How to run The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 as Problem-Based Learning: your role, the pre-planning maps, pacing, role cards, sources, and debrief prompts. The golden rule — guide, don't tell. In PBL the students should feel they, not you, planned the investigation.
| Phase | What you do | What you resist |
|---|---|---|
| ① Surface | Teach vocabulary and strategic facts efficiently; run the jigsaw; check acquisition. | Rushing to the problem before facts are secure. |
| ② Deep | Facilitate the options–consequences map and source routine; model claim + evidence. | Giving your own verdict on the decision or the sources. |
| ③ Transfer | Read the problem well; hold the KWHL chart; answer questions with questions; point to sources. | Answering the "Need to know" questions yourself. |
The Surface phase uses a four-topic jigsaw (How did thirteen days bring the world to the brink?) — a high-leverage move (d ≈ 0.92) because every student must teach. The flow: expert groups each study one topic and take notes → students re-mix into home groups with one expert per topic → each expert teaches → an individual check for understanding holds everyone accountable.
The per-expert-group source links (articles + videos) live on the Surface page, one set per topic. Confirm access through your district before class.
Before teaching, brainstorm every direction the missile-crisis problem could branch — so you can steer discussion and decide, in advance, which threads are productive and which are too sensitive or off-topic for your class and community.
| If students investigate… | They are working toward… |
|---|---|
| the Cold War and Kennedy's role in the Cuban Missile Crisis | §113.41(c)(8)(A) |
| Cold War tensions and the arms race | §113.41(c)(8)(B) |
| using and questioning sources; validity, credibility & bias; claim + evidence | §113.41(c)(28) |
| communicating findings in writing and orally | §113.41(c)(29) |
| identifying the problem, weighing options, choosing & evaluating a solution | §113.41(c)(31)(B) |
Confirm access through your district's approved catalog before class. Vetted, free starting points:
Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.41.