I was directed by a colleague to a great (free) lesson on Teachers Pay Teachers for helping students understand what the Cold War was. You can find it here:

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cold-War-Student-Performances-340138 

In my class, I used the provided lesson, but adjusted it for some of my classes. I had all students create a presentation, but only had some of them present. All students turned in their presentations, though.