Lesson Plans > Social Studies > American History > From the Depression to the New Millennium

	From the Depression to the New Millennium (17)
		1. The Great Depression
				American Life in the 1930s • High School  1 week Americans witnessed a drastic change in the 1930s. After the great crash in 1929, the age of Ballyhoo was transformed into the Great Depression. This lesson will introduce students to what life was like for many Americans who suffered trough this tragic era.
		2. The New Deal
				American Life in the 1930s • High School  1 week Americans witnessed a drastic change in the 1930s. After the great crash in 1929, the age of Ballyhoo was transformed into the Great Depression. This lesson will introduce students to what life was like for many Americans who suffered trough this tragic era.
			2b. Putting People Back to Work
				The Alphabet Agencies • High School  1 class period Students will explore the activities of FDR's New Deal agencies and project modern applications for such programs.
			2c. The Farming Problem
				The Alphabet Agencies • High School  1 class period Students will explore the activities of FDR's New Deal agencies and project modern applications for such programs.
			2e. FDR's Alphabet Soup
				The Alphabet Agencies • High School  1 class period Students will explore the activities of FDR's New Deal agencies and project modern applications for such programs.
		3. The Road to Pearl Harbor
				Isolation vs. Intervention: America in World War II • High School • Middle School  1-2 class periods The 1930s were tough and Americans were reluctant to get involved with foreign entanglements. Use this lesson to discuss the arguments for and against American entrance into World War II.
		4. America in the Second World War
				Talk About Propaganda! • High School • Middle School  1 class period Introduce the concept of propaganda with this creative and informative activity. Have students research forms of propaganda from the past and present and create their own posters to help sway public opinion in their class or school.
			4e. Japanese-American Internment
				America: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl? • High School  1-2 class periods America has always been referred to as the home of the free and the brave - a place where liberty comes first above all else. However, this inviting "melting pot" image can be challenged. Many insist that America is more of a “salad bowl” where cultures do not mix; instead they live as distinct factions within a foreign world.
			4g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb
				Dropping the Atomic Bomb • High School  1 class period The students will consider the political, military, and moral implications of the decision to use nuclear weapons to end the war with Japan. Students will review primary and secondary sources on the topic, and formulate and defend their own arguments for or against using the atomic bomb.
		5. Postwar Challenges
				A New Kind of War: The Cold War • High School  3 class periods Immediately following World War II the general feeling in America and around the world was relief and happiness. The newly found feelings of safety and power were quick to wane with the onset of a new type of war – The Cold War. This activity will help students discover the major causes of the Cold War and highlight events around the globe that were sparked as a result of Cold War fears.
		6. The 1950s: Happy Days
				iMovie Oral History Project: The 1950s • High School • Middle School  2 to 3 weeks The 1950s are remembered as an idyllic period in American history. Were they? In this Apple/Beyond Books unit, students explore American life in the 1950s through Beyond Books's "The 1950s: Happy Days," and then create an iMovie based on an oral interview with someone who lived during that period. Let the cameras roll!
				The Decade in Review: 1950s Newspaper Activity • High School • Middle School  3 - 4 days The decade of the 1950s brought about prosperity, technological change, and the American dream for many Americans. Communist hunters ruined others lives and the space race was roaring. Have students survey the "big" events of the decade by creating a newspaper covering all areas of interest.
		7. A New Civil Rights Movement
				Virtual Tour: Historic Sites of the Civil Rights Movement • High School • Middle School  1 class White supremacy ruled the nation until the middle of the 20th century. During the 1950s, a new Civil Rights Movement was born and the chains that bound African Americans began unlocking. Take students on a virtual tour of the many sites that played an important role in the fight for freedom.
			7g. The Long, Hot Summers
				Bridging the Racial Divide: The Kerner Commission Report, 1968 • High School  1 - 2 class periods (or as homework) Use this lesson to analyze the racial divide in America, then and now. Students will read more about the Kerner Commission's predictions for race relations in America and compare/contrast these predictions with what actually happened.
		8. The Vietnam War
				Lessons Learned: The Vietnam War • High School  1 week The Vietnam War was the longest war in American history. Many use its legacy as an example of the futility of war. Use this mini research project to create a poster exhibit in your class and to heighten student understanding of the war and its legacy.
		9. Politics from Camelot to Watergate
			9e. Lyndon Johnson's 'Great Society'
				Johnson's Great Society • High School  1 class period Lyndon Johnson's vision for America was grand. Use this lesson to introduce students to his domestic policy and investigate the ways he attempted to create a great society in America in the 1960s.
		10. Shaping a New America
			10a. Modern Feminism
				Others Demand Equality • High School  1 - 2 class periods The Civil Rights Movement did not consist of just African Americans. Other Americans continued to be oppressed well into the 1970s. Use this lesson to discover the crusades led by these groups and identify their goals and achievements.
				Modern Feminism • High School  1 class period-project done at home/after school What is feminism? Have students explore this topic and analyze the changes that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Then have students trace the events of the modern feminist movement and highlight the leaders in a project of their choice.
			10f. Others Demand Equality
				America: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl? • High School  1-2 class periods America has always been referred to as the home of the free and the brave - a place where liberty comes first above all else. However, this inviting "melting pot" image can be challenged. Many insist that America is more of a “salad bowl” where cultures do not mix; instead they live as distinct factions within a foreign world.
				Others Demand Equality • High School  1 - 2 class periods The Civil Rights Movement did not consist of just African Americans. Other Americans continued to be oppressed well into the 1970s. Use this lesson to discover the crusades led by these groups and identify their goals and achievements.
			10g. Student Activism
				Speaking Out: Student Activism • High School • Middle School  1 class period Students were elemental in turning the tide against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s. Use this lesson to show students how important activism was then and still is today.
		11. A Time of Malaise
			11a. Undoing a President
				The Scandals of the Nixon Era • High School  3 days - research can be done at home or in class Use Beyond Books to help uncover the scandals of the Nixon years. Use the links provided for articles, reflections, images, and current information regarding the events below that changed the nation. Each group of students will give a presentation on one topic.
		13. Toward a New Millennium
				America: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl? • High School  1-2 class periods America has always been referred to as the home of the free and the brave - a place where liberty comes first above all else. However, this inviting "melting pot" image can be challenged. Many insist that America is more of a “salad bowl” where cultures do not mix; instead they live as distinct factions within a foreign world.