Oklahoma Social Studies TOT.C.9.5
The Standard
Examine the development of communism in the United States of America, including Soviet coordination of Western communist party tactics, communist “front” movements, and attempts to infiltrate and co-opt organized labor.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace how Soviet-led Comintern decisions shaped tactics used by communists in the United States. They examine coalition groups and efforts to gain influence in unions, using dated sources to separate documented ties from accusations.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can place early U.S. communist parties, the 1935 Popular Front shift, and late-1940s CIO expulsions in order. They can cite evidence of an effort to influence a union without assuming every member took Soviet orders.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume every labor organizer was a communist or every coalition group took orders from Moscow. They may also treat an accusation at a hearing as proof of party control.
How to Assess It
- Give students brief excerpts from a 1935 Comintern speech and a 1949 CIO expulsion notice. Ask: “Name one tactic shown here, and one claim about union control these sources do not prove.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Pairs mark alliance and labor tactics on printed excerpts from a 1935 Comintern speech, a CPUSA flyer, and a 1949 CIO expulsion notice.
Ask: “Does a union demanding higher wages prove Soviet direction?” Have students write two sentences using one source and naming its limits.
Play evidence sort: give groups cards labeled Comintern directive, union wage demand, and congressional accusation; have them label each as evidence or allegation.
Compare a current union flyer with a 1940s union leaflet; circle pay demands and political messages, then name what the flyers cannot prove.
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