Oklahoma Social Studies TOT.C.9.10
The Standard
Examine the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the August Coup (e.g., the rise of Boris Yeltsin and the pluralist movement, uprisings in Lithuania and Latvia, Gorbachev’s resignation, the dissolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and declarations of independence of the now-former Soviet republics).
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students put the Baltic independence moves, the August coup, and the Soviet breakup in order. They explain why the coup failed and how Yeltsin gained influence. They connect the weakening of Communist Party control and republics' independence declarations to the end of the USSR.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can identify the coup plotters and explain how Yeltsin opposed them. They can explain why the failed coup weakened the Communist Party and sped up the breakup. They can place Gorbachev's resignation near the end of that process.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think Yeltsin led the coup or became Soviet president. Others think Lithuania and Latvia first sought independence after the coup. Students may also treat the August coup and the December breakup as one event.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Put Lithuania's 1990 independence declaration, the August 1991 coup, and Gorbachev's December 1991 resignation in order. Explain one way the failed coup sped up the breakup.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups dated cards for Baltic independence moves, the coup, Yeltsin's resistance, party collapse, and Gorbachev's resignation to arrange on a desk timeline.
Read an excerpt from Yeltsin's August 1991 statement against the coup, then write two sentences on why his public resistance mattered.
Play a card match with causes and effects from 1991, then have pairs explain their matches aloud.
Compare a 1990 USSR map with a current map, then mark Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine as separate states.
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Related Standards
- MWH.C.7.6
Evaluate the conditions leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequences for Europe.
- MWH.C.7.6.D
Analyze the effect of the collapse of the Soviet Union on global power dynamics, including the emergence of new democracies in Eastern Europe.
- TOT.C.9.8
Examine Gorbachev’s attempt to reform the Soviet Union, including the effects of perestroika and glasnost.
- TOT.C.9.1
Examine the USSR’s occupation of Eastern Europe after World War II, including Soviet Communization of Eastern Europe, the coup d’etat in Czechoslovakia, chronic...
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