Humanities Team Building Activity
Objective: This activity is intended to introduce students to topics that will be covered in their Humanities courses. It
is also a team building activity intended to introduce the protocols of working with their classmates in the Humanities
Pathway.
Description of the activity: This activity is intended to be done the first week of school as team building activity.
Students are placed randomly into teams of 4-5 students. They are given a long string to represent the timeline as
well as packet with dates and important events in US History. Working as a team using only their prior knowledge,
teams are to put the events in order on the timeline.
Materials:
 Copies of events and dates. Each copied on a different color paper and cut into strips.
 Piece of string to mark the timeline
 Copy of the answer key
The Activity:
1. Introduce the activity to students. Today we will be testing to see how much you already know about the
history of the United States in terms of historical events, musical events, and events in art and literature.
2. Randomly assign students to teams
3. Pass out the materials.
4. Give students 15 minutes to put the events on the timeline
5. Review the answers with the class.
6. Ask each team to return to their seats; sitting together
7. Have each team fill out the Team building reflection sheet
8. Review the answers with the class. Use this time to discuss team work protocols and expectations. (I use this
time to show how to make a good team, which means that all students can stack their hands in a tower. This
shows me that they are ready to work together.)
Timeline Activity Directions
1. Place your string along the ground, so that it forms a timeline.
2. Put the dates in order on time line from earliest to latest.
3. Place the events in order along the timeline; for books use the publication date. You may use only your prior
knowledge, no cheating!
4. In some cases there will be several events in a given time frame (ex: more than one event took place between
1900-1920)
Timeline Activity Directions
1. Place your string along the ground, so that it forms a timeline.
2. Put the dates in order on time line from earliest to latest
3. Place the events in order along the timeline; for books use the publication date. You may use only your prior
knowledge, no cheating!
4. In some cases there will be several events in a given time frame (ex: more than one event took place between
1900-1920)
Timeline Activity Directions
1. Place your string along the ground, so that it forms a timeline.
2. Put the dates in order on time line from earliest to latest
3. Place the events in order along the timeline; for books use the publication date. You may use only your prior
knowledge, no cheating!
4. In some cases there will be several events in a given time frame (ex: more than one event took place between
1900-1920)
Timeline Activity Directions
1. Place your string along the ground, so that it forms a timeline.
2. Put the dates in order on time line from earliest to latest
3. Place the events in order along the timeline; for books use the publication date. You may use only your prior
knowledge, no cheating!
4. In some cases there will be several events in a given time frame (ex: more than one event took place between
1900-1920)
Timeline Activity Directions
1. Place your string along the ground, so that it forms a timeline.
2. Put the dates in order on time line from earliest to latest
3. Place the events in order along the timeline; for books use the publication date. You may use only your prior
knowledge, no cheating!
4. In some cases there will be several events in a given time frame (ex: more than one event took place between
1900-1920)
Historical Events in US History
The treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War
Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Territory from
Napoleon
The Indian Removal Act moves eastern Indians west of
Mississippi and begins the “Trail of Tears.”
The First Gulf War begins.
The Civil War ends and Lincoln is assassinated.
The Spanish American War begins.
18th Amendment prohibits alcohol.
The Empire of Japan attacks the US Navy at Pearl Harbor.
Hawaii and Alaska become states.
California becomes a state.
Musical Events in US History
Elvis Presley performs on the Ed Sullivan Show
The Woodstock Concert Festival: 3 Days of “Peace” and
“Music” takes place on a farm in New York.
The Maple Leaf Rag, a famous ragtime song by Scott
Joplin, became the first instrumental piece to sell over one
million copies of sheet music
Marion Anderson, an African-American singer, performed
at an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, D.C. despite being rejected by
the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The B
eatles leads the "British invasion"
The Beatles' song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a
sensation, igniting the immense popularity of British
groups, known as the "British invasion".
Famous jazz singer Bessie Smith made her first recording,
“Down Hearted Blues,” which became a huge success.
Originally a poem titled "Defense of Fort McHenry," the
lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner are written by an
amateur poet named Francis Scott Key after witnessing the
bombardment of Fort McHenry.
British soldiers sing "Yankee Doodle" to mock colonists;
Americans adopt it as their own tune.
The recording of the fiddle tune "Sally Goodin'" becomes
the first commercial recording of traditional American
country music.
Michael Jackson releases the album "Thriller," which ties
with Eagles' "Their Greatest Hits" as the best selling album
in history.
Art Events in US History
Frank Lloyd Wright creates the “Prairie Style,” a
modernist aesthetic for architecture and design.
The International Exposition of Modern Art is held in NY
and introduces Americans to the modernist work of
Matisse, Kandinsky, Brancusi, Picasso, and others.
Andy Warhol paints Campbell’s Soup Cans, a key work of
the Pop Art movement.
The federal government launches the Works Progress
Administration (WPA), which, like other New Deal
programs, provides employment for artists.
Jackson Pollack begins using his famous 'drip' technique
of painting.
Edward Hopper paints Nighthawks an iconic depiction of
loneliness and isolation in contemporary American life.
Washington Crossing the Delaware an oil-on-canvas
painting by German American Artist Emanuel Leutze is
painted in commemoration of Washington's crossing of
the Delaware during the American Revolutionary War.
Eleven West Coast photographers, including Ansel Adams
hold an exhibition in San Francisco of “pure” photography
that captures the world “as it is.”
Harlem Renaissance Painter Jacob Lawrence mounts a 60painting exhibition, "Migration of the Negro," that depicts
the migration of southern blacks to northern cities.
American Literature: Timeline of important publishing dates.
The Crucible
by Henry Miller
Necessary to Protect Ourselves an interview with Malcolm X
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathon
Edwards
The Narrative of a the Life of a Slave by Fredric Douglas
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (born
Samuel Clemens)
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (who is related to
Francis Scott Keyes!)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Timeline Dates
1750
1780
1800
1815
1830
1850
1870
1900
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Timeline Answer Key
1741- Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jon Edwards
1775-Yankee Doodle
1783-Treaty of Paris
1803-Louisianna Purchase
1814-Star Spangled Banner
1830-Indian Removal Act
1839-The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe
1845-The Narrative of a the Life of a Slave by Fredric Douglass
1850-California becomes a state
1865-Civil War ends
1885-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
1898-Spanish American War begins
1899-Maple Leaf Rag
1900- Frank Lloyd Wright
1920-18th Amendment
1922-country music recording
1923-Bessie Smith
1925-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1929- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
1932-Ansel Adams
1935-WPA
1939- Marion Anderson performs & The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1940-Jacob Lawrence
1942-Edward Hopper
1947-Jackson Pollock
1953-The Crucible by Arthur Miller
1956-Elvis on Ed Sullivan & Howl by Allen Ginsberg
1951-The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
1959-Alaska and Hawaii become states
1962- Andy Warhol
1964-Beatles
1965-Necessary to Protect Ourselves Malcolm X
1969-Woodstock
1983-Michael Jackson
1990-First Gulf War
Timeline Activity Reflection
1. Before you began did you learn the names of all your group members?
2. Did you read the directions as a group?
3. Did you work as a team? Was there a leader?
4. Did everyone participate?
5. What grade would you give your team?
Timeline Activity Reflection
1. Before you began did you learn the names of all your group members?
2. Did you read the directions as a group?
3. Did you work as a team? Was there a leader?
4. Did everyone participate?
5. What grade would you give your team?
Timeline Activity Reflection
1. Before you began did you learn the names of all your group members?
2. Did you read the directions as a group?
3. Did you work as a team? Was there a leader?
4. Did everyone participate?
5. What grade would you give your team?