Cold War RealignmentAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download
1984
Lesson plan.
Ronald Reagan vs Walter Mondale — Reagan won a massive re-election landslide, carrying 49 states with the 'Morning in America' campaign amid robust economic recovery. Walter Mondale, Carter's VP, made history by choosing Geraldine Ferraro as the first female VP nominee of a major party. Mondale's straightforward promise to raise taxes damaged his campaign. Reagan won 525 electoral votes, the most ever won by a candidate in an election with a major-party opponent. Mondale carried only his home state of Minnesota (by 3,761 votes) and DC.
What is in each packet
Cover
Cycle metadata + band eyebrow
Lesson plan
Instructor — timing, materials, standards
Reading
Sized to grade band (K-2: ~250 words → AP: ~650)
Background
Curated cycles — 5-7 vocab terms + primary-source excerpt
Student worksheet
K-2: 3 questions → AP: 8, mixed format
Answer key
Instructor — rationale on every item
Discussion prompts
3 prompts tied to era
DBQ (AP only)
Long-essay + 5-point rubric + second source