No unit of study about the Cold War is complete without including the Cuban Missile Crisis. The latest TED-Ed lesson provides students with a five minute overview of the moments of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The History of the Cuban Missile Crisis explains why the Soviet Union wanted to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, the decisions that Kennedy and Khrushchev had to make, the compromise that ended the crisis, and how historians view the outcome of the crisis today.

Take a look at Keith Hughes’ work for a more in-depth video lesson about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

To The Brink is a free iPad app about the Cuban Missile Crisis. It offers more detail and media about the Cuban Missile Crisis than I’ve ever seen in a middle school or high school history textbook (print or digital). As a free app it is a resource that I highly recommend to middle school and high school history teachers.