Edexcel GCSE Cold War: Gorbachev’s New Thinking

Edexcel GCSE Superpower relations and the Cold War Lessons and Resources Bundle

This bundle is the second part in a series of lessons created for Edexcel GCSE 9–1 Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941–91. It contains fully resourced, differentiated and editable lessons designed to save planning time while helping students develop the knowledge and exam skills needed to achieve the highest grades. The lessons are enquiry based and the central question in each lesson is revisited throughout to help students track the development of Cold War tensions and cooperation over time. Students will build their understanding of: * changing relations between the USA and USSR * the causes and consequences of key Cold War events * the impact of ideology, diplomacy, propaganda and conflict * continuity and change across the period * the factors leading to the end of the Cold War Each lesson includes: * retrieval practice * differentiated tasks * source and interpretation activities * GCSE exam practice questions * suggested teaching strategies * editable PowerPoint resources The lessons are designed to work together as a coherent unit, helping students build a clear narrative understanding of how Cold War tensions escalated, changed and eventually declined between 1958 and 1991. The lessons are as follows: L12 Berlin Ultimatum L13 Building the Berlin Wall L14 Cuba and the Bay of Pigs L15 Cuban Missile Crisis L16 Prague Spring L17 Détente and SALT 1 L18 Helsinki Accords and SALT 2 ***(free resource)*** L19 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan L20 Reagan and the Second Cold War L21 Gorbachev’s new ideas L22 Fall of the Berlin Wall A complete set of lessons for this unit can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13325744