Oklahoma Social Studies USH.C.6.3.E

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Content Standards

The Standard

USH.C.6: Analyze foreign events and policies during the early Cold War Era.
USH.C.6.3: Analyze the escalation of international tensions by examining the series of events and their long- term foreign and domestic consequences during the height of the Cold War.

Evaluate President Kennedy’s decisions regarding the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, leading to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · USH.C.6.3

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students compare Kennedy’s choices during the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. They explain the risks and results of each choice, then connect the missile crisis to the 1963 nuclear test ban agreement.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain why Kennedy approved the invasion and why he later chose a naval quarantine instead of an immediate attack. They can use evidence to judge those decisions and explain what the test ban agreement did and did not ban.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think the Bay of Pigs was a direct U.S. military invasion or that Kennedy used force to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba. Some assume the 1963 agreement banned all nuclear tests, including underground tests.
How to Assess It: On an exit ticket, ask: Which Kennedy decision carried the greater risk of nuclear war, and why? Use one fact from each crisis to support your answer.

Lesson moves

Have students place printed decision and consequence cards on a 1961–1963 timeline, then connect each Kennedy choice to its result with string.
Read short excerpts from Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs remarks and missile crisis address, then write which decision was better supported by the evidence.
Run three rounds of decision-card matching: students pair each crisis choice with its likely risk, then check the historical outcome.
Give students a news-style headline about an underground nuclear test and the 1963 treaty summary; ask whether the treaty bans that test.

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