For teachers of Social Studies/History, the stories embedded in the primary source materials can provide links between U.S. History and World History and shed new light on the subjects that are already in the existing curricula: the impact of the Great Depression on the ideological tendencies of US citizens, totalitarian threats to democracy, the origins of World War II, debates about the ever-present tension in U.S. political culture between isolationism and interventionism, the impact of immigration, and the unexpected consequences that led to the Cold War. ALBA’s primary source materials are especially productive when taught in the context of the 1930s (rise of fascism), the 1940s (the origins of World War II), and the 1950s (Cold War, McCarthyism). ALBA’s lesson plans based on contrasting primary source documents provide a wonderful opportunity for Document-Based Questions (DBQs). (See also: Why Teach the Spanish Civil War?)
Teaching the Common Core with Primary Documents
ALBA works with teachers in Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Spanish to design lesson plans based on compelling, accesible primary source documents -texts, images, audio- that will incite student interest while meeting common core state standards in reading, writing, speaking & listening and media skills.
The US and the Spanish Civil War: A Primer for Teachers and Students
See also: Powerpoint Introduction to the Spanish Civil War (40 min.)
Lesson Plans (click on the title to see the whole plan)
| Title | 1. An American Soldier Reflects on Fascism and Slavery in a Letter From Spain |
| Subject | U.S. history |
| Level(s) | High school |
| Standards | CCSS-ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 – CCSS-ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 |
| Keywords | African-Americans, rise of fascism, Nazism, origins of World War II, civil rights, antisemitism, genocide. |
| Title | 2. F.D.R.’s Quarantine Speech and Media Reaction |
| Subject | U.S. history |
| Level(s) | High school |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12. – 2CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3 |
| Keywords | Bill of Rights, freedom of the press, isolationism, origins of World War II, rise of fascism (in Germany, Italy, and Japan), Second Sino-Japanese War, commander-in-chief power and diplomatic power of the president. |
| Title | 3. An American Soldier Writes Home From A Hospital in Spain |
| Subject | U.S. history |
| Level(s) | High School (standards below aligned with grade 11) |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8 |
| Keywords | Isolationism, rise of fascism, rise of Nazism, rise of communism, post traumatic stress disorder, shell shock, civilian bombing, causes of World War II. |
| Title | 4. Two Perspectives on the Spanish Civil War |
| Subject | U.S. or European History |
| Level(s) | 11 or 12 – Note: This lesson is oriented toward advanced learners, perhaps in an honors or Advanced Placement setting. |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1 |
| Keywords | Rise of fascism, Nazism, communism, anarchy. |
| Title | 5. Citizens’ Reactions to U.S. Foreign Policy Between the Wars |
| Subject | U.S. History, European History |
| Level(s) | High School |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8 |
| Keywords | Isolationism, origins of World War II, rise of fascism, rise of communism, Great Depression, League of Nations, Briand-Kellogg Pact |
| Title | 6. Identity and Commitment: Jewish Volunteers in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War |
| Subject | U.S. History, World History, European History, Civics, Government |
| Level(s) | Grades 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 |
| Keywords | Fascism, Nazism, Hitler, Mussolini, Holocaust |
| Title | 7. For Whom the Bell Tolls: Can Isolationism Be Dangerous? |
| Subject | World History |
| Level(s) | 9 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 — CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 — LAFS.910.RI.4.10SS.912.W.7.7 — SS.912.W.9.5 — HE.912.C.1 |
| Keywords | Intervention/non-intervention, fascism, communism, epidemic/pandemic, isolationism, Neutrality Acts,Abraham Lincoln Brigade, American Medical Bureau, Doctors Without Borders, World Health Organization (WHO), Ebola hemorrhagic fever, quarantine, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) |
| Title | 8. African Americans in the Lincoln Brigade |
| Subject | U.S. History |
| Level(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 |
| Keywords | Racism, prejudice, lynching, civil rights, fascism, Nazism, Communism, civil war, isolationism, invasion of Ethiopia |
| Title | 9. Spanish Civil War Posters: Art and Propaganda in Republican Spain |
| Subject | World History, 20th Century History, Civics, Art History |
| Level(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 |
| Keywords | Propaganda, origins of World War II, rise of fascism, rise of communism, authoritarianism, republic |
| Title | 10. Pictorial Narratives From Children In War – Analyzing the Effect of War on Children |
| Subject | U.S. History, European History, World History |
| Level(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 |
| Keywords | Rise of fascism, civil war, refugees, targeting civilians in war |
| Title | 11. Lincoln Brigade Veterans Battle Political Discrimination During World War II – An Analysis of Personal Letters |
| Subject | U.S. History |
| Level(s) | 9-10 (based on Common Core standards applied to this lesson) |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 |
| Keywords | Discrimination, fascism, communism, Comintern, republic, Red Scare, subversive activity, internment camps |
| Title | 12. Isolationism to Interventionism: Examining U.S. Policy Toward Spain Using Primary and Secondary Documents |
| Subject | U.S. History or more specifically Post-World War II U.S. History |
| Level(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 |
| Keywords | Fascism, Communism, Isolationism, Neutrality, Interventionism, Internationalism, World War II, Cold War |
| Title | 13. Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteers, anti-Communism and Civil Rights during the McCarthy era |
| Subject | U.S. History, European and Global History, Law, Civics, Government |
| Level(s) | 10-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6 , CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8 |
| Keywords | McCarthy Era, The McCarran Act, Testimony, Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB), Testimony, Red Scare, First Amendment, anti-Communism, Civil Rights, subversive, ideology.(For an optional second unit, or additional lesson on Brown v. Board of Ed , use key terms: Supreme Court, Majority opinion, unanimous, First Amendment, Plessy v. Ferguson, Precedent, Separate but Equal, Separation of Powers, Brown v. Board of Education) |
| Title | 14. Using Complex Texts to Analyze Anti-War Responses to U.S. Intervention in Vietnam |
| Subject | U.S. History |
| Level(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 or CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6 or CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6 |
| Keywords | Vietnam War, Communism, Fascism, Cold War, Isolationism, Interventionism, Civil Rights, Great Society |
| Title | 15. Children’s Drawings of War |
| Subject | English/Language Arts/Social Studies |
| Grade(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 |
| Keywords | Fascism, Nazism, Guernica, Geneva Convention |
| Title | 16. Changes to the Geneva Convention of 1929 |
| Subject | International History/Social Studies |
| Grade(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 |
| Keywords | International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva Conventions, human rights |
| Title | 17. The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial |
| Subject | International History/Social Studies |
| Grade(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 |
| Keywords | Nuremberg tribunal, crimes against humanity, genocide, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights |
| Title | 18. Bombing Civilians |
| Subject | International History/Social Studies |
| Grade(s) | 9-12 |
| Standards | CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 |
| Keywords | Geneva Convention, Nazism, Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, Hague Convention, International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights, Holocaust |