by Mike Kubic
We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.
East German Man Receives Contest Prize 45 Years Later
- Joyce Grant
"East German Man Receives Contest Prize 45 Years Later" is a short news article that offers a brief history of the Berlin Wall.Pair “East German Man Receives Contest Prize 45 Years Later” with “The Berlin Wall” and have students discuss what life was like in East Germany, and why its leaders were so opposed to Western influences like pop music.
- Robert Frost
In Frost’s classic poem “Mending Wall,” a speaker contemplates the necessity of the dilapidated stone wall dividing his and his neighbor’s land.Pair “The Berlin Wall” with “Mending Wall” and have students discuss the meaning of boundaries between people, places, and ideas. What do walls represent?
The Marshall Plan
- Mike Kubic
“The Marshall Plan” explains the circumstances surrounding the eponymous proposal, which was designed to facilitate the economic and political growth of Europe following the extensive destruction caused by World War II.Pair "The Marshall Plan" with "The Berlin Wall" to help students better understand the United States and its Allies attempted to rebuild Europe after the end of World War II. Ask students to identify George Marshall's plan for Europe and how that vision was antithetical to the vision behind the creation of the Berlin Wall.
President Reagan's Speech at the Brandenburg Gate
- President Ronald Reagan
In “President Reagan’s Speech at the Brandenburg Gate”, President Ronald Reagan implores General Secretary Gorbachev to take down the Berlin Wall (“tear down this wall!”) and reunite East and West Germany.Pair “The Berlin Wall” with “President Reagan’s Speech at Brandenburg Gate” and ask students to apply the background information in the article to analyze Reagan’s important speech. How did the Berlin Wall play a larger role in the context of the Cold War between Russia and the United States. When Reagan demanded Gorbachev to “tear down the wall” in his speech, what larger message was he sending to communist Russia?