Y10 Tracker # 3 – Cold War Early Years – Did you know the work? Did you know how to answer the questions?
Q1 – Describe what was agreed at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. [4]
-Did you write 4 bullet points (sentences, not just a few words) OR2 fully-developed points (a couple of sentences each) directly related to what was agreed at Yalta?
-Write on your assessment what you could have included if you don’t think you scored 4/4.
-Walsh reference = p. 318-319.
Q2 – Explain why the USA-USSR alliance had broken down by 1947. [6]
-Did you write 2-3 fully explained PEE points?
-Possible reasons – you don’t need all of these to score 6, and you could have used others – (i) only allied when they had a common enemy – Germany; (ii) Roosevelt and Stalin might have been able to work together but when Roosevelt died he was replaced by Truman – Truman and Stalin didn’t trust each other; (iii) Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe after WW2 scared USA; (iv) US response under Truman (Truman doctrine; Marshall plan) was seen as aggressive by USSR; (v) “inevitable” clash between Capitalism and Communism / between only 2 superpowers to survive WW2.
-Did you know the reasons?Did you explain them fully enough?
-To make sure of getting 6 marks did you structure your answer? (e.g. most important reason why alliance broke down was X [then explain];next most important wasY [then explain]; another reason was Z [then explain].
Marking
-L1: general answer lacking specific knowledge (e.g. “they wanted different things”) – 1-2 marks
-L2: identifies or describes (but does not explain) reasons – 3-4 marks
-L3: one reason fully explained – 4-5 marks (4 = basic explanation; 5 = developed explanation)
-L4: two or more reasons fully explained – 6 marks
-Write on your assessment what you could have included if you don’t think you scored 6/6.
Q3 – “The Berlin Blockade was more to blame than the Marshall Plan for increasing Cold War tension”. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer [10].
-Did you include a short intro para, recognising that both events increased Cold War tension (problems between the USA & USSR) – perhaps signposting which you think had the bigger impact?
-Did you write c. 2 paras on the Berlin Blockade – showing that you know what it was; what happened; and how it increased Cold War tension between the USA and USSR?
-Did you write c. 2 paras on the Marshall Plan – showing that you know what it was, why it was introduced, and how it increased Cold War tension (e.g. looking at the Soviet response: initial interest from Stalin but then a refusal to allow any Communist countries to apply for Marshall aid).
-Did you write a conclusion, directly answering the question and giving enough evidence and argument to justify your conclusion?
Marking
-L1: general answer lacking specific knowledge (e.g. “they were both important”) – 1 mark
-L2: identifies or describes (but does not explain) importance of Berlin Blockade OR Marshall Plan – 2-3 marks
-L3:explainsimportance of Berlin Blockade OR Marshall Plan – 4-6 marks
-L4: explains importance of Berlin Blockade AND Marshall Plan – 7-9 marks
-L5: L4 + evidenced evaluation of how far you agree (or disagree) with the statement – 10 marks
-Write on your assessment what you could have included if you don’t think you scored 10/10.
-Walsh reference = p. 329 (Marshall Aid); p. 331-332 (Berlin Blockade).
Q4 – What is the message of this cartoon (SOURCE A)? Use the details of the cartoon and your own knowledge to explain your answer.
-Did you get the MESSAGE right? (Stalin is deciding which country to “free” next, but he isn’t actually freeing them, he is subjecting them to Soviet control).
-Did you fully describe the CONTENT and explain its significance? (some possible points – you don’t need them all: switched down buttons show countries USSR controlled by 1948; Stalin looking relaxed; Molotov spinning globe like it’s a game; picture of Marshall shows Stalin is thinking about USA response).
-Did you add your CONTEXTUAL knowledge – explaining what was happening at the time (e.g. how USSR had taken control of most of Eastern Europe by the time of the cartoon - 1948).
-Did you use the MESSAGE / CONTENT / CONTEXT structure? (The main message of the cartoon is… ; In the cartoon… [then describe CONTENT]… ; at the time of the cartoon [then describe CONTEXT].
Marking
-L1 – uses surface features of cartoon only (“a man is pressing buttons named after countries”) – 1-2 marks
-L2 – secondary message – (“Stalin is trying to take over everywhere”) – 3 marks
-L3 – secondary message + some CONTENT or CONTEXTUAL knowledge – 4 marks
-L4 – main message identified (“Stalin is deciding which country to “free” next, but he isn’t actually freeing them, he is subjecting them to Soviet control” – or a similar analysis to this) – 5 marks
-L5 – main message + some CONTENT analysis or CONTEXTUAL knowledge – 6 marks
-L6 – main message + CONTENT analysis AND CONTEXTUAL knowledge – 7 marks
-Write on your assessment what you could have included if you don’t think you scored 7/7.
-Walsh reference = p. 324 and pp. 328-329.
Q5 – Are your surprised by SOURCE B? Use details of the source and your own knowledge to explain your answer.
-Did you say on the one hand SURPRISED because + provide evidence from CONTENT and your CONTEXTUAL knowledge on why it is surprising (e.g. source is surprising because Britain was allied to Russia at the time and they were fighting Germany together).
-Did you say however also NOT SURPRISED because + provide evidence from CONTENT and your CONTEXTUAL knowledge on why source isn’t surprising (Britain and USA were only allied with Russia because they had a common enemy (Germany); by May 1945 it was clear that the allies would win war; Churchill was already worried about Communist Russia etc. etc.)
-Did you think about PROVENANCE – when source was published; by whom; and what was happening at the time?
-Did you reach an overall conclusion saying whether you are or aren’t surprised and back this up with evidence and argument?
Marking
-L1- unsupported statement – 1 mark
-L2 – Surprised / Not Surprised – general claims AND / OR CONTENT AND/OR CONTEXT discussed without ‘Surprised’ / ‘Not Surprised’ – 2-3 marks
-L3 – Explains Surprised OR Not Surprised with CONTEXT – 4-5 marks
-L4 – Explains Surprised AND Not Surprised with CONTEXT – 6 marks
-L5 – L4 + an overall evidenced / supported conclusion directly linked to the question – 7 marks
-Write on your assessment what you could have included if you don’t think you scored 7/7.