The Cold War: Historiography

Learning & Challenge objectives:
1. To be able to identify and understand various schools of thought (known as Historiography).
2. To be able to analyse and interpret different viewpoints and make substantiated judgments.

Syllabus & Topic/lesson: AS/A-level History ,The Cold War, c1945–1991.

Support activities:
 Dice activity: consolidate/recap key words from the previous 10 weeks unit.

 Individual activity: Using key words only students are asked to explain why the Cold War developed post 1945. Individual writing task (5 minutes only).


 Mini Plenary: assess understanding of schools of thought (Historiographies). Post it notes used to identify class viewpoints (Historiography). Q & A.

 Group Activity: Students to use colours to highlight historiography as a group and place accordingly depending on opinion/interpretation of source. (A2 paper)

 Plenary: individual writing activity. Using/embedding at least two historical interpretations from your A2 paper and KEY WORDS explain in your own words why the Cold War developed post 1945?

Literacy & Keywords:
Traditional (orthodox) – conventional, western view, USSR to blame for Cold War.
Post-revisionists – not who but what was to blame, e.g. break down of diplomacy, economic factors
Post 1991 Historians-That Cold War was inevitable due to a clash of ideology i.e. communism, capitalism.
Revisionist – looking at history from different, ‘revised’ perspectives, the US must share the blame.
Historiography

Other key words for SEN pupils:
 Expansionary
 Permitted
 Ideologies
 ERP
 Self-determination
 Diplomacy