Curated OER
The 1950s:
Teens will get a kick out of this presentation, which provides a glimpse of the consumerism and rising pop culture of 1950's America. They will especially appreciate the discussion of "Teen culture" including the music of Elvis, the...
Curated OER
1950’s American Culture: Television, Fashion, and Music
Sixth graders investigate the impact of popular culture on Americans. In this 1950's America lesson, 6th graders view television clips, listen to audio clips, and  look over fashion photographs from the decade. Students then discuss...
Annenberg Foundation
Becoming Visible
The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...
Curated OER
Levittown, Automobiles, and Cultures of the 1950's
Young scholars investigate the impact of the automobile on Americans. In this 1950's America lesson, students listen to audio clips, read about Levittown, and explore the Interstate Highway Act from the decade. Young scholars then...
Curated OER
Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Life Since 1930
The King of Rock'n Roll, Twiggy, William Beveridge? Sounds like its time to review events occurring after 1930. Kids play this fun Millionaire-style game to review common knowledge British trivia. This game would be a fun challenge for...
Curated OER
Art: 1950s Art
Students explore art of the 1950s. In this art history lesson, students examine works by Kofman, Groky, deKooning, Indiana, Hamilson, and Warhol as they identify the attributes of Abstract Impressionism and pop art. Students sketch...
Curated OER
1950's Popular Culture
Young scholars gain a basic understanding of Capitalism and Communism, the ideologies that fueled the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Curated OER
American Pop Icons
Pupils analyze art and decide if the images are an attempt to celebrate or criticize American Popular Culture of the fifties and sixties and discuss how successful "Pop Art" mirrored society. Students also discuss the difference between...
Curated OER
The Cold War in Popular Music
Students analyze pop culture songs to identify cold war themes and chart. They comprehend and explain why the Cold War took place and ended and assess its significance as a 20th century event. Students conduct a song analysis of the...
Brooklyn Museum
Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968
What role did women play in pop art during the 1950s and 1960s? The class researches the role of women in mid-century America and how those roles were portrayed through the pop art of the time. They use an excellent set of guiding...
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 6
Students survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.
Curated OER
African Art: Ntan Drum
Students study African history, anthropology and culture using the lens of the art object, Ntan Drum. Lesson and instruction is differentiated for elementary, middle and high school students.
Curated OER
Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 6
Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.
Japan Society
Our Family and Other Families: Using Totoro to Teach Family Structure
What do families around the world have in common? Explore this theme through the popular animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. Over the course of two days, pupils view the film, pausing to discuss their own families and the...
Curated OER
Children's March Teacher's Guide, Activity 6
Learners see the role that different genders played in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham. They explain how popular culture influences them.
Curated OER
Building Suburbia: Highways and Housing in Postwar America
Learners determine how suburbs changed America. In this post World War II lesson, students complete research projects that require them to examine the growth of suburbs in the 1950's and 1960's. Learners reveal how government policies,...
Curated OER
Integrating Japanese Folk Tales into the Classroom Using Japanese Kamishibai
Students study Japanese folk tales focusing on the traditional values and key elements. They compare the Japanese values with their own. They discuss Japanese art before designing a set of kamishibai on which they write a summary of a...
Curated OER
Joe DiMaggio: The Way it Was
Students explore how "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" remains one of America's most beloved sports heroes and a cultural icon of the twentieth century. In 1941 Joe DiMaggio set a major league record that still stands; he safely hit in 56...
Curated OER
New York City: Passionate About Shakespeare
Students read passages from Shakespeare and have a Town Hall meeting in which they defend Shakespeare as part of American culture.
Curated OER
Folktales: Uncle Cricket, the Soothsayer Lesson Ideas
Students read the Nicaraguan folktale, "Uncle Cricket, the Soothsayer," prior to participating in various activities. Among the ideas presented here are completing story maps, analyzing characters, summarizing the plot, writing...
Curated OER
Women in Two Countries: Japan and America
Students explore the role of women in Japan and the United States during World War Two. They focus on women and the family and women and the workplace and the changes within each. Students create an informational brochure of women...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Pop Art Clay Portraits
Create the classic Andy Warhol mass-produced image using clay slabs. Explore the pop art movement using image transfer techniques. This project incorporates art history as well as multiple clay tools. The finished product is an...
Curated OER
20th Century American Art
See the changes, controversy, and innovations that define postwar American art. The onset of the modern art era in American history is well-defined in this slide-show. You'll see how Abstract Expressionism shifted into conceptual, pop,...
Curated OER
Modern Art Lesson Plans
Students explore the history and examples of Modern Art. In this Modern Art lesson plan, students read background information about Modern Art and a biography of Andy Warhol. Students complete a criticism and aesthetics, art creation...