To teach the CC Social Studies 8th grade standards, C9.PO1-2, about the Cold War and its impact on the US, I turned again to that master of storytelling - Dr. Seuss.
This was an excellent way to introduce the idea of the Cold War "race" to acquire bigger and more destructive weapons, to get into space, etc.
I bought class copies of the book and provided it to student groups of 4-5.
We then watched one of numerous excellent YouTube videos of the book.
The class read along, and answered a few short in-class discussion questions and then wrote about it, using this T-chart I found online. They loved it and grasped immediately the rivalry between the US and USSR.
The Eisenhower Foundation, Ike Education, offers truly excellent lesson plans and lesson materials from WWII and the Cold War - they are BEAUTIFUL and exceptionally well-thought out! They do require that you read the lesson plan, and often take a lot of printing, but my students always loved their lessons!
I strongly recommend, after you introduce this unit, that you implement the Cold War Kids: Space Race lesson. It goes beautifully with the arms race introduction, and it's a productive, educational way to allow students to use their cellphones in class. They are engaged from the start!
