This lesson introduces students to the ill-fated first mission of K-19, the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine. Students will learn that the United States and the Soviet Union stood on opposite sides of a conflict during a period of history known as the Cold War. They will locate the key points of K-19's journey on a map and consider the actions of crew members who risked their lives so that others might survive. Students will contemplate the reasons why the story of K-19 was kept secret until the end of the Cold War. They will conclude by writing a newspaper article about the submarine's accident at sea.

Geography, world history

Standard 13: "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"

Two hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the world, one for each student
• Wall map of the world
• Drawing materials

Students will

• discuss their understanding of submarines;
• consider the idea of conflict between countries and learn about the Cold War;
• use a map to locate the United States and the countries of the former Soviet Union;
• locate the key points of K-19's journey on a map;
• discuss the importance of the crew's actions; and
• write a newspaper article about the submarine's accident at sea.

Ask students to think about a time when they had a disagreement with a friend or a family member. What was the disagreement about? Did they fight with the other person, or did they resolve the issue by talking it through? Are they over it, or are they still mad? Do they think the issue might come up again?

Explain to students that countries have disagreements as well. Sometimes they are able to resolve their differences through talks or negotiations, but at other times, their disagreements result in war. Tell the students about the Cold War—a recent period of history when the United States and the Soviet Union were on opposite sides of a conflict. This conflict lasted for about forty-five years (from the end of WWII to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991). Inform them that this period is called the Cold War because, while each side prepared for war against the other, no direct fighting between the two ever actually took place.

Introduce the submarine. What is it? What does it do? Tell students that both the United States and the Soviet Union saw the submarine as a means to defend their territory in the event of war. Inform them that they are going to spend some time considering the journey of a submarine known as K-19.

Show the class this diagram of a submarine with the main parts labeled: the hull, ballast tanks, sail, propeller, and periscope. Then have them look at the pictures of different submarines on the National Geographic K-19 Web site to give students an idea of what submarines look like in the water.

Distribute blank world outline maps to the class. Then, with the help of a world wall map, have students locate the United States and the countries that make up the former Soviet Union. Ask students to use two different colors to outline or fill in the opposing sides on their maps.

Inform students that both sides felt so threatened by the other's beliefs that they prepared for war. Their preparation became a race, in which each side tried to outdo the other. Part of this race included the United States and the Soviet Union's efforts to build more and more sophisticated submarines to protect their countries by sea. The name of the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine was K-19.

Read excerpts from "1958-60: The Construction of K-19," the first section of K-19: The History, to give students an idea of the sub's importance to the Soviet Union. Then, guide students through the remaining sections. As they work through the sections, ask the students to note the points of K-19's journey on their outline maps. Have them label the points with details, such as the date, time, name of location, and the event that took place there.

Finally, discuss the importance of the submarine crew's actions in risking their lives so that others might survive.

• Do the students think the crew members were brave?
• Were they scared?
• What do the students think would have happened to the submarine if those eight crew members had not given their lives to fix the problem?

Inform students that while we can now look back and see the importance of the crew's actions, Soviet officials kept the story of K-19 secret during the Cold War. They did not want anyone, particularly the United States, to know that K-19 had experienced a disaster at sea.

Ask students to think about the reasons the Soviets kept the K-19 incident secret. What would the United States have thought if K-19's story had been revealed?

Since the facts about K-19 are no longer secret, have students write a short article for a local newspaper describing the submarine's accident. To structure their article, have them answer the questions: who, what, where, when, and why.

Ask them to conclude their article by finishing the following sentence: "The story of K-19 is no longer a secret because…"

K-19 was not the only submarine accident that occurred during the Cold War's forty-five year history. During this period of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, five nuclear-powered submarines sank as a result of accidents at sea and remain at the bottom of the ocean. A number of others experienced accidents but managed to return home.

Have students review other major sub disasters on the K-19 Web site. Provide them with a new map, and have them mark the positions of the five nuclear-powered submarines that rest on the sea floor. Ask them to label these locations with the submarine's name, country, cause of accident, and the date it sank. Students will see that both sides were affected by accidents. Remind them that none of these submarines sank as a result of combat.

Considering the losses incurred by both sides as a result of accidents, ask students to brainstorm ideas for a more effective means of conflict resolution. Was it necessary to build all of those submarines? What could have been done to resolve the conflict without having to prepare for war?

For a list of resources exploring the events of the Cold War, visit CNN's Cold War: Knowledge Bank.

CNN Interactive: Cold War
National Geographic: K-19 and Other Subs in Peril
Office of Naval Research: Blow the Ballast!