Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP AND INTRODUCTION

  Pose the following brainstorming question to your students: "Why was the Berlin Wall constructed?" Have students record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  Play this introductory video clip (3:01) for your students. Direct your students to answer the following questions on their graphic organizer:

  • How was Germany split after World War II?
  • According to Peter Robinson, how did East Germans “flee” to West Germany? How many people left?
  • What happened during the night of August 13, 1961? Why?
  • How did the wall change over time?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the choice board activity in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two words. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you previewing the videos to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct students to the engagement section of their graphic organizers. Have students view each clip, take notes, and answer each question in their graphic organizers. Encourage your students to share their responses with a partner or small group when finished.

• Clip #2: Preparation of the Speech (5:15), Peter Robinson, speechwriter and host of Uncommon Knowledge, an interview show by Stanford's Hoover Institution, discusses the speechwriting process and inspiration for President Ronald Reagan's Tear Down This Wall speech.

  • What “guidance” was Peter Robinson given when preparing to write the speech?
  • Why did Robinson view the speech location as “momentous?”
  • Compare Robinson’s experiences with the American diplomat and with local West Berliners. How did these experiences influence the writing of the speech?
  • Summarize the speech approval process in the Reagan White House. How did this speech differ from others?
  • Which two groups tried to change the text of the speech? What did they attempt to change, and why?

• Clip #3: Excerpt from the Tear Down This Wall Speech (1:12), This clip features an excerpt of President Ronald Reagan's speech.

  • What do you see and hear in the clip?
  • What two things does US President Ronald Reagan ask USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to do?
  • What reasons does President Reagan give for his requests?

• EXPLORATION

  Next, have your students choose (or assign) two or more of the six topics the choice activity section in their graphic organizers. Have students view each clip, take notes, and answer each question. Direct students to prepare to present their findings with the class when finished.

• Clip #4: Archival Newsreel Footage of the Berlin Wall (9:36), This 1962 newsreel from Hearst Metrotone News showed the situation before the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 and the changes in the year following. Scenes showed families attempting to communicate across the wall and many successful and unsuccessful escape attempts, including 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who was shot and left to die beside the wall on August 17, 1962. Scenes were also shown of the August 13, 1962, commemoration in West Berlin of the first anniversary of the wall.

  • What do you see and hear in the clip initially? How does this change as the clip progresses?
  • Based on the clip, what did West Berliners think of the wall? How did this view change over time?
  • According to the narrator, how did the experience of individuals on one side of the wall differ compared to the other side?
  • How did families communicate across the wall? Why was this considered dangerous?
  • Describe the initial escape attempts. How did the East Berlin government respond?
  • How did escape attempts change over time? What happened to Peter Fechter?

• Clip #5: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev (8:51), Author Romesh Ratnesar discusses President Reagan's beliefs and actions concerning the Berlin Wall, as well as his relationship with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in the lead up to his Tear Down This Wall speech in June of 1987.

  • According to Romesh Ratnesar, what did President Ronald Reagan think about the Berlin Wall? Why?
  • What did President Ronald Reagan attempt “from the earliest days of his Presidency?”
  • Why did Reagan authorize massive increases in military spending?
  • Explain the impact of General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in 1985 for U.S. and U.S.S.R. relations. What were the immediate results and lasting impact of the early meetings between the two leaders?
  • Why were members of President Reagan’s administration concerned about the President’s relationship with Gorbachev?
  • Based on the clip, why did Reagan insist on the inclusion of his “tear down this wall” line in his Berlin speech in June of 1987.

• Clip #6: President Reagan's Role in Bringing Down the Berlin Wall (4:56), President Reagan implored the Soviets in a June 12, 1987, Berlin speech to “tear down this wall.” The Hoover Institution and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute hosted a look back at the evolution of that speech and its importance more than three decades later.

  • According to Peter Robinson, what happened on the night of November 9th, 1989?
  • What does William Inboden say about the link between President Ronald Reagan’s speech and the fall of the Berlin Wall?
  • Based on the clip, why did Reagan direct the message of his speech to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in particular?
  • Describe how the relationship between Reagan and Gorbachev impacted the peaceful removal of the Berlin Wall.

• Clip #7: The Impact of the Speech (5:43), Jamie M. Fly, President of Radio Free Europe, William Charles Inboden, Executive Director of the University of Texas at Austin's Clements Center for National Security, H.R. McMaster, Former National Security Adviser, and author Peter Robinson discuss the impact of President Ronald Reagan's Tear Down This Wall speech.

  • According to Peter Robinson, what was General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev’s interpretation of the Tear Down This Wall speech?
  • Summarize H.R. McMaster’s perspective of the impact of the speech and President Ronald Reagan’s “resolve.”
  • What does Robinson mean when he says some people view the speech as “retrospectively prophetic?”
  • According to Jamie Fly, how did the speech “limit Gorbachev’s options?”

• Clip #8: Lessons for Today (3:46), Jamie M. Fly, President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, discusses contemporary lessons from the Tear Down This Wall speech.

  • When did the formal reunification of East and West Germany occur?
  • How does Jamie Fly describe the current relationship between the former East Germany and West Germany?
  • Based on the clip, what other elements of German society are divided today?
  • What does Fly say is the “fundamental question” related to future German leadership in the world?

• Clip #9: Lessons from President Reagan's Leadership (3:28), William Charles Inboden, Executive Director of University of Texas at Austin's Clements Center for National Security, discusses lessons for today from Reagan's leadership.

  • What does William Inboden say about the “hindsight bias?”
  • How does Inboden compare the historical Soviet threat with the present day Chinese threat?
  • What is Inboden’s first “takeaway?” What was President Ronald Reagan’s approach to this issue with the Soviet Union?
  • According to Inboden, what is the “most effective” foreign policy?

• CLOSURE

  Allow time for your students to prepare their findings from the lesson with their peers.

  After your students are finished sharing their findings from the choice activity with the class, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers: "Having learned about the history, development, contents, and impact of the Tear Down This Wall speech, describe its legacy on global affairs. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips to support your argument." Direct your students to use evidence from the video clips (and additional related articles linked below) to support their response.

  Have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates'.

• OPTIONAL EXTENSION

  Have students explore President John F. Kennedy's June 26, 1963 speech in Berlin, commonly referred to as the "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech (linked below). Have students review the speech and research the context in which Kennedy spoke. Direct students to prepare a presentation comparing Kennedy's speech with President Ronald Reagan's Tear Down This Wall speech.