Cold War · 1959-1962

Thirteen days: the Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962 American spy planes found Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, about 150 km from Florida. For thirteen days the world stood close to nuclear war. Students follow the crisis on the map and take the decisions that Kennedy and Khrushchev faced.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1960
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In October 1962 American spy planes found Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, about 150 km from Florida. For thirteen days the world stood close to nuclear war. Students follow the crisis on the map and take the decisions that Kennedy and Khrushchev faced.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how the Cuban Revolution of 1959 brought the Cold War to the Caribbean.
  • Describe the main steps of the crisis of October 1962.
  • Explain how the crisis was solved and what both sides learned from it.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1960

So close

Open the map in 1960 and find Cuba and Florida. Measure the gap between Key West and Havana. Why did missiles here worry Americans so much?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1960

Missile range

Zoom out until you see the whole United States and Cuba. Ask the atlas: "Which US cities could Soviet missiles in Cuba reach in 1962?"

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1960

The other side

Now travel to Turkey. American missiles were based there, close to the Soviet Union. Find the Black Sea and the Soviet border. How did Khrushchev see the American missiles?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did Castro's Cuba turn to the Soviet Union for help after 1959?
  2. Why did Khrushchev send missiles to Cuba in secret?
  3. Kennedy chose a naval "quarantine" instead of an air strike. Why was that a safer choice?
  4. Part of the deal, the removal of US missiles from Turkey, was kept secret for years. Why?
  5. After the crisis, a direct "hotline" was set up between Washington and Moscow. Why was that needed?
4

Game round

10 min

No ruler in Rule History lived in 1962. Play one round as Abraham Lincoln, the closest in time, and face a decision that could start a terrible war. Then compare your choices with those of Kennedy and Khrushchev in October 1962.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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