This resource book provides 50 learning activities with background materials for teaching about tsarist Russia and the emergence of the Soviet Union. Use of literature, history, geography, primary sources, various learning strategies are all included. The lessons provide study of 19th and 20th century events to Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika. Many lesson plans reflect special requirements of the California History/Social Science Framework, which recommends the integration of literature, primary sources, and cooperative learning strategies. (EH)