Cold War · 1968

1968: the Prague Spring

In 1968 Czechoslovakia's new leader Alexander Dubček promised "socialism with a human face": free speech, open borders, honest news. In August, tanks from the Soviet Union and four allies rolled in. Students follow the Prague Spring on the map and ask what freedom was allowed behind the Iron Curtain.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 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 1968 Czechoslovakia's new leader Alexander Dubček promised "socialism with a human face": free speech, open borders, honest news. In August, tanks from the Soviet Union and four allies rolled in. Students follow the Prague Spring on the map and ask what freedom was allowed behind the Iron Curtain.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe the reforms of the Prague Spring and why people welcomed them.
  • Explain why the Soviet Union and its allies invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
  • Explain what the Brezhnev Doctrine meant for other countries of the Soviet bloc.
2

Explore the map

12 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

Czechoslovakia

Open the map in 1960 and find Czechoslovakia. Which countries surround it? Count how many of them belonged to the Warsaw Pact.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1960

Wenceslas Square

Zoom in on Prague. On Wenceslas Square crowds argued with Soviet soldiers in August 1968. Ask the atlas: "What happened in Prague on 21 August 1968?"

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1960

A world of protest

Zoom out to see Europe and North America. In 1968 students also protested in Paris, Berlin, Mexico City and the United States. Ask the atlas: "Why was 1968 a year of protest?"

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

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

  1. Dubček wanted to keep communism but end censorship. Why did Moscow see that as a danger?
  2. Czechoslovaks did not fight the tanks, but turned road signs around and argued with the soldiers. Was that resistance?
  3. The Soviet leader Brezhnev said the socialist countries had the right to intervene when socialism was threatened. How would that sound in Poland or Hungary?
  4. Western countries protested but did nothing more. Why not?
  5. Dubček stayed in office until April 1969. Why do you think the Soviets did not remove him at once?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Catherine the Great, an empress who admired new ideas but kept tight control. Then compare: how did Brezhnev deal with new ideas in Czechoslovakia in 1968?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.