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Grade 5 Social Studies · World 6: The War Turns Cold · Level 65
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Explain why it mattered, and how it ended.
Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.
What children learn in Level 65
- In 1959, Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, and soon joined with the Soviet Union. Find Cuba on the map. It's only about 90 miles from Florida.
- In October 1962, American spy planes photographed something alarming: Soviet missiles being set up in Cuba. They could reach most American cities.
- President John F. Kennedy and a team of advisers looked at the choices. Bomb the sites? Invade? Do nothing? Each one carried a danger. That's how leaders solve an issue: they compare the alternatives.
- Kennedy chose a blockade. American ships circled Cuba and stopped Soviet ships. For 13 days, the world held its breath. Families feared a nuclear war.
- Khrushchev agreed to take the missiles out, and Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba, and quietly agreed to remove American missiles from Turkey. Both sides were shaken. They set up a hotline so that leaders could talk directly.
Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:
- SS5H5.d — Discuss the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
- IPS.3 — Information Processing Skill 3: identify issues and/or problems and alternative solutions (mastered in Grade 5)