Nuclear Reactions (NR) Curriculum
An inquiry history investigation at the Marin Headlands. 
Overview

Atomic Diplomacy at the Marin Headlands provides a dynamic supplement to your unit on the Cold War-era. Students are introduced to the Nike missile site that operated in the Marin Headlands during the 1950s until 1974. The missile site, located near a major urban area, offers students the opportunity to consider the national significance and impact of the Cold War from a local perspective: its definition of security, the technology it spawned, the role of diplomacy, and public perceptions of the era. Students also conduct research into primary and secondary sources that continue the story of nuclear technology in our political and economic world of today.
What does safety look like?

This essential question frames Nuclear Reactions (NR) program and supports students in engaging in place-based history inquiry at the Marin Headlands. 
1.	Reflects what students will study without directing them to one correct answer. 
2.	Provokes critical thinking– “how” or “why” questions rather than “what” questions. 
3.	Applies to places beyond the Marin Headlands. 
4.	Invited discussion from everyone based on both experience and understanding. 
Students conduct their own history investigation in which they exam historical events and larger political trends, as well as interpret past events and issues within the context in which the event unfolded through inquiry. Students pose questions, search for evidence, and working collectively and respecting the opinions of others. The program provides a tangible model for students to explore the Cold War era through learning activities in the classroom and in a National Park.
Program Goals

•	Enrich their understanding of a place through inquiry. 
•	Experience National Parks as places for learning and recreation and develop a personal connection with their local National Parks.
•	Learn about personal and collective sacrifices made in opposition to the national security policies during the Cold War.
Program Objectives

•	Students will be able to analyze and synthesize primary and secondary sources.
•	Students will be able to engage in an informed and reasoned discussion of national security and individual rights.
Ties to the Curriculum-Standards for 11th & 12th graders

CA History-Social Studies Content Standards
10.9: Students analyze the international developments in the post-World War II world. 
10.9.2: Analyze the causes of the Cold War with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam, and Chile. 
11.7: Students analyze America’s participation in World War II. 
11.7.7: Discuss the decision to drop atomic bombs and the consequences of the decision (Hiroshima and Nagasaki). 
11.9: Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II. 
11.9.3: Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including the following:
The era of McCarthyism, instances of domestic Communism (e.g., Alger Hiss) and blacklisting, Truman Doctrine, Berlin Blockade, Korean War, Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis, Atomic testing in the American Wet, the “mutual assured destruction” doctrine, and disarmament policies, Vietnam War, and Latin American policy. 
11.9.4: List the effects of foreign policy on domestic policies and vice versa (e.g., protests during the war in Vietnam, the “nuclear freeze” movement). 
12.2: Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and obligations as democratic citizens, the relationships among them, and how they are secured. 
12.2.1: Discuss the meaning and importance of each of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and how each is secured (e.g., freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, privacy). 
12.10: Students formulate questions about and defend their analyses of tensions within our constitutional democracy and the importance of maintaining a balance between the following concepts: majority rule and individual rights; liberty and equality; state and national authority in a federal system; civil disobedience and the rule of law; freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial; the relationship of religion and government. 
12.3: Students analyze the influence of the federal government on the American economy. 
12.3.2: Identify the factors that may cause the costs of government actions to outweigh the benefits. 
Source: History Social Science Content Standards - Content Standards (CA Dept of Education)
CA Common Core Standards 
Speaking and Listening Standards (pg. 68)
1.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on Cold War topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. 
2.	Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data. 
3.	Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used. 
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/ Social Studies (pg 81)
1.	Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole. 
4.	Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10). 
6.	Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence. 
Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (pg 68)
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. 
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant 	data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both 	claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form that anticipated the 		    		audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases. 
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 
Source: CCSS for ELA - Content Standards (CA Dept of Education)
Program Logistics
 
Please take careful note of the following:
•	Teacher attends teacher workshop (if new to the program). 
•	Teachers will receive a lesson plan for students to complete before the in-person visit with NPS staff. 
•	Post-visit assessment is to be completed after the field trip and submitted to the ranger within a two-week time period. 
•	Please take at least 1-2 days to complete the lesson before your scheduled in-person visit with the ranger. 
•	Teachers and chaperones are ultimately responsible for student management and safety of students. Chaperon's support is a must. During a program, chaperon’s aid with passing out materials, investigations, restroom stops, and student management. Please remind chaperones to be mindful of noise level and disturbing the field instruction with phones. 
•	We strongly advise appropriate clothing. Weather conditions at the park can change drastically, it’s best to come prepared and ask students to dress in layers to adjust to the different temperatures of the coast. 
•	Rangers will cancel the program if weather conditions are unsafe to be at the Nike Missile Site. 
•	*Inform the ranger ahead of time if anyone in your classroom needs any special accommodations, such as accessibility, language, or special needs. *
•	The missile site opens to the public from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Thursday-Saturday.
•	Only if asked by NPS staff: Please distribute the parental photo/video release forms to students at least a week before the field trip visit. Come with signed forms the day of the field visit. 
Safety tips
 
Please make your students aware of the park safety tips before your visit:
•	The class will stay at the site at all times, unless directed by a park representative to do otherwise. 
•	There is poison oak at the Visitor Center parking lot, please have students avoid touching or leaning on plants.
•	No rocks, plants, or natural/historic features can be removed from the park. 
•	Feeding or disturbing animals is not allowed. 
•	Electronic devices, musical instruments, and electronic games will not be allowed on the field trip. 
•	Our first bus stop will be a quick restroom and snack break. Please encourage everyone to use the restroom here as the restrooms at the missile site are Portable Toilets.  
•	If a student needs to use the restroom during the program the nearest restroom is at the site are adjacent to the Generator Building. 
•	Food: A light snack will be provided before our hike at the Visitor Center. Student lunches can stay on the bus, we will return to the bus after our program to have lunch at the picnic tables. We will eat lunch at the Mess Hall, building 1049 if it is a rainy day. 
•	Face masks are recommended to wear when social distancing is not possible.
Cancellation Policy
 
Please let us know of any changes in rescheduling your program dates. Due to a high volume of schools participating, there is little to no room to reschedule. Please plan accordingly, especially if your school has an early dismissal or late start, field trips are a total of 5 hours. Each time the date or time is rescheduled, we need to cancel a bus and reschedule it again. 
Directions
 
Most classes will be taking buses to the Marin Headlands. Check-in with the bus driver to make sure they have the correct address. If caravanning together make sure all parents know that their first stop will be at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center (VC) parking lot (there are no official signs to this parking lot). 
Address
Marin Headlands Visitor Center Parking lot- 948 Field Rd, Sausalito, CA 94965
Nike Missile Site SF-88L, Mill Valley, CA 94941
For those classes that will be carpooling:
From San Francisco:
1.	Drive North across the Golden Gate Bridge. Exit at Alexander Ave. (just beyond the vista point).
2.	Drive 0.2 miles on Alexander Ave. Turn left onto Bunker Rd. (marked by a brown sign: Marin Headlands—Tunnel Route). 
3.	Drive to the 1-way Baker-Barry Tunnel, which is controlled by a 5-minute light. When the light is green, proceed through the tunnel. 
4.	Stay in Bunker Road for approximately 2 miles. Turn left onto Field Rd. In about 0.2 miles you will make a right into the Marin Headlands VC parking lot. This is where buses or parents will meet and wait for the ranger.
5.	NPS guides the bus driver or parents to the Nike Missile Site SF-88L parking lot where we’ll start our program. 
6.	Make a right onto Field Road to get out of the parking lot. Stay on Field Road for 0.3 miles until you see signs for Nike Missile Site. Make a slight right onto the site. Go pass the gates and park inside.  
7.	Students will come off vehicles and form a circle for a formal introduction and safety talk. We will start our program in front of the Generator Building. 
8.	Rainy Days: After the program is over, NPS staff will caravan with the bus driver or parents to the Mess Hall to have lunch. 
9.	Head out of the Nike Missile Site parking lot and make a left onto Field Rd. 
10.	In 0.8 miles make a left onto Bunker Rd. Continue straight until you reach the end of the road and park at Rodeo Beach parking lot, preferably in front of the picnic table or restrooms. On rainy days we will have lunch at the Mess Hall (Building 1049). 
From the East Bay/North Bay:
1.	Travel south on Highway 101.
2.	Take exist 442 at Alexander Ave. (it’s just before the Golden Gate Bridge). Bear right and go back under the freeway. After 0.2 miles, turn left at Bunker Road (brown sign, Fort Baker/Marin Headlands Tunnel Route).
3.	Follow directions from #3 above.
 
Nike Missile Site Walk
We will walk around the Nike Missile Site and go into the generator building and missile magazine. The trail is fully paved. 
Program Description 
 
The program has three elements:
•	Classroom preparation is conducted by the teacher. 
•	A field visit at the Marin Headlands will be facilitated by NPS staff. 
•	Post-visit lesson is guided by the teacher. Teachers collect and send worksheets in a postage-paid envelope and mail it to us within 2 weeks.
Teacher Facilitated Lessons
 
Before NPS staff come to the classroom/virtual program (teacher led):
How do competing ideologies co-exist? 

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” -Albert Einstein
Introduce the topic of the Nike nuclear missile site once your class already has developed a working knowledge of the factors that contributed to the Cold War and the practice of Atomic Diplomacy. Students work in groups to define and explain terminology from the Cold War. Students watch a video to introduce them to the Nike missile site.
Lesson One-A Heated Time Period: The Cold War
 
Topic: Cold War Terminology
Inquiry Question: What does safety look like?
Objective: Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to define and understand vocabulary for the NR program.
Time: 90 minutes
Materials: A Heated Time Period: The Cold War Worksheet | Nike Missile Site SF88 -Golden Gate National Recreation Area Video
Activity A: Vocabulary Builder 
Step 1: Ask students to, individually, sort their vocabulary words into three categories: words I know, words I kind of know, and words I don’t know on their worksheet.
Step 2: Next, ask students to pick three words from their ‘words I don’t know’ category. Students can either copy the definition provided or generate their own explanation for each of the three words. If students only have a few words from the ‘words I don’t know’ list, students can choose from their ‘words I kind of know’ list.
Step 3: Ask students to draw a picture that best describes each of the three words they don’t know or kind of know.
Step 4: Have write a sentence for each word they don’t know or kind of know.
 The suggested terms are:
•	MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)
•	Ban the Bomb movement
•	Space race to the moon
•	HUAC
•	Civil Defense
•	Proxy Wars
•	Boris and Natasha
 Activity B: Nike Missile Site Video 
Step 1: Explain to the class that we will be visiting a Nike nuclear missile site which has been restored to appear from the Cuban missile crisis era of the Cold War. Invite students to watch the Nike Missile Site SF88 -Golden Gate National Recreation Area Video on their own and record any questions they may have related to the video or in-person visit. Collect the questions to bring to the park visit.
Step 2: After introducing the trip purpose and overarching concept through the vide, students respond to the following reflection questions:
a.	How do competing ideologies co-exist?
b.	Was everyone in agreement on the purpose and success of the Cold War?
c.	Were there any parallels of the Cold War experience to those of today?
d.	Collect questions to bring to the park visit.
Field Session in the Park
 
NPS staff, teachers, and chaperons guide students along the Nike Missile Site. Students are welcomed by the staff and provided with the basic safety rules. NPS rangers facilitates a short dialogue about issues inherent in the relationship between national security and personal freedom. Students consider how they each define safety. Working in small groups, students then conduct their own inquiry in designated areas of the Nike site. Students record their observations and inferences. They pose informational and critical thinking questions. The class then has the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with NPS staff. The programs end with an agree and disagree activity. Everyone must choose a side and one NPS staff acts a moderator as each side justifies their choice. Students may change sides during the discussion but can’t choose the middle. After the activity, staff close to program and encourage to come back and visit with their families. 
Time: 4 hour on-site from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Materials: 
•	Field Worksheet-NPS will provide. 
•	Clipboards-NPS will provide.
•	Nametags- NPS will provide.
•	Pencils-Please bring your own pencils.
•	Water-Please remind students to bring. 
•	Snacks-NPS will provide but students are encouraged to bring their own.  
Post-visit Activity 
 
This follow-up activity is designed to build upon the student experiences at the Marin Headlands. Students demonstrate what they learned during their national park experience. Please have students complete this activity. 
Students will show their learning by completing one of the following tasks:
•	Write a six-line haiku poem after examining primary and secondary sources that explain the dissenting views expressed by individuals and communities of United States’ national security policies during the Cold War.
•	Write an informative/explanatory summary in response to the question:  What were the socioeconomic impacts of the government’s policy of Mutually Assured Destruction?
•	Write an informative/ explanatory summary addressing the question: How is the examination of sacrifices made in opposition to U.S. national security policies during the Cold War relevant today? 
NPS staff will provide teachers with a postage-paid envelope for student post-activity reflections, to be completed by each student back at school, then mailed to us within 2 weeks. These reflections help us improve the program and get funding for buses.