Ask students if they have ever heard the term “Cold War”, and what, if anything, it means to them. List responses on the board. Then ask what they know about the period from the end of World War II to the fall of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially the relations between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Again, record their responses. If necessary, provide some background information to balance student responses.
Ask: why would this period of time have been called the “Cold War”? Why would it pose such a threat to world peace and possibly human survival on the planet.