“We Didn’t Start The Fire”
3rd Quarter Project
20% of your quarter average
Due Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Take the song and:
1. Write a one-page typed essay on “why it is important to study and
learn American History?”
2. Go to: http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm
This site will give you links to each of the people and events
described in the song. Read them, then summarize by taking
any five stanzas and write a one-sentence typed explanation
of who and/or what they were for EACH ITEM IN EACH
STANZA you choose. (Ex. of stanza-1949-Harry Truman,
Doris Day, Red China, Jonnie Ray, South Pacific, Walter
Winchell, Joe DiMaggio).
3. Create a PowerPoint slide for any one of the stanzas of the song
(any one you want)
4. Finish/Update the song
- The song goes up to 1989. A great deal has happened in the
27 years since the song was written. Make a typed list of 15
events and explain what the event/person was/did and why you
chose to put or include it/them.
PROJECT CHECKLIST
Done

ESSAY

Events/ People Summary

Power Point Slide

15 Events to Finish the Song
Your Project Will Be Graded On The Following Criteria:





On Time
Essay is thoroughly done and typed
Events/Descriptions are accurate
Power Point Slide is creative and original
The song update shows creativity and historical relevance
On the Due Date Tuesday, March 8, 2016, turn in the following items in
the order listed below:
1. The one-page “Importance of Studying American History” typed
essay.
2. The one-sentence typed explanation of who and/or what the events
were about from any FIVE stanzas.
3. The PowerPoint slide on any ONE stanza.
4. The typed list and explanation of the event/person you added to the
song.
NAME __________________________ PERIOD _________
SCORING RUBRIC
1. On Time
10 Points: _______
2. Essay is thoroughly done and typed
20 Points _______
3. Events/Descriptions are accurate
and are no more than 1-2 sentences
(typed)
20 Points _______
4. PowerPoint is creative and original
25 Points _______
5. The song update shows creativity
and historical relevance
25 Points _______
(typed and events are explained)
Total Score:
________
We Didn’t Start the Fire
49
50
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
51
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King and I and The Catcher in the Rye
52
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
CHORUS
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
53
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Block
54
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dancron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
55
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
56
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez
CHORUS
57
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge on the River Kwai
58
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide
59
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
60
U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, “Psycho”, Belgians in the Congo
CHORUS
61
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
62
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
63
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK blown away, what else do I have to say
CHORUS
64-89 Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, Punkrock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, Heavy Metal, Suicide
Foreign debts, Homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can’t take it anymore
CHORUS
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning on us
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...