Cold War RealignmentAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

1988

Lesson plan.

George H. W. Bush vs Michael Dukakis — Vice President George H. W. Bush won decisively over Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis by effectively tying himself to Reagan's popular legacy. The campaign is remembered for vicious negative advertising, including the Willie Horton ad attacking Dukakis on crime, and Dukakis's awkward photo in a tank. Dukakis had led in polls after the Democratic convention but faltered in the fall. Bush promised to continue Reaganomics and won the South and much of the Midwest handily.

In 1988, George H. W. Bush (Republican) won the U.S. presidency. George H. W. Bush took 426 of the 538 electoral votes to Michael Dukakis's 111. George H. W. Bush led the national popular vote with 53.37%. The race falls within the Cold War Realignment era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Reagan legacy among the major themes.

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

Download by grade band

K-2
Story
4 pp
20 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
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3-5
Reading
5 pp
35 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
6-8
Reading
6 pp
50 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
9-12
Source
8 pp
75 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
AP
DBQ
12 pp
105 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.

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