLK, RFK).
The Bay of Pigs/Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Berlin Airlift.
The building/collapse of the Berlin Wall.
The Clinton presidency.
The development of the security fence in Israel.
The feminist movement in the U.S. since the late 1960’s.
The Korean War.
The Munich Massacre (1972).
The Reagan Years.
The Rosenberg trial.
The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
U.S. response to the issue of global warming.

Quiz

Test

Research Paper

Presentation

Homework

Semester Exam

Projects

14E, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 17A, 17D, 18B

Contemporary History is only a one semester course.

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