• A Day in the Life
• Viewing Guide
• Project Guidelines

Time Allotment:
Approximately five to seven 45-minute class periods

Subject Matter:
History and Language Arts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will:

1. Utilize their imagination to envision life in a communist country as they listen to a description read by the teacher.

2. Learn the definition of various social studies terms including “communism,” “capitalism,” “democracy,” “totalitarian,” “Cold War,” “defect,” and “asylum.”

3. Participate in large and small group discussions related to the terminology they have learned and the relevant information presented in the film.

4. Work as a class to construct a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the rights of U.S. citizens to those of people who lived in communist Russia.

5. Utilize critical viewing and note-taking skills as they watch the film and complete the related viewing guide.

6. Participate in large and small group discussions related to the historical aspects of the film.

7. Complete an individual research project related to the Cold War period of history.

8. Present their individual projects to classmates and provide constructive feedback to one another regarding project content.
Materials:
A copy of GREAT PERFORMANCES’ NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS
Access to Internet and/or library resource materials
Access to various art supplies (optional)
Access to various computer software (optional)

Prep for Teachers:
Prior to teaching the lesson, record the broadcast of NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS (check local listings to determine if and when the program will air in your state), review the program for content, bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer, and download the necessary plug-ins. Print out and make copies of the related handouts: A Day in the Life, Viewing Guide, and Project Guidelines.

Bookmark the following sites:

Rudolf Nureyev Foundation
http://www.nureyev.org/
Find biographical information and a catalogue of Nureyev’s main roles, works he choreographed, and dance partners along with a photo gallery and memories of the dancer from those who knew and worked with him.

Ballet.co: Rudolph Nureyev
http://www.ballet.co.uk/nureyev/index.htm
Features a biography, photos, video clips, and related information about Nureyev and his career.

BBC Four: Interviews: Rudolph Nureyev
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/nureyevr1.shtml
Listen to interviews with Nureyev from 1969 and 1971.

CNN Interactive: Cold War
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/
Provides an in-depth look at the history, key events, and people associated with the Cold War.

Cold War International History Project: The Cold War Files
http://www.coldwarfiles.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.flash
Find documents from the Cold War and profiles of crucial events and individuals from the era.

PBS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: “The Nuremberg Trials”: The Start of the Cold War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nuremberg/peopleevents/e_coldwar.html
A page about the key people and events related to the beginning of the Cold War.

The Cold War Museum
http://www.coldwar.org/museum/museum_features.html
Offers time lines, exhibits, and activities related to the Cold War period.

PBS: RED FILES: “Soviet Sports Wars”: Soviet Athletes Who Defected
http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/sports/defectors.htm
Profiles of Soviet athletes who defected to the West.

Connection Newspapers: “An Orchestrated Defection”
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?archive=true&article=59842&paper=69&cat=115
An article about the defection of bassoonist Arnold Irchai from the Soviet Union.

Constitutional Rights Foundation: “Life Under Communism in Eastern Europe”
http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria19_1a.htm
A description of the economic and social conditions and the status of human rights under communist governments in Eastern Europe.

Geographia: Asia: Russia: History of Russia: The Soviet Era
http://www.geographia.com/russia/rushis07.htm
Provides a brief history of the Soviet Union from the 1930s through 1991.

Grove Music Online
http://www.grovemusic.com

STANDARDS:

Art Connections
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=9&standardID=1
Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines.

Historical Understanding
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=3&standardID=2
Understands the historical perspective.

World History
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=6&standardID=43
Understands how post-World War II reconstruction occurred, new international power relationships took shape, and colonial empires broke up.

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=6&standardID=44
Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world.

Language Arts
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=7

Writing
Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
Gathers and uses information for research purposes.

Reading
Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts.

Listening and Speaking
Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.

Viewing
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.

Working with Others
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=1
Contributes to the overall effort of a group.

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=4
Displays effective interpersonal communication skills.

Thinking and Reasoning
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=21&standardID=3
Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences.

This lesson was prepared by Lisa Prososki, an independent educational consultant and instructional design specialist who taught middle school and high school social studies, English, reading, and technology courses for 12 years.

1. Many students may not know the history of the Cold War or understand the communist system of government. To create a stronger understanding of both, ask the students to close their eyes and imagine as you read the A Day in the Life handout aloud.

2. After you have read the handout, distribute a copy of it to each student and facilitate a classroom discussion using questions such as:

• Do you think you would like to live in a country like this? Why?
• What advantages and disadvantages would there be to living in a country with this type of government? Explain.
• Do you think people living in such a country are happy? Why?

3. Continue the discussion by explaining to the students that in Russia people lived under a communist form of government from the 1930s until the early 1990s. Explain that under communism, people did not have a similar lifestyle to the one enjoyed in the United States, which is based on a democratic form of government and embraces the idea of capitalism.

4. To help the students better understand the differences between communism and democracy, share the following definitions (from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary at http://www.m-w.com/dictionary):

communism: a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production.

totalitarian: of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (as censorship and terrorism).

Example: Communist Russia

capitalism: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.

democracy: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Example: United States

the Cold War: a conflict over ideological differences carried on by methods short of sustained overt military action and usually without breaking off diplomatic relations; … : the ideological conflict between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the second half of the 20th century.

5. Explain to the students that following World War II, because of the conflicting ideas each country had about government, there was great distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union, resulting in what came to be called the Cold War.

Using what the students have learned from the definitions above and the A Day in the Life activity, work as a class to create a list or graphic organizer (Venn diagram, etc.) that compares the rights of U.S. citizens to the rights of people living in the Soviet Union when it was governed by the communists.

Close this discussion by asking the following questions:

• What does it mean to defect from one’s country? [To forsake one cause, party, or nation for another often because of a change in ideology.]
• What is asylum? [Protection from arrest and extradition given especially to political refugees by a nation or by an embassy or other agency enjoying diplomatic immunity.]
• If you were living in a communist country and had the opportunity to leave, would you do so? Why? What risks might you or your family face as a result of this action?
• What risks do other countries take by giving people asylum?

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
Time Allotment: two to three class periods

1. Introduce NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS by explaining to the students that they will be viewing a program about one of the world’s greatest dancers who was dissatisfied with his life in the former Soviet Union and defected to the West. Explain that they will learn why Nureyev defected, how others reacted, and how the event changed his life in both positive and negative ways.

2. Distribute the Viewing Guide and have the students read the questions before they watch the film. Watch NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS as a class. Pay special attention to the interviews clips with Nureyev and his friends that appear throughout the film. Take time to focus the students’ attention on the specifics of Nureyev’s defection beginning at approximately (insert time cue) and the results of his leaving Russia. Pause the film as needed for students to complete the guide.

3. After the students have watched the program and completed the Viewing Guide, have them work in groups to discuss questions 1 through 8. They should fill in additional information learned from this discussion on their Viewing Guide. Provide 15 to 20 minutes for this activity.

4. Gather the students into a large group to discuss questions 9 and 10. Encourage volunteers to provide specific information and quotes from the film when discussing their answers. They should provide reasons and examples to support their opinions for question 10.

5. Close the discussion about the film by using questions such as:

• Do you think that it takes courage to defect from one’s country? Why?
• Would you have made the same decision as Nureyev if you had been in his situation and had the opportunity to defect? Why?
• What did it cost Nureyev? What did he have to give up in order to be “free”? Was it worth it?
• At the end of the film, we learn that Nureyev was reunited with his mother 25 years after he defected. Why do you think this was allowed by the Russian government at that time?
• Nureyev eventually returned to the stage at the Kirov Ballet shortly before his death. Why do you think this was permitted? How do you think he might have felt about this?
• Based on what you saw in the film, how do you think Nureyev is viewed and remembered in his home country?
• In what ways was Nureyev a pioneer for other artists, athletes, intellectuals, and average citizens seeking to escape the oppression of communism? In what ways might he have deterred others from defecting?

CULMINATING ACTIVITIES:
Time Allotment: two class periods

1. Distribute the Project Guidelines to the students. Explain that the goal of the project is to help them learn more about life during the Cold War. Review the specific requirements for the project and provide students with at least one class period to begin their work.

2. When all the students have completed their projects, provide them with an opportunity to share what they have learned. Have the students work in pairs or small groups and give them time to present their work to one another. Encourage them to provide feedback on the projects by completing the three sentences below on a sheet of paper.

• Three things I learned from your project were …
• The thing I liked best about your project was …
• A suggestion I have for a way to improve your project is …

3. Projects should then be posted in a common area of the school or on a classroom/school Web site so others can view them.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1. While communist Russia is a thing of the past, there are many countries around the world where communism is alive and well. Select a country such as Cuba, North Korea, or China and study it. Compare it to communist Russia. What similarities and differences can you note? Record these on a graphic organizer such as a Venn diagram. Discuss the current U.S. political relationship with this country and how it is similar to and different from the relationship we had with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

2. Using a world map, create a key that shows all of the countries around the world that are currently communist and those that are considered democracies. Label each accordingly, then discuss the relative success of each form of government worldwide in terms of economics, political relationships, human rights, and social conditions. Label “hot spots” and cut out magazine or newspaper articles related to those countries and post them near the map.