May 22, 2002

CUBA ON MY MIND
Exploring Cuban History, Politics, Society, and Culture

Grades:  6-8,9-12

Subjects:  Civics, Current Events, Geography, Global History, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says, By ELISABETH BUMILLER", May 22, 2002

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students research Cuban history, politics, society, and culture in order to create a visitor's guide to the country.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:   45 minutes — 1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

  1. Assess their prior knowledge of Cuban society, politics, culture, and economy.
  2. Examine the Bush administration's policy on Cuba, as well as the role of Cuban-Americans in U.S. politics, by reading and discussing "Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says."
  3. Research certain topics related to Cuba; create a tourist guide to Cuba featuring these topics.
  4. Analyze former President Carter's speech to Cubans; compare Carter's speech to President Bush's speech to Cuban-Americans.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

  1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Have students fold a page from their journals into four vertical sections. At the top of each section, ask students to write the following labels: Social, Political, Cultural, Economic. Then allow a few minutes for students to brainstorm terms, adjectives, or names that come to mind when they think of each category as it relates to Cuba. Write the four categories on the board and note contributions students share with the class. How were their associations with Cuba formed? How has Cuba been featured in the news recently? How does the United States' relationship with Cuba continue to be an important issue for American politicians?
  2. As a class, read and discuss the article "Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says," focusing on the following questions:
    1. According to the article, why was President Bush's speech "harshly critical of Fidel Castro"?
    2. Why was May 20, 2002 a special day for Cubans?
    3. According to the article, who disagrees with Bush's perspective on economic sanctions against Cuba?
    4. What factors prompted Mr. Bush's speech on Cuba?
    5. How do Democrats and Republicans who oppose Mr. Bush's stance on Cuba express their dissenting opinions?
    6. What role does the Cuban-American community play in state and federal elections?
    7. Who is Jeb Bush?
    8. Where did President Bush give his most recent speech on Cuba?
    9. How much did supporters of President Bush and Governor Bush pay to attend the fund-raiser?
    10. What steps or changes did President Bush say he is willing to make in his administration's policy toward Cuba?
    11. What restrictions does the Bush administration plan to keep?
    12. How did the Cuban-American audience respond to President Bush's remarks?
    13. What did the senior administration official mean when he said that the President's speech was "about foreign policy, not domestic politics"?
  3. Since the article "Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says" mentioned that Bush would consider easing travel restrictions to Cuba if Castro made "democratic and economic changes," explain to students that they will be creating a tourist guide to Cuba for those who have never visited the country. The informational guide will educate potential tourists about Cuba's geography, history and policies. Divide students into eight groups, and have each group select a slip of paper or index card containing the name of a topic related to Cuba (geography; pre-revolutionary Cuba; Cuba during the Cold War; the Constitution; trade; human rights; healthcare policies; education). Using all available classroom resources (with teacher supervision to encourage less biased or politically charged accounts, if possible), assign groups the following tasks related to their topic:
    • Summarize this topic as it relates to Cuba.
    • Provide tourists with ideas of sites where they could observe this "topic in action" or see a reminder of this time period (for the historical topics)
    • Provide tourists with more than one perspective on this topic (for the controversial topics)
  4. WRAP-UP/ HOMEWORK: Students will compile their group research to create their visitor's guide to Cuba in a later class. As a homework assignment, students should read former President Jimmy Carter's May 14, 2002 Havana speech (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Cuba-Carter-Text.html) and write an analytical response. They may wish to focus on their in-class research theme as mentioned in the speech, or to address the speech in the context of Bush's stance on the Cuban embargo.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on their initial journal entries, thoughtful participation in class discussion, group research, tourist guides, and speech analyses.

VOCABULARY:
embargo, democracy, dictator, nada, prosperity, empowerment, bankrupt, ideology, sanctions, prominent, odds, ineffective, tyranny, fraud, sham, advised, raucous, ironically

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. Though democratic systems theoretically discredit the notion of dictatorships, the United States supported several dictatorial regimes in the twentieth century. Research and write an expose article on the circumstances under which various American administrations have provided political and financial assistance to dictators around the world.
  2. Former President Carter mentions the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) in his speech to the Cubans. Research the FTAA, then make a "pros and cons" chart regarding the possible effects of its policies for North and South Americans should it be established.
  3. What role do Cuban-American communities or Cuban-American organizations play in United States politics? Research election polls, then make a chart comparing the Cuban-American voting power to other Latino populations in the U.S.
  4. Write a short biography of Fidel Castro, highlighting key events in the dictator's life (both pre- and post-revolution).

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
American History- To what extent was the United States involved in the Cuban government before the 1959 revolution? Create a timeline of U.S.-Cuban relations over the past 150 years. Make sure to include terms such as the Platt Amendment, Good Neighbor Policy, United Fruit, Guantanamo Bay, and Bay of Pigs in your timeline.

Fine Arts- Cuba's artistic community has received much attention over the past several years. Choose a Cuban musician, writer, or artist and write a profile of this person. Present your report in class, along with an example of this person's creative work.

Media Studies- The 1980's film "Red Dawn" entertained the prospect of a Soviet-Cuban invasion of the United States. Screen the film and write a movie review on the film as a reflection of Cold War politics.

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