Seton Catholic Central High School Mr. Monachino pmonachino@syrdiocese.org

October 1962: United States spy planes take photos of sites in Cuba where nuclear weapons are being built. President Kennedy brings together the top foreign policy minds and top notch students to advise him. Somehow, you get the phone call to come to Washington! Using the PPA (Public Policy Analyst) develop a recommendation for President Kennedy.

You are charged with developing a two page position paper where you develop your recommendation for the United States. Your paper should be two-four pages. (President Kennedy does not have time to read long papers; the missiles will be ready to launch in a matter of weeks.) In your paper you should: identify the problem, gather evidence of the problem, identify the causes of the problem, evaluate the solution of doing nothing, and finally develop a policy recommendation for President Kennedy.

Step 1: Defining the Problem

*Fill out this sheet to define what exactly the problem is with Cuba having nuclear weapons.

Step 2: Gathering Evidence of the Problem

*Fill out this sheet to gather evidence of Cuba having nuclear weapons. Be sure to gather information from many different sources.

Step 3: Identify the Causes

*Fill out this sheet to help you identify the major causes of missiles being put in Cuba

Step 4: Developing Solutions

*Fill out this sheet to help you develop three possible policy actions that you would recommend to President Kennedy

Step 5: Develop the Best Solution

*Fill out this sheet to help you decide which of your three policy actions would best fit the problem of missiles in Cuba.

Use the following resources to aid you in this process. Just using these resources is not enough for you to do the tasks. You will need to do additional research to complete tasks.

1. Pictures of weapons sites in Cuba taken by US planes

2. Video of US Ambassador to UN discussing weapon sites

3. Possible alternative policy actions

4. Cuban Missile Crisis Website

The following rubric will determine your grade for the paper.

TASK	POSSIBLE POINTS
Complete worksheets with each step	20
Paper identifies problem	5
Paper presents evidence of problem with proper citations	10
Paper identifies causes of problem	10
Paper evaluates current policy of doing nothing	10
Paper develops three possible actions	10
Paper develops the best solution	10
Paper is 2-4 pages	5
Uses proper grammar and punctuation	5
Student uses at least 5 resources and cites properly using MLA format	5
Paper presents a convincing argument for a specific policy action	10

President Kennedy is anxiously awaiting your recommendation using the PPA. Make sure you use proper sources to develop your position paper!

Social Studies

Standard 1: Uses a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the US and New York

English and Language Arts

Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation