|
LESSON PLANS:
 Setting the Stage
Perception of the Viewer
Reflections on Leadership
Dangerous Negotiations
Voices of Memory
OTHER EPISODES:
Cold War I Home
Bay of Pigs
Citizen Kurchatov
Berlin Crisis
SITE CREDITS
|
 |
Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
-- Shakespeare
Leadership may seem to be an abstract quality, but the ability to lead is a critical and concrete one. Leaders influence others, events, and history. The enduring ability of leaders lies in their capability to share vision, to influence others, and to guide decisions and events. The fabric of the influence of powerful leaders is complex and enduring.
What makes a dynamic leader? What influences the abilities of leader to lead? What change can powerful leaders effect? Exploration of those questions expands the understanding of the role of leaders, the process of leadership and decision-making, and the far-reaching power of history.
- Students will develop an interpretative, multimedia presentation reflective of a an historical leader and the process and influences surrounding a pivotal event or decision.
- Synthesizing critical thinking through exploration of the relationship between an historical personage and the influences upon thought and events.
- Utilization of resources from a variety of different mediums.
- Application of technology as an interpretative tool of creative expression
- Application of materials from different mediums to the analytical and creative thought processes.
- Students will give a presentation of their multimedia presentation.
|
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
from McREL Standards database at www.mcrel.org
View related standards>>
Reading and Writing
- Gathers and uses information for research purposes
- Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
- Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of texts
|
Viewing, Listening, Speaking, and Media
- Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
- Uses viewing skill and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
- Understands the characteristics and components of the media
|
HISTORY UNDERSTANDING STANDARDS
from McREL Standards database at www.mcrel.org
View related standards>>
Historical Understanding Standards
- Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns
- Understands the historical perspective
|
LIFE SKILLS STANDARDS
from McREL Standards database at www.mcrel.org
View related standards>>
Thinking and Reasoning Standards
- Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument
- Understands and applies basic principles of logic and reasoning
- Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences
|
WORKING WITH OTHERS STANDARDS
from McREL Standards database at www.mcrel.org
View related standards>>
Working with Others Standards
- Contributes to the overall effort of a group
- Works well with diverse individuals in diverse situations
- Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
- Understands and demonstrates leadership skills
|
- A copy of the educational version of the Yalta Conference, a television, and a VCR
- Computers with Internet access
- Computers with word processing program
- Computers with art/image manipulation software such as Adobe PhotoShop or PaintShop Pro.
- Computers with presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint
- Pencil and paper
|
The time required for completion of this lesson is dependent upon the teacher and students' backgrounds in presentation software, art software, and Internet protocols.
|
- View in class with your students the educational version of the Yalta Conference, Lesson 3, Segment 1.
- Allow time for discussion and reflection upon specific, key parts of the Yalta Conference video such as the segments on
- The initial footage describing each of the involved leaders, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, offered in the first ten minutes. Note the documentary's acknowledgement that each leader has his own agenda, aspects of conflicting ideologies, and the influences of history.
- Ask students to identify particular phrases offered by the documentary's historians in relation to the various leaders. An example would be Dallek's noting that Roosevelt was an "optimist and upbeat . . . people liked that" and Dallek's later comment that Roosevelt was a "canny politician."
- Accompany a viewing of this segment of the Yalta Conference, with exploration of the Smithsonian-affiliated web site, The Cold War Museum at www.coldwar.org.
- Direct students to the Cold War Museum's web site's segment on the 1940's as an intellectual focus for reflection. Specifically, recommend to students that they may consider employing the images of The Cold War Museum's Photo Gallery for their upcoming assignment.
- READ about leadership as it is viewed by others.
- Read the Internet speech by John Bogle identifying traits of leadership at www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/lib/leadership.html
John C. Bogle, who is the chairman and founder of The Vanguard Group, offers real world examples to clarify his identification of leadership traits. Just as the world "invested" in the concepts of Yalta, many people today are financially "invested" in the concepts of this leader.
- Read the Internet article on leadership traits as identified by principals in the Education Week article at
www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin190.shtml
Traits of leadership are identified here in perspectives familiar to students, their own school environment.
- Read the Internet article, "Lessons of Presidential Leadership," provided by the Drucker Foundation at
www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks/l2l/summer98/goodwin.html Styles of presidential leadership are examined through exploration of Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt.
- Learners should plan a peer discussion group. During discussion, the group should identify and discuss the traits and styles of leadership as reflected in their reading. Discussion may focus on some of Bogle's eight traits of leadership such as sense of purpose, foresight, determination, or patience. Or, encouraged discussion may be upon leadership as seen in school principals in identified elements such as vision, clearly stated goals, visibility, and involvement of others. Or, it may assist learners to explore the styles of presidential leadership as offered by the Drucker Foundation.
- For group-identified traits of leadership, group members should consider
- Why would this trait be important in a leader?
- What influences the power or deployment of these elements of leadership?
- Reflecting on the documentary segment , have student groups discuss the Yalta Conference agreement, identifying the aspects of leadership and historical influences upon specific elements. The text of the agreements reached at the Crimea (Yalta) Conference between President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Generalissimo Stalin can be obtained on the Internet at the Yale Law School link
www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/yalta.htm
- To bring personal meaning to concept, students as groups or in individual exploration should select an historical (it should be acceptable to utilize one of the leaders from the documentary or the assigned reading or to select outside of those) or current example of an individual who has displayed powerful leadership.
- Students are to create and plan the presentation of a multimedia presentation that supports selection of the selected individual as a leader in terms of characteristics and style as well as through reflection of leadership in actions or events.
- Collaborative process should be utilized in the sharing of resources and ideas, the discussion of selected characters, events, and rationales in the continued intellectual exploration and meaning of leadership in the preparation of individual or group presentations.
- Collaborative process should be utilized in the technology-skills development needed for the creation of an effective multimedia presentation.
- To assist collaborative student development of multimedia skills, reference students to the list of the many sites that provide basic as well as advanced PowerPoint tutorials that can be found at
www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edpy202/tutorial/
PowerPoint/PowerPoint.htm
A free Adobe Photoshop Tutorial site is at
hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/design/
graphics/tutorials/tutorial1.html
Art Tutorials for Beginners can be found at
www.mccannas.com/pshop/menu.htm
- Emphasize that the Leaders Presentation slides should provide clear, written text on data, concept, and argument.
- Emphasize that media skills to evoke, instruct, and persuade should be reflected in an effective multimedia presentation.
- Classroom discussion associated with the Leaders Presentations should reinforce recognition and critical analysis of the significance of influences upon leadership as well as the affective power of leadership and its actions.
|
|
- Students might wish to present their multimedia interpretations on leadership and historical events to another history class in school
- Students can be encouraged to develop the ideas and concepts of the best multimedia presentations into strong essays that can be published on-line or in the school or local newspaper.
- Student multimedia presentations and essays can be collected together
and published on a class CD-ROM.
- Students' multimedia interpretations and the essay manuscripts can be printed out and the collected PowerPoint slides and manuscripts made into a class notebook.
|
The stories of past courage . . . can teach,
they can offer hope,
they can provide inspiration.
But they cannot supply courage itself.
For this each man must look into his own soul.
-- John F. Kennedy
|
|
