Curated OER
Japanese Haiku and the American Experience
Twelfth graders research the history to Haiku Poetry. They read classical haiku to comprehend their special sensibility and form. Students encounter the Buddhist philosophical background of this poetry and its roots. They write original...
Curated OER
On the Air
Young scholars explore the issue of race in television since the 1950's, focusing specifically on African-American entertainers. After researching important issues, events, and television personalities of specific decades, students...
Curated OER
Baby Boom and the Culture of the 1950's
Eleventh graders explain the causes, course, and consequences of the United States' role in World War II.
Sargent Art
Native American Storyteller Sculptures
The Cochiti Pueblo Indians make lovely dolls out of clay. These dolls are storytellers, just like the kids in your class. Have youngsters read, write, and investigate the origin and purpose of these great artifacts. Then have them use...
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.
Curated OER
Building Suburbia: Highways and Housing in Postwar America
Students 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. Students reveal how government policies,...
Curated OER
American Pop Icons
Students 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...
Curated OER
The Cold War in Popular Music
Learners 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...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the way...
Curated OER
Teaching Spanish Heritage in the Context of the Ancient Mediterranean
Students identify and interpret Spanish heritage, including the Mediterranean culture, language, history, trade, and migration. Following, they began an in-depth study of Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, and Rome and were able to make...
Brooklyn Museum
Lorna Simpson: Gathered
Lorna Simpson is a photographer who has put together a collection of photos from the 1950s in order to challenge the idea that primary source documents are objective in their portrayal of history. Learners are introduced to Ms. Simpson's...
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
Poetry Describing Ordinary Life
Students examine the cultural and historical context which a poem is written in or describes. For this poetry lesson, students listen to an online recording of Philip Larkin reading "The Whitsun Wedding." Students explore how the poem...
Curated OER
Expressions of Anti-Racism through Painting: The Puerto Rican Community from West Side Story to Connecticut
Students create a graffiti wall using their own name or personal symbol. They examine their own understanding of the film as a source of inspiration and listen to the music from the soundtrack as an effective motivation. They make...
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Lesson 2
Young scholars identify general business terms such as entrepreneur, corporation, marketing, demographic, promotion and distribution. They identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions.
Curated OER
Corner of the Carpet
Students examine the socioeconomic conditions in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1950's including the poverty and living condition of the blacks during this time by watching a documentary. They determine how these living conditions lead...
Curated OER
1950's Popular Culture
Students 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
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
Paul Robeson: The Renaissance Man
Students research the life of athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist, Paul Robeson. They answer the question, "Which was most important to American culture -Robeson's work as a scholar, a performer, an...
Curated OER
Albert Schweitzer: Darkness And Light
Learners view a documentary which examines the life and work of Albert Schweitzer. Specifically, it explores the controversy surrounding Schweitzer. Darkness and Light would be useful for classes on World History, African History and...
Curated OER
Joe DiMaggio: The Way it Was
Young scholars 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
Learners 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
Boomtime
Students view a short film about the rise of prosperity after World War II. They examine the role of status symbols and owning vehicles. They compare and contrast advertisements from the 1950's with those from the 1990's.