Overall the lesson successfully met the objectives and engaged the students in the learning process. Seuss, grandpa is portrayed as the united states military while van itch is the soviet union military. For this social science lesson, students listen to the butter battle book by dr. You can read the butter battle book out loud to your class or there is also a youtube video of the cartoon to watch as a class. The butter battle book the lesson part 1 teaching today. The butter battle book, released by random house in the middle of ronald reagans transformative presidency, is about the cold war. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. You can read the butter battle book out loud to your class or there. But if history and current events are any indication, the butter battle book is more relevant now than ever before. The butter battle book teaching children philosophy. His stories are childrens classics that are fun to. This book was published in 1984, and it was written as an allegory to the cold war. Essay directions, outline chart, and rubric are all included, as well as the lesson plan for the teacher and an answer key. Seuss and recognize how this story relates to the cold war between the.
This story thus lends itself to a discussion with children about the concept of war itself, the moral issues related to war and the outcomes of retaliatory acts. Students read the butter battle book to examine more complicated themes of. Learners work together at figuring out the definition for what cold war means. The clip below is a small part of the discussion of the parallels between the cold war and the butter battle book, which is a part of the lesson that i think went very well. The soviet union launched its first nuclear weapon in 1949, an event that started an arms race between the united states and. Seuss was written in response to the arms buildup and nuclear. Students will also discuss the closing remarks of suess book and what it means regarding tensions between the two nations during. You can either watch the animated story online on youtube or read the story aloud.
The butter battle book is a rhyming story written by dr. While reading the butter battle book, take note of the number of times the conflict escalates. The butter battle book lesson plans varsity tutors. Seuss book, the butter battle book which is an allegory for the.
The two groups manufacture extremely similar weapons and are on opposite sides of a wall dividing the two. Students work together at figuring out the definition for what cold war means. It could be a book, a movie or something someone told you. The butter battle book deals with some scary stuff. The butter battle book is a pretty clear allegory for the cold war. Seussthe butter battle book analysis essay example.
Seuss in 1984, is a cold war metaphor with a unique ending. It was published by random house on january 12, 1984. The butter battle book reactions to lesson and video. The butter battle also teaches the important lesson of respecting differences and how not respecting differences of ideas or cultures can lead to dismal outcomes, such as war. The conflict between the yooks americans and the zooks russians seems so trivial but can easily relate to the nuclear arms race that was mainly fueled by national pride and. Seuss and the cold war butter battle book share my. For example, this phone is better than another because this car is the best because i have this and you dont. The butter battle book and the cold war the cold war was cold primarily because of the threat of nuclear weapons. Eric schlosser, the awardwinning author of command and control, agrees. Cold war butter battle book essay by jennirae67 tpt. Seuss the butter battle book and the cold war essay.
But whats great about allegories is that theyre flexible and fuzzy. This is an audio tape for the full story of horton hatches the egg by dr. Butter battle book colleena frazier, lisa hicks, donna root, and tim tabor opening activity. Seuss satirical lesson on nuclear armament and the. Think about a commercial, book, or movie that you have read or seen that one character is trying to do or be better than another. The cold war arms race in the butter battle book shmoop. The butter battle book questions teaching resources. The butter battle books story parallels to the cold war. The butter battle book is an allegory for the nuclear arms race and the state of mutually assured destruction mad that occurred during the cold war. Perhaps if more adults read this book back in the day it wouldnt have taken until the 90s for the cold war to end. Seuss the butter battle book draws direct parallels to many aspects of the cold war. The butter battle book, like the cold war, was an arms race. No big shots where actually fired between the us and the soviet union. Seussthe butter battle book analysis essay 1549 words.
The butter battle book is a pretty clear allegory for the cold war arms race. The butter battle book five discussion questions and a writing task. Students use the classic childrens book, the butter battle by dr. Seuss and the cold war butter battle book share my lesson. The butter battle book discussion guide scholastic. The cold war and the butter battle book by alison cleary. This book was written in the cold war era about the concerns of the time, and how all of life could be destroyed by nuclear war. The activity is a decoding exercise to use with kids after theyve learned basic info about the cold war.
In it, geisel creates an imaginary world that parallels the arms race of the cold war. The butter battle book is a sad illustration of one of orwells favorite themes. Read the butter battle book or watch the video together. Mar 18, 2015 butter battle book lesson plan used for diversity but also would be great for cold war unit stay safe and healthy. In this social science lesson, students listen to the butter battle book by dr.
This is the page when both van itch and grandpa yook had the bitsy big boy boomeroo neclear bomb. The butter battle book is one of the more overt and astute instances of geisels marriage of political and social sentiment with his childrens books. Seventh grade lesson the butter battle book betterlesson. The butter battle book manages to distill the ridiculousness of the cold war and mutually assured destruction into terms a child could understand. The butter battle book is about two groups of people, the yooks and the zooks, who fight over an extremely trivial matter, which side of the bread the groups eat their butter on. The butter battle book questions lesson plan template and teaching resources. The butter battle book and the cold war english project. Seusss the butter battle book to introduce students to the cold war. The students explained what the cold war terms were, interpreted the butter battle book to draw parallels between the book and the cold war, and finally applied what they knew about the cold war to make the parallels to the book. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Though both of them had this very powerful weapon, we do not know whether or not grandpa yook or van itch applied this to their defense for their country. Seuss is an important figure in the lives of children everywhere. Students should try to draw parallels between the book and the cold war situation.
The butter battle book this lesson plan focuses on conflict in the plot. The structure of this lesson also helped strengthen the students reinforcement of cold war terms because they had the chance to process the information in three separate ways, individually, in groups, and as a whole class. The butter battle book was a new york times notable book of the year. Seusss earlier classics the drawings are tired, and. After reading the short book, analyze the story with our text. In 1984, though, came a lesserknown work, mostly forgotten by time, which advanced longdormant seussian politics into an ideological expression that proved too rankling for much of the book s audience. Seuss is clearly portraying the social issues that were arising between the soviet union and the united states during the cold war. Inform students about the arms race between the united states and the soviet union after world war ii, which was a large part of the cold war.
Study 19 terms the butter battle book flashcards quizlet. In this lesson we summarized and analyzed the story, the butter battle book. At the height of the cold war, the combined weapons of both countries were enough to destroy the. Research aspects of the event try to look at more than one side. The likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe is greater today than during the cold war, former defense secretary william perry recently warned reporters. What aspects of the butter battle book mirror events or objects of the cold war.
Seuss and the cold war butter battle book lesson plan template and teaching resources. Seuss the butter battle book provided a different way for the students to look at the cold war in a clear, understandable way. The lesson plan uses the book the butter battle by dr. Butter batter book southwest center for educational excellence. You can read the butter battle book out loud to your.
It is an anti war story about the arms race, mad, and nuclear weapons. It is an antiwar story about the arms race, mad, and nuclear weapons. The soviet union launched its first nuclear weapon in 1949, an event that started an arms race between the united states and the soviet union. Seuss book, the butter battle book which is an allegory for the arms race. Suess butter battle book either book or video, students will analyze the cold war symbolism of the arms race between the soviet union and the united states. The butter battle book the butter battle book is a picture book written by dr. The butter battle book after listening to the story, students discuss conflicts in their own lives and draw people finding ways to resolve conflict in socially positive ways.
Butter battle assignment rubric grade of 2 your ending shows a creative ending to the book you show how the ending would be in dr. After reading, have a discussion about what precipitated the conflict between the zooks and the yooks. The butter battle book and the cold war literature circle the cold war was cold primarily because of the threat of nuclear weapons. Seuss butter battle book to introduce the topic and includes a link to explore the impacts of a nuclear attack. In conclusion, the butter battle book is a direct allegory to the nuclear arms race because it teaches children the mutually assured destruction that occurred during the time of the cold war. Sure, it was published during the reagan era while cold war tensions were still high, but the young yook faces the same questions that we do today in a world where nuclear weapons are a reality. This lesson plan has students discuss the fears of the cold war and how it impacted the home front and pop culture. Use this worksheet as you show students a unique, exciting way to.
During the cold war unit when i am teaching the arms race, i introduce the students to the dr. That means that while the good doctor may have intended for his book to allegorize the cold war. Seuss and the cold war butter battle book with images. Seuss the butter battle book to guide your instruction on conflict, disagreements, and resolution.
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