What do the decades feel like?

VJ Day Crowd, 9/2/1945.

Crowded Classroom, Red Lake, ca. 1953.

Teaching the Lesson

Introduction

Recap yesterday's lesson with a group brainstorm.

Ask students to share their insights about the era they looked at during yesterday’s photo analysis. Make three era headings on the blackboard (1930’s, 1940’s, 1950’s). Hold up the pictures from the 1930s and ask students, "what mood did these people seem to be in?" Have them relate appropriate descriptive words such as, difficult, challenging, joyous, etc., based on their photo analysis. Repeat exercise with pictures from the 1940s and 50s. Ask students to brainstorm events, trends and names related to each decade and include these under each heading as well.

Procedure

• Collage Activity. Pair students by decade; each pair should feature two students who have read different narratives about the same decade. Distribute relevant outlines, photographs, and Decade "Collage" pages. Have students work together to create a "collage" to represent their decade. The collage should feature information from narratives, outlines and glossary. If time allows, students can add decorative elements to their collage to evoke some of the mood words they brainstormed during the introduction.

• Class Discussion. Following this activity, ask groups to share their answers- What did they think was the most important event and detail for each decade? Have them use their collage pages to support their answers. As students talk, add to the notes from the morning’s group brainstorm. Students may use the Organizer handout to record information about all three of the decades discussed.

Evaluation

Have each pair submit their collage for grading, use the attached Collage Rubric, if desired.

• Optional Assignment

Ask students to reflect upon the decades examined in class. What challenges might a teenager in the 1940s face that were different from those faced by modern teens? What challenges are the same? Write a 1-2 paragraph diary entry from the perspective of a teenager coming of age during the late thirties/early forties. Entry should include:

- Reference to at least one event we discussed

- A description of one challenge that is different from modern teenage life

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