Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 1979 - Cold War - GCSE History Edexcel - Lesson 16

This lesson specifically looks at the consequences and importance of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

The lesson resources include:

• 1 x A4 Workbook Style Fact Sheet (PDF & PPT) – Included in every Cold War lesson!
• 1 x Main Power Point Lesson

The main PowerPoint includes:

• RECAP: Students complete the alphabet quiz where they need to think of a key word from the Cold War topic so far for each letter of the alphabet.
• STARTER: Location of Afghanistan - what issues can the student identify from the location of the Soviet Union and their knowledge of religions around this area. You may wish to supplement with a world map.
• BACKGROUND: Slides which fully explain why the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
• TASK 1: Students have to read through the main consequences of the invasion and categorise them into one of 5 different categories (see image). The students will then find this useful to help them organise their consequences response in a more structured and historical way as well as learn the consequences of the invasion.
• TASK 2: Chronology - just in case a narrative account comes up, the students are asked to re-arrange 10 events of the invasion into the correct chronological order.
• EXAM FOCUS: Students in this lesson focus on the consequences question: Explain two consequences of the Soviet invasion of the Soviet Union (1979) [8] Sentence starters are given along with an example paragraph for analysis by the students.
• EXTENSION TASK: A modern political cartoon looking at the different interpretations of Afghanistan over time.

All images used in this lesson are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. My lessons are completed using PowerPoint and designed on widescreen formatting. Thank you.

This resource is for personal use only and for copyright reasons should not be copied/amended for commercial use.