D2.His.17.6-8: Comparing Arguments in Histories of the Space Race

Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Two classmates make a short video about the same school basketball season (an invented example). One video is called 'The Season Our Defense Won.' The other is called 'The Season Our New Coach Changed Everything.' Both show the same games. How can both be about the same season and still make different claims? Which would you trust more, and what would you need to know to decide?"

   Give students two minutes to write, then take answers. Students usually notice that each video picks a different cause for the same result and chooses different clips to prove it. Write two words on the board: topic (what a work is about: the season) and central argument (what it claims about that topic: defense won it, or the coach did). Tell students that historians make films, articles and podcasts the same way, and today they will compare the claims, not just the topics.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Define the key words with students before reading. A secondary work of history is made after the events by someone who studied them. A central argument is the work's main claim about the past; the facts in the work are the evidence that supports the claim. A medium is the form a work takes, and multiple media means several forms. Explain that a fact ("Sputnik was launched on October 4, 1957") is not an argument, because nobody disputes it; an argument is a claim a careful reader could question, such as a claim about why something happened or why it mattered.

   The Central Argument Card (an SVHS teaching tool): fill one card for each source

   Line on the card	Ask	Tip
   1. Topic	What part of the past is this work about?	Usually a noun: "the launch of Sputnik"
   2. Central argument	What does the author claim about the topic? Write: "The author argues that ..."	Look for words like "as a result," "in this way," "thus," "led to" and "above all"
   3. Evidence	Which two facts does the author use to support the claim?	Quote them with paragraph numbers
   4. Medium	What form is the work in, and what can that form do that others cannot?	A web page can add a timeline; a film adds pictures and music; a podcast adds voices
   5. Maker and purpose	Who made it, and why?	Check the title line above each source

   The Argument Comparison Chart: four ways two central arguments can relate

   Relation	What it means	Sentence starter
   Agree	Both works make the same main claim, maybe with different evidence	"Both argue that ..."
   Disagree	The claims cannot both be fully true	"Source A argues ..., but Source B argues ..."
   Different emphasis	Both claims can be true, but each stresses (puts more weight on) a different cause, effect or group	"Both discuss ..., but A stresses ... while B stresses ..."
   Different topic, linked	The works are about related events, and one claim helps explain the other	"A's claim about ... helps explain B's claim about ..."

   Next, give students the background words for the first two sources. An artificial satellite is a human-made object sent into orbit (a path around the Earth). The arms race was the contest between the two countries to build more and better weapons, and the space race was their contest to reach goals in space first. An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a rocket that can carry a weapon from one continent to another. Policymakers are the officials who decide what a government does. A payload is what a rocket carries. An elliptical path is oval-shaped rather than a perfect circle. NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In Source 2, Vanguard is the satellite the United States had planned to launch first, and radiation belts are zones of radiation surrounding the Earth.

   Read Sources 1 and 2 aloud. Both are about the same topic, Sputnik. Source 1 is an article from a series on the history of US foreign relations (dealings with other countries) by the State Department's Office of the Historian. The series has been retired, so the page is no longer updated, and it gives no author or date. Source 2 comes from NASA's history office; on the website it sits beside a timeline, a photo gallery, an audio player and a link to a documentary, so it is a multimedia page (a page that mixes several media).

   1On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The successful launch came as a shock to experts and citizens in the United States, who had hoped that the United States would accomplish this scientific advancement first.

   2The fact that the Soviets were successful fed fears that the U.S. military had generally fallen behind in developing new technology. As a result, the launch of Sputnik served to intensify the arms race and raise Cold War tensions. [...]

   3The Soviet launch of the first Sputnik satellite was one accomplishment in a string of technological successes. Few in the United States had anticipated it, and even those who did were not aware of just how impressive it would be. At 184 pounds, the Russian satellite was much heavier than anything the United States was developing at the time, and its successful launch was quickly followed by the launch of two additional satellites, including one that carried a dog into space. Together, these orbited the earth every 90-minutes and created fear that the United States lagged far behind in technological capability. These concerns were compounded when the United States learned that the Soviet Union also tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile that year.

   [...]

   4The success of Sputnik had a major impact on the Cold War and the United States. Fear that they had fallen behind led U.S. policymakers to accelerate space and weapons programs. [...] In this way, the launch of Sputnik fueled both the space race and the arms race, in addition to increasing Cold War tensions, as each country worked to prepare new methods of attacking the other.

   1The course of history changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1. The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.–U.S.S.R. space race.

   [...]

   2The Sputnik launch on October 4, 1957, changed everything. As a technical achievement, Sputnik caught the world’s attention and the American public off-guard. Its size was more impressive than Vanguard’s intended 3.5-pound payload. In addition, the public feared that the Soviets’ ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons to the U.S. Then the Soviets succeeded again: On November 3, Sputnik 2 was launched, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.

   [...]

   3On January 31, 1958, the United States successfully launched Explorer 1. This satellite carried a small scientific payload that showed the existence of the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Explorer program continued as a successful ongoing series of lightweight, scientifically useful spacecraft.

   4The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of NASA. In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the “Space Act”), which created NASA from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies.

   • Central Argument Card: Source 1

     Fill lines 1-3 of the card for the State Department article.

     Result: Topic: the launch of Sputnik in 1957. Central argument: the author argues that Sputnik's main effect was to frighten Americans about their military and so to speed up the arms race and raise Cold War tensions. Clue words: "As a result, the launch of Sputnik served to intensify the arms race" (paragraph 2) and "In this way, the launch of Sputnik fueled both the space race and the arms race" (paragraph 4). Evidence: the Soviet satellite was "much heavier than anything the United States was developing" (paragraph 3), and the Soviets "also tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile that year" (paragraph 3).

   • Central Argument Card: Source 2

     Fill lines 1-4 of the card for the NASA page.

     Result: Topic: the launch of Sputnik in 1957. Central argument: the author argues that Sputnik began a new age, "the start of the space age" (paragraph 1), which brought "political, military, technological, and scientific developments" (paragraph 1), including American space science and NASA itself. Evidence: Explorer 1 "showed the existence of the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth" (paragraph 3), and Sputnik "led directly to the creation of NASA" (paragraph 4). Medium: a web page that can add a timeline and audio next to the text.

   • Comparing Sources 1 and 2

     Use the Argument Comparison Chart. Do the two central arguments agree, disagree or stress different things?

     Result: Different emphasis. Both say Sputnik shocked Americans and set off a race: Source 1 says it "came as a shock to experts and citizens" (paragraph 1), and Source 2 says it caught "the American public off-guard" (paragraph 2). Both also mention the fear of missiles. But Source 1 stresses weapons and tension, while Source 2 stresses a new age of science and the birth of NASA. Both claims can be true at once, so they do not truly disagree.

   • Fact or argument?

     Source 1 says the satellites "orbited the earth every 90-minutes" (paragraph 3); Source 2 says Sputnik 1 "took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth" (paragraph 1). Is this a difference in central argument?

     Result: No. It is a difference in a detail, a fact that can be checked against other evidence. The central arguments are claims about why Sputnik mattered, and changing the orbit time would not change either claim. Comparing central arguments means comparing those main claims, not every number.

   Point out what the two makers might add to the comparison. The State Department writes about the history of the country's dealings with other nations, so it is natural for its article to stress the Cold War rivalry. NASA's history office writes about NASA, and the excerpt ends with the creation of NASA. Neither purpose makes a source wrong; it helps explain why each one stresses what it does.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Move to a related topic: the decision to go to the Moon. Define new words first. A cosmonaut is a Soviet astronaut. A suborbital flight goes up into space and comes back down without circling the Earth. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed attack on Cuba in April 1961 by Cuban exiles whom the CIA (a US intelligence agency) had trained and funded, with President Kennedy's consent; Cuban forces defeated it within two days (State Department Office of the Historian, Milestones: The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath). In a documentary, the narration is the voice that explains what viewers see. Unquantifiable means too great or too vague to measure. A contextual lens is the background a historian uses to explain an event. The Lunar Module was the craft that carried astronauts down to the Moon's surface, and the Panama Canal and the Manhattan Project are two huge earlier projects the essay uses for comparison, one in peacetime and one in war. Source 3 is a 1998 essay from NASA's history office that introduces part of Kennedy's speech. Source 5 is invented: an SVHS-written script for a documentary that does not exist, with stage directions in brackets showing what is on screen.

   1On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. A number of political factors affected Kennedy’s decision and the timing of it. In general, Kennedy felt great pressure to have the United States “catch up to and overtake” the Soviet Union in the “space race.” Four years after the Sputnik shock of 1957, the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human in space on April 12, 1961, greatly embarrassing the U.S. While Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, he only flew on a short suborbital flight instead of orbiting the Earth, as Gagarin had done. In addition, the Bay of Pigs fiasco in mid-April put unquantifiable pressure on Kennedy. He wanted to announce a program that the U.S. had a strong chance at achieving before the Soviet Union. After consulting with Vice President Johnson, NASA Administrator James Webb, and other officials, he concluded that landing an American on the Moon would be a very challenging technological feat, but an area of space exploration in which the U.S. actually had a potential lead. Thus the cold war is the primary contextual lens through which many historians now view Kennedy’s speech.

   2The decision involved much consideration before making it public, as well as enormous human efforts and expenditures to make what became Project Apollo a reality by 1969. Only the construction of the Panama Canal in modern peacetime and the Manhattan Project in war were comparable in scope. NASA’s overall human spaceflight efforts were guided by Kennedy’s speech; Projects Mercury (at least in its latter stages), Gemini, and Apollo were designed to execute Kennedy’s goal. His goal was achieved on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped off the Lunar Module’s ladder and onto the Moon’s surface.

   1[ON SCREEN: Rows of engineers at desks covered with drawings; a tall rocket on a launch pad at dawn.] NARRATOR: Most stories about the Moon landing begin with a race. This film begins with a different question: what did it take to get there? Our answer is that Apollo was, above all, a giant feat of science, engineering and teamwork.

   2[ON SCREEN: A small satellite in a museum case.] NARRATOR: Even the first American satellite was a science tool. In 1958, Explorer 1 carried instruments that showed belts of radiation circling the Earth, later named for the scientist James Van Allen.

   3[ON SCREEN: President Kennedy speaking to Congress in black and white.] NARRATOR: In May 1961, President Kennedy asked the nation to land an American on the Moon before the decade was out. Politics set the deadline. Meeting it took people: designers, builders, testers and flight teams working through Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. NASA's own historians compare the size of the effort to building the Panama Canal.

   4[ON SCREEN: A crowded control room, then grainy pictures of the Moon's surface.] NARRATOR: On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the Lunar Module. The cameras showed one man. Behind him stood a nation of problem-solvers.

   5[ON SCREEN: Close-ups of a slide rule and a circuit board. Soft, hopeful music.] NARRATOR: The race gave Apollo its deadline. The teamwork gave Apollo its success.

   Pairs fill a Central Argument Card for each source, then the Argument Comparison Chart. Circulate and ask, "Which sentence tells you the author's main claim?" and "What does the documentary show on screen while the narrator speaks?"

   Teacher key: Source 3 argues that Kennedy's decision was driven mainly by Cold War politics: "A number of political factors affected Kennedy's decision" and "the cold war is the primary contextual lens through which many historians now view Kennedy's speech" (paragraph 1). Source 5 argues that Apollo was "above all, a giant feat of science, engineering and teamwork" (paragraph 1). The two works are about linked topics, the decision and the effort that followed, and they stress different things: politics as the cause of the goal, and teamwork as the cause of the success. The documentary even accepts part of Source 3's claim ("Politics set the deadline," paragraph 3). In the medium, the script uses pictures and music to support its claim, such as rows of engineers and "Soft, hopeful music" (Source 5, paragraph 5), tools an essay does not have.

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Now students work alone on the third topic and one more medium. Docking means joining two spacecraft together in orbit, and a rendezvous is the meeting in space that comes before it. Compatibility means whether two systems can work together, and commemorative items are souvenirs that honor an event. An airlock is a small sealed room for moving between two spaces. Shuttle-Mir and the International Space Station, named in Source 4, were later programs in which crews from several countries worked together in space. Source 4 is a NASA mission page that also offers photos and a video. Source 6 is invented: an SVHS-written transcript of a podcast that does not exist, with invented hosts.

   1In July 1975, three NASA astronauts and two Soviet cosmonauts embarked on a mission that would have been unthinkable just a decade earlier—one that would pave the way for future international partnerships in space: the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

   [...]

   2The first international partnership in space wasn’t the International Space Station. It wasn’t even the Shuttle-Mir series of missions. It was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. On July 15, 1975, an Apollo spacecraft launched carrying a crew of three and docked two days later on July 17, with a Soyuz spacecraft and its crew of two.

   3Designed to test the compatibility of rendezvous and docking systems and the possibility of an international space rescue, the nine-day Apollo-Soyuz mission brought together two former spaceflight rivals: the United States and the Soviet Union.

   [...]

   4The Soyuz was the primary Soviet spacecraft used for manned flight since its introduction in 1967. The docking module was designed and constructed by NASA to serve as an airlock and transfer corridor between the two craft.

   5During nearly two days of joint activities, the mission’s two Soviet cosmonauts and three U.S. astronauts carried out five joint experiments and exchanged commemorative items.

   6The successful Apollo-Soyuz Test Project paved the way for future international partnerships.

   1JORDAN: Welcome back to History Rewind. Today's claim is a big one: the space race was really the arms race in disguise.

   2PRIYA: That's bold. Make your case.

   3JORDAN: Think about what scared people in 1957. A rocket strong enough to put a satellite in orbit could also carry a nuclear weapon across an ocean. NASA's own history page says the public feared exactly that. And that same year, the Soviets tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile.

   4PRIYA: But the first American satellite, Explorer 1, did real science. It found belts of radiation around the Earth.

   5JORDAN: True, and I'm not saying the science didn't matter. I'm saying the money and the hurry came from fear. After Sputnik, American leaders sped up space programs and weapons programs at the same time.

   6PRIYA: So for you, the rockets matter more than the satellites.

   7JORDAN: Exactly. The satellites made the headlines. The rockets were the real story.

   8PRIYA: Listeners, send us your verdict. Next week: the handshake in orbit in 1975.

   Each student fills two Central Argument Cards and writes a short paragraph comparing the two central arguments. Remind students that Source 6 includes two voices, so they must decide which claim is the podcast's central argument and which voice pushes back. Collect the paragraphs; the quiz returns to both sources.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Bring the six sources together. On the board, list the six central arguments in students' own words and ask: "Which sources say that competition and fear drove the space race? Which stress science, teamwork or cooperation? Could a single history include all of these claims?" Then ask one perspective question: "Who made these histories?" Four were made by US government agencies, and NASA wrote three of them about its own work. None was written by a Soviet or Russian historian, so a Soviet view of the space race is missing from this set. Students should name that gap as a limit of the comparison, not as a reason to throw the sources out.

   Exit ticket: "Pick two sources from different media that you think disagree most. Write one sentence for each central argument and one sentence explaining whether they truly disagree or only stress different things."

   Teacher note: Sources 5 and 6 are invented sample interpretations written by SVHS for practice; their facts come from Sources 1-3. Remind students not to cite them as real works.

   Homework source: Source 7 is an invented museum label, written by SVHS, for the homework. Read it aloud before students leave, and remind them that its first line is the label's title.

   1[LABEL BESIDE A FULL-SIZE MODEL OF EXPLORER 1] America Answers with Science

   2When Sputnik circled the Earth in October 1957, many Americans were afraid. The first American satellite answered with science, not with weapons.

   3Explorer 1, launched on January 31, 1958, was small and light. It carried a small scientific payload, and its readings showed belts of radiation around the Earth, later named for the scientist James Van Allen. The Explorer program went on to launch a long series of lightweight scientific spacecraft.

   4The space race began in fear. Within its first year, it had also become a race to learn.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which statement is a central argument about the past rather than a fact?

   ASputnik 2 carried a dog named Laika into orbit in 1957. BCongress passed the law that created NASA in July 1958. CFear more than curiosity pushed America into space. DExplorer 1 lifted off on the last day of January 1958.

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which of these is a secondary work about Sputnik?

   AA diary kept in 1957 by an engineer who helped build it BA 2010 film that explains it with old film clips CA recording of its radio beeps made by listeners in 1957 DA newspaper front page printed the day after the launch

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which pair of works on the Moon landing is in two different media?

   ATwo articles posted on the same history website BTwo chapters printed in the same history book CTwo paragraphs from one essay on a web page DA podcast episode and a museum exhibit label

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which words from Source 4 are evidence (a checkable fact) rather than part of its central argument?

   A"a crew of three and docked two days later on July 17" B"paved the way for future international partnerships" C"would have been unthinkable just a decade earlier" D"one that would pave the way for future international partnerships in space"

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which line from Source 6 states the podcast's central argument?

   AParagraph 4: "the first American satellite, Explorer 1, did real science" BParagraph 3: "the Soviets tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile" CParagraph 8: "Next week: the handshake in orbit in 1975" DParagraph 1: "the space race was really the arms race in disguise"

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which words from Source 4 show most clearly that the relationship between the two countries had changed since the 1950s?

   A"the primary Soviet spacecraft" B"two former spaceflight rivals" C"an airlock and transfer corridor" D"carried out five joint experiments"

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How are the central arguments of Source 1 and Source 6 related?

   AThey disagree, because Source 1 never connects Sputnik to weapons of any kind. BBoth tie Sputnik to the arms race, but they weigh that link differently. CThey agree completely, because each says science mattered more than fear did. DThey are about two unrelated topics, so their arguments cannot be compared.

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Sources 3 and 6 discuss different events, Kennedy's 1961 decision and the 1957 launch of Sputnik. Which statement about their central arguments is most accurate?

   ABoth treat Cold War rivalry as the main force behind U.S. space efforts. BSource 3 argues that science, not politics, shaped Kennedy's whole decision. CSource 6 argues that Kennedy's 1961 speech is what started the space race. DThey disagree, because Source 3 says the Soviets were never ahead in space.

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3 says Kennedy chose the Moon because it was "an area of space exploration in which the U.S. actually had a potential lead" (paragraph 1). How does this detail support the essay's central argument?

   AIt shows that the decision was based mainly on what scientists most wanted to study. BIt shows that the decision came from NASA's engineers rather than the president. CIt shows a choice made to beat the Soviet Union at a goal the U.S. could win. DIt shows that Kennedy thought the United States was already far ahead in space.

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Besides Yuri Gagarin's flight, which April 1961 event does Source 3 name as pressure on Kennedy?

    AThe failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs BThe launch of Sputnik 2 with a dog aboard CThe first flight of the Apollo spacecraft DThe launch of Explorer 1 by the United States

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Two invented museum labels discuss the first Moon landing. Label X argues it mattered because it showed American power to the world. Label Y argues it mattered because the Moon rocks taught scientists about the Moon. How are their central arguments related?

    AThey agree, because both of the labels say exactly the same thing. BThey disagree, because only one of the two claims can be true. CDifferent emphasis: both can be true; each stresses an effect. DDifferent topics: the two labels are about two unrelated events.

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Two invented claims: Work X says, "Sputnik took almost every American expert completely by surprise." Work Y says, "Most American experts expected Sputnik and were not surprised at all." How are these claims related?

    AThey agree, with different evidence. BDifferent emphasis: both can be true. CDifferent topics: they are only linked. DThey disagree: both cannot be true.

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Two invented works: a podcast argues that Apollo 11 was a triumph of teamwork, and a video argues that Apollo 11 succeeded because thousands of people worked together. How are their central arguments related?

    AThey disagree about who landed on the Moon. BDifferent emphasis: one stresses politics. CDifferent topics: one is about Sputnik. DThey agree: both credit teamwork.

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Two invented works: Work X argues that Sputnik made Americans fear they had fallen behind. Work Y argues that this fear led Congress to pay for more science classes in schools. How are these central arguments related?

    AThey disagree about whether Americans were really afraid. BThey agree about the very same event and the same effect. CDifferent topics, linked: X's claim helps explain Y's. DThey cannot be compared, since they are in different media.

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Write the central argument of Source 4 in one sentence, beginning "The author argues that...". Support it with two quotations from Source 4 with paragraph numbers.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 1 is about 1957 and Source 4 is about 1975. Compare their central arguments using the Argument Comparison Chart. What does putting them side by side show about change over time?

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    In Source 6, paragraph 5, how does Jordan respond to Priya's point about Explorer 1? Does his response weaken or strengthen the podcast's central argument? Explain.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 6 is a podcast transcript and Source 1 is a web article. Describe one way the podcast's medium shapes how it presents its argument, compared with the article. Quote both sources.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Choose Source 3 or Source 4. Both were made by NASA. Explain how knowing the maker could help explain what that source stresses, and say what kind of source you would add to check it.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Pick two sources from different media that the lesson has not compared for you (not Sources 1 and 2, and not Sources 3 and 5). Write three to four sentences comparing their central arguments with the Argument Comparison Chart.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D2.His.17.6-8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.