Postwar America was rife with social upheaval, rich culture, political assassinations, wars, and radical changes. Many of these changes happened during and around the decade of the 60’s. The purpose of this text-set is to introduce students to the era and examine some of the crucial events that continue to influence American culture to this day. In fulfillment of the South Carolina Curriculum Standard USHC-7.6
"Analyze the causes and consequences of social and cultural changes in postwar
America, including educational programs, the consumer culture and expanding suburbanization, the advances in medical and agricultural technology that led to changes in the standard of living and demographic patterns, and the roles of women in American society," students will become nuanced with the major political, social and economic events in and around the 1960’s.
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Cole, Nancy. (2005). Am I a color too? Bellevue, WA. Illumination Arts.
Summary
The book is told through the eyes of a young boy, Tyler, who wonders why people focus more on skin color than on the traits and values we share as human beings.
Hearing people referred to as certain colors, he asked his grandmother the stirring question, “Am I a color?” His innocent observations remind and inspire us to treasure every person, regardless of outward appearances - a universal message that touches readers of all ages. The book culminates with the verse,
“I am a Human Being,
Not a color, not a word.
I have my hopes and dreams
And a voice that will be heard.
My dad, my mom, and me,
Black, White, and…
Am I a color too?
No, my name is Tyler.
I’m a person just like you.”
Commentary
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This book has beautifully illustrated pictures in a collage that aim to show the diversity in all people. The message in this book simplifies Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream that children will “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” MLK was one of the pivotal figures that led the Civil Rights Movement for racial equality during the
1960’s. Teachers can use this book to examine race relations of today and how they may have changed from the 60’s. It can also be used as a read aloud to introduce them to issues of race and identity that the country struggled with during this time.
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Woodson, Jacqueline. (2001). The other side. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Summary
A little girl named Clover has always wondered why a fence separates the black side of town from the white side. But this summer when Annie, a white girl from the other side, begins to sit on the fence, Clover grows more curious about the reason why the fence is there and about the daring girl who sits on it, rain or shine. And one day, feeling very brave, Clover approaches Annie. The book continues with the girls making friends and sitting on the fence together as their parents told them not to go on the other side of the fence.
Commentary
Beautifully rendered and lifelike watercolor illustrations provide a moving lyrical narrative told in the hopeful voice of a child confused about the racial tension that divides her world. These pictures can give visual learners a concrete example of racial segregation. A black child and a white child physically separated by an obvious barrier can serve to drive the point of segregation home. This book can be used to give students an example of interactions between white and black people in the 1960’s American South. A quick read aloud at the beginning of the class can
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segue into a discussion of race relations. The book can be used to introduce Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court case that ended racial segregation in schools.
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Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2010). Sit-in how four friends stood up by sitting down. New
York: Little, Brown and Company.
Summary
Courageously defying the “whites only” edict of the era, four young black men took a stand against the injustice of segregation in America by sitting down at the lunch counter of a Woolworth’s department store. Countless others of all races soon joined the cause following Dr. Martin Luther King’s powerful words of peaceful protest. By sitting down together, they stood up for civil rights and created the perfect recipe for integration not only at the counter but on buses and in communities through the South.
Commentary
This beautifully illustrated book can be used to show how some factions of the Civil
Rights Movement gained attention through peaceful protest. Sit-ins were a popular method advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King. His famous words, “We must meet hate with love. Violence with nonviolence” and “Be loving enough to absorb evil,” are highlighted throughout the book. The book also has a timeline of the Civil Rights
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Movement from which a class can draw information and discuss. This book can be used to summarize the actions taken by MLK during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Lorbiecki, Marybeth. (1998). Sister Anne’s hands. New York: Dail Books.
Summary
In small-town America in the early 1960’s, Sister Anne comes to teach at Anna’s school. From the first day of second grade, Sister Anne lights up the classroom. Then someone sails a paper airplane past Sister Anne’s head, with an ugly message written on the wings.
“Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Don’t let Sister Anne
Get any black on you.”
Poetic and filled with luminous paintings, this story is about how a teacher can change a child’s life. This book is based on one of the author’s own childhood experiences, so it has that rare emotion that make for the most memorable stories.
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Commentary
This book can be used to further illustrate race relations and tensions present in the
1960’s. A schoolgirl named Anna has a black teacher and while other students and parents may not like the idea, Anna sees only a teacher that loves and cares for her.
Many wealthy white families in the south had black women as housemaids. These women often raised the white children in the household. This book can be used to spark debate on the ideas of integration vs. segregation and for students to see the inherent inequality and hypocrisy in the separate but equal mentality. Like other picture books, this book can be used as a read aloud at the beginning of the class to initiate discussion.
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Myers, Walter Dean. (2002). Patrol an American soldier in Vietnam. Hong Kong:
Haper Collins Publishers.
Summary
A young American soldier waits for his enemy, rifle in hand, finger on the trigger. He is afraid to move and yet afraid not to move. Gunshots crackle in the still air. The soldier fires blindly into the distant trees at an unseen enemy. He crouches and waits- heart pounding, tense and trembling, biting back tears. When will it all be over? The story takes readers into the heart and mind of a young soldier in an alien land who comes face-to-face with the enemy. The story is an unforgettable portrait that captures the haunting experiences of war.
Commentary
This beautiful picture book brilliantly illustrates the frustrations felt by many
American soldiers during the war. It gives an account of a soldier tired from marching in the sweltering heat and perils of the jungle. The pictures and choice of words can make students sympathize with and feel what a soldier in the Vietnam
War may have gone through. The book ends with, “I write a letter to someone I love.
I wonder if my enemy is writing a letter. I am so tired. I am so very tired of this war.”
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The book does not glorify the war but it shows the unpopularity and low moral many soldiers experienced. This book can be used to open up discussion on what the students know about the war. They may share experiences they know from family member that may have served in the Vietnam War or even the Iraq War. This book can also encourage students to learn more about the war by interview a war veteran.
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White, Ellen Emerson. (2002). Where have all the flowers gone? The diary of Molly
Mackenzie Flaherty. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Summary
At 15 Molly Flaherty is a typical teenage girl in many ways. She enjoys high school, attends parties, and swoons over rock stars like Jim Morrison of the Doors. She has a crush on a cute boy in her class, and can't wait to turn 16 and get her driver's license. She dreams of attending college and becoming a veterinarian. But like many teenagers growing up in America in the '60s, she also worries about Communism, the threat of nuclear war, and the constant racial conflicts. Most of all, she fears for her older brother, Patrick because of the Vietnam War. Molly isn't sure how she feels about the Vietnam War, and the divided opinions of her friends and classmates only make her more confused.
Commentary
This book gives an excellent fictional account of a turbulent era in America and provides an excellent overview of the many emotional and political issues that affected an entire generation of young people. Molly's diary, detailing the historic
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events that came to a head around 1968, will give readers an appreciation for why this whole decade became such a turning point in American history. This text may be more appealing to the female members in the class since it is a diary that a young girl keeps. While her brother sends letters home to his parents, she keeps a secret correspondence with him as he details the more horrific sides to the war. The strength and courage displayed by Molly may be felt by students if they have a family member serving or that has served in war. Excerpts can be read by or to the class in order to spark discussion and for students to peer into what youth like them may have felt during this time.
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Curtis, Christopher Paul. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963. New York:
Random House
Summary
The Watson family consists of ten-year-old Kenny, his little sister Joetta, his big brother Byron, Mom, and Dad. Byron is a bit of a trouble maker and is described as an “official juvenile delinquent.” Mom and Dad decide it’s time to visit Grandma in
Birmingham, Alabama so that Byron can get his act together. They will stay there for the entire year if he cannot behave by the end of the summer. Hilarity ensues as the family takes a road trip to the South. However, things take a drastic turn as they head to one of the darkest moments in America’s history.
Commentary
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and recipient of a Newberry Honor, this book plunges readers into one of the most pivotal events in the Civil Rights
Movement, the 16 th street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. This event made national and international headlines as four young girls died and many others were injured from the bombing by the Ku Klux Klan. Students will be
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introduced to the gravity of the situation and discuss the reactions by city officials, the black and white community as well as by MLK. Through excerpts in the book, students can see the love and compassion of a black family in the face of such hatred during such a tumultuous time in American history.
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Crum, Shutta. (2003). Spitting image. New York: Clarion Books.
Summary
The book is about Jessie, a twelve-year-old girl from a poor family living in smalltown Kentucky during the mid-1960’s. Jessie has a lot on her mind including just who her father is. She also wants to raise money to buy her friend new glasses. She must stay out of trouble and avoid her grandmother during her turbulent summer.
When a volunteer from the president’s War on Poverty shows up, she is delighted to know that they can get assistance for her developmentally delayed younger brother.
However, she is mortified after reporters show her and her town in living in squalor.
Violence, moonshining, snake handling, rape, and racial tensions make this book a worthwhile read.
Commentary
This book is told from the point of view of a working poor white family during the
1960’s. It is during this time that President Lyndon B. Johnson outlines his plan for a
“Great Society” and declares a “War on Poverty.” This led to Congress to pass the
Economic Opportunity Act granting assistance to poor families. Through excerpts in
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this book, students will gain insight on how poor some families, white and black, were during this decade of upheaval. This book can be used to initiate debate and conversation on the topic of a welfare state and public assistance. Students will see the importance of public services and volunteering in their community.
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Crew, Linda. (1997). Long time passing. New York: Delacorte Press.
Summary
Outspoken and independent, Kathy jumps feet first into her sophomore year in high school and is determined to find a way to stand out. Rally girl, folksinger, artist, actress, writer—Kathy tries them all. She’s wants to find her true talent, and her true love. She knows that a lot is happening in the world beyond her small Oregon town. Bombings in Vietnam, war protests in America, assassinations, and the Civil
Rights Movement. Flower Power is happening too, and drugs and acid rock, and kids running away to be hippies. She’s determined to start living her life now.
Commentary
This book gives excellent insight into how many of the youth today view the 1960’s.
Sex, drugs, rock and roll, and hippies were some of the many indulgences the youth of the 1960’s absorbed. This book shows more of a cultural side of the era. The sexual revolution, women’s rights, and feminism all came to the forefront of the
American psyche during this time. This coming of age novel will undoubtedly stir up interest from students not too different than Kathy.
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Wiles, Deborah. (2010) Countdown. New York: Scholastic Press.
Summary
Franny Chapman just wants some peace. But that’s hard to get when you are a young girl with family issues. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall. It’s 1962, and it seems that the whole country is living in fear.
When President Kennedy goes on television to say that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba, it only gets worse. Franny doesn’t know how to deal with what’s going on in the world—no more than she knows how to deal with what’s going on with her family and friends. But somehow she’s got to make it through.
Commentary
This is a very unique book filled with historical pictures, slogans, and quotes from the era. Countdown will give students crucial insight on what it was like to live during one of the most danger events of the Cold War. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest America and Russia came to nuclear war. Students will be introduced to some of the war propaganda and campaigns during the era. Families building bomb shelters and stocking up on supplies, James Bond movies, and the government
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policy of M.A.D. Students will discuss the repercussions this event had on the world and debate the pros and cons of nuclear weapons, nuclear proliferation and policy.
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Friedan, Betty. (1963). The feminine mystique. New York: W.W. Norton and Co.
Summary
In this book, Friedan discusses her discovery of a problem that had formed within post-World War II society that she calls, "the problem that has no name." The problem stemmed from the growing expectation that women in American society should enjoy the benefits provided by the new, modern, time-saving appliances and thus make their role in society exclusively based on maintaining their home, pleasing their husbands, and raising their children. In this book, Friedan examines and confronts the stay-at-home mom role for women. By doing so, Friedan awakens renewed discussion about roles for women in society and this book becomes credited as one of the major influences of second-wave feminism.
1
Commentary
Through this book, students will see how women’s rights was just as important and
1 http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/femininemystiq.htm
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at the forefront in American history as the Civil Rights Movement. President
Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and President Johnson signed the Civil
Rights Act of 1964thus baring discrimination based on race and sex. Students will use this book to examine why these ruling came during this time and the impact they had and continue to have. Students will compare and contrast the role or women then and now to see if equality between the sexes has been achieved.
Students will engage in lively discussion and debate on issues regarding gender roles. This book should largely spark the interest of female students.
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Carson, Rachel. (1962). Silent spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Summary
First published in the United States in 1962, this book surveys mounting evidence that widespread pesticide use, specifically DDT, endangers both wildlife and humans. DDT, the most powerful pesticide the world had ever known, exposed nature's vulnerability. Unlike most pesticides, whose effectiveness is limited to destroying one or two types of insects, DDT was capable of killing hundreds of different kinds at once . The book meticulously described how DDT entered the food chain and accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, including human beings, and caused cancer and genetic damage. A single application on a crop, she wrote, killed insects for weeks and months, and not only the targeted insects but countless more, and remained toxic in the environment even after it was diluted by rainwater.
Largely as a result of this book, DDT was banned in 1972 .
2
Commentary
2 http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp
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This book is widely considered to have launched the modern environmentalist movement. As the public became more aware of environmental issues such as air and water pollution, radiation, and the dangers of pesticides, activists began mobilizing and calling for change. Students will use this book as a base to examine and follow the rise of the environmentalist movement that continues to this day.
Students will discuss and debate the pros and cons of environmental protection and conservation. Students will also be able to study the history of the chemical DDT and advancements in agricultural technology that led to changes in the standard of living.
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Duncan, Donald. (1967). The new legions. New York: Random House.
Summary
After eighteen months of arduous and dangerous service with the Green Berets in
Vietnam—and over a decade in the U.S. Army—Donald Duncan turned down a battlefield commission and resigned from the service. He went to Vietnam fully backing the government’s stand there. Yet he came back home and spoke out against it. Why? Through his experiences, Duncan argues that the whole of American military and political policy is wrong. He warns that our actions are not stopping communism but making communists, not preserving freedom or ending the war but continually increasing the power of the American military establishment.
Commentary
One of the defining events of the post-war era from the 60’s to the 70’s was the
Vietnam War. This book gives a very anti-war, anti-American military perspective to the overall study of the conflict. Using this source, students will compare and contrast this memoir with other memoirs in order to try and understand the polar sentiment that the Vietnam War created on the battlefield as well as back in
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America. Students will study about the military draft, reasons we went to war and why the war was so unpopular. Students can then debate the policies of the government at the time. It may be a fun exercise to have a mock debate pitting draft dodgers against soldiers.
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Caputo, Philip. (1977). A rumor of war. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Summary
In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenant Philip J. Caputo landed at Danang with the first ground combat unit committed to fight in Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern history’s ugliest wars, he returned home— physically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone. A decade after leaving Vietnam, Caputo wrote this book, which he said was “simply a story about war, about the things men do in war and the things war does to them.”
Upon its publication in 1977, it shattered America’s indifference to the fate of the men sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam.
Commentary
This memoir serves to be compared with the previous one. This memoir initially paints a picture of war as something splendid. That the men of his generation where inspired by Kennedy’s Camelot. He took the President’s challenge, “ask what you can do for your country” literally. Caputo states that he was fascinated with war and that
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he joined in order to kill someone. Students will examine excerpts from both memoirs and compare them and their respected arguments.
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Haley, A., & X, M. (1964) The autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Random House.
Summary
If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of
African-Americans in the 1960’s, that man was Malcolm X. His autobiography is not an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about race and racism in our times. This book is the result of a unique collaboration between Alex Haley and Malcolm X, whose voice and philosophy resonate from every page, just as his experience and his intelligence continue to speak to millions on the greatest issue of our day: the ongoing African-American struggle for social and economic equality.
Commentary
This is quite possible my favorite book. I could talk for weeks about the life and philosophies of Malcolm X. Much of the study of the Civil Rights Movement is focused on the non-violent tactics used by MLK and his promotion of integration.
This is in stark contrast to the early views of Malcolm X who viewed complete and
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utter segregation as the key to the success of African-Americans. Reading the autobiography, students will become nuanced with Malcolm X and see the evolution of his views. Student will compare and contrast the philosophies and tactics used by both Malcolm X and MLK. It would be a fun exercise to have students role play each side and debate the pros and cons of integration vs. segregation.
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From Slavery to Civil Rights: A Timeline of African-American History. Retrieved
March 9, 2012, from the Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/pres entations/civil-rights/
Summary
This website provides a timeline of African-American history complete with various pictures, letters, pamphlets, drawings, interviews, excerpts from books, maps, periodicals, and music.
Commentary
Since students are studying the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, it will be worthwhile to review the history of African-Americans and the challenges they have faced throughout the history of America. In doing so, students will gain insight and
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understand why it was necessary for the government to enact and enforce laws on equality and justice for every citizen. Students will analyze the pamphlet entitled,
“Black Like Me” where they will discuss the experience of a white man that disguises himself as a black and goes through the Deep South in 1959. Students will compare this experience with similar modern day experiments carried out by comedian and journalists. It may be interesting if students disguise themselves in a race other than their own to feel what it may be like to be seen as someone else.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson’s commencement address at Ohio University in Athens,
Ohio May 7, 1964. Retrieved March 9, 2012, from The American Presidency Project website: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26225#axzz1p0XW9YRb
Summary
This website has the text for President Johnson’s commencement address to the graduating class of 1964 from Ohio University. President Johnson mentions his plan for the Great Society for the first time in this speech. "And with your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build the Great Society. It is a Society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled."
Commentary
President Johnson’s plan for the Great Society included a series of domestic policies designed to assist poor American families. Laws were passed to extend the Food
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Stamp Program, to expand consumer protection, to improve safety standards, to train health professionals, to assist handicapped Americans, and to further urban programs.
3 Students will examine the speech and later speeches on the Great
Society to understand the extent of the program and how it continues to this day.
Many programs that schools and communities still run started with the Great
Society. It would be worthwhile for students to know where they came from and how they were enacted. Students will also debate the pros and cons of public assistance and welfare.
3
M.J. Heale, (2001) The sixties in america: history, politics, and protest . Dearborn, MI: Fitzroy
Dearborn Publishers.
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SMART Board lesson on The Kennedy and Johnson Years. Retrieved March 11, 2012 from the SMART Exchange website: http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=a6ae1af7-7eca-41f8-9268-
30066680048a
Summary
This website has thousands of lessons on various subjects that teachers can download and use directly on their SMART Boards. This particular lesson summarizes the presidency of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, complete with interactive tables and activities. It is suitable for grades 9-12. It covers topics from The New Frontier, The Great Society, Civil Rights, and Vietnam.
Commentary
Teachers can use this source as a quick review of the main political, social and economic policies of the 1960’s. It would be good to go over this at the end of the
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unit in order to recap everything the students have learned. This SMART Board lesson comes with a quiz at the end to test their knowledge. Teachers can even use this at the beginning of the unit to introduce the main events of the era and then go into depth using other sources. Writing exercises can be used where students reflect on what they knew about the era before and after viewing the SMART Board lesson or after going through the entire unit.
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Excerpted from a Commencement Address by Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson to the graduating class of 1955 from Smith College. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from the
American Civil Rights Review document archive website: http://www.americancivilrightsreview.com/docsstevensononwomensplace(1955).htm
Summary
Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson was selected to address the graduating class of
1955 from Smith College, an all female institution in Northampton, Massachusetts.
In the speech, Governor Stevenson advises women of their place in society. “This assignment for you, as wives and mothers, has great advantages….In modern
America the home is not the boundary of a woman's life. There are outside activities aplenty. But even more important is the fact, surely, that what you have learned and
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can learn will, fit you for the primary task of making homes and whole human beings in whom the rational values of freedom, tolerance, charity and free inquiry can take root.”
Commentary
This primary source will undoubtedly be of interests to students and elicit strong feelings and opinions. It would be interesting to have students choose sides in a male vs. female debate on this topic. Using the previous primary source, The
Feminine Mystique, students can formulate counter arguments and conduct a mock debate on gender roles. Student will be interested to know that the author of The
Feminine Mystique is a graduate of Smith College. Students will gain knowledge on the sexism present in American society during this time.
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The Lively Morgue, a collection of pictures from The New York Times. Retrieved
March 10, 2012, from an individual’s personal Tumblr blog: http://livelymorgue.tumblr.com/tagged/1960s
Summary
This website is a blog on the Tumblr website. Blogs are essentially personal journals published online. This particular blog collects images from the vast archive of The
New York Times. The focus here is on their 1960’s section. The pictures used are of everyday common people doing common things or the era.
Commentary
Teachers can use this source to display what the average person did in the 1960’s.
The pictures included are of a horse race, a baseball game, a fashion model and a woman watching a ticker tape parade for the Apollo 11 crew in New York City. This
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source is different from the others as they are no pictures or texts of any official documents nor do they include any celebrities or politicians. They are of everyday people doing everyday things. Students will gain insight and see that to some extent, the average person lived much like they do now. This can serve to convey to the students that the era was not an ancient time where their grandparents lived but a lively time in American history filled with important societal, political and economic events, the consequences of which reverberate to this day.
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Presley, Elvis. (1969). In the ghetto. RCA Records.
Summary
This song was a major hit for Elvis Presley that highlighted the cycle of poverty in a
Chicago ghetto. The song serves as a narrative of generational poverty. A baby boy is born to a mother that already has many children that she cannot afford to feed. The boy grows up hungry and learns how to steal and fight. He buys a gun and steals a car resulting in a chase and eventual shot and killed by the police on the same night his own son is born.
Commentary
Elvis Presley was a rock and roll icon from the 1950’s and his fame and fan base continued even after his death in 1977. He inspired and entertained millions of fans worldwide. This particular song serves to introduce students to Elvis as well as how art can be used as a narrative for social issues. Students will examine the lyrics of the song and relate the verses to the poverty in America during the 1960’s. Students can also relate the song to generational poverty that persists to this day.
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Weiner, Matthew. (Executive Producer). (2011) Mad men (television series) New
York. American Movie Classics.
Summary
Mad Men is a television show set in the 1960’s. The show revolves around Donald
Draper, an executive at a fictional advertising agency in New York City, and the people in his life both in and outside of the office. The show regularly depicts the changing moods and social mores of the 1960’s. The show has received critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity and visual style and won fifteen
Emmy’s and four Golden Globes.
Commentary
Mad Men depicts parts of American society and culture of the 1960’s highlighting themes such as cigarette smoking, drinking, sexism, feminism, adultery, homophobia and racism. The characters in the show experience important historical events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the death of Marilyn Monroe, and the assassination of President Kennedy. Through watching excerpts from the show, students will gain insight on the above mentioned themes during the 1960’s. They
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will be exposed to the fashion and behaviors of an array of different characters set in the 1960s.
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(Image to the left) Occupy Wall Street Internet meme. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from http://www.politifake.org/image/political/1110/ows-ows-politics-
1318756928.jpg
(Image to the right) Woodstock 1969. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-
AsMqlj5KMQs/TgI_2iLZhHI/AAAAAAAAAME/ih1zuMWtsmc/s640/woodstock3.jpg
Summary
The image to the left is called an Internet meme. The caption reads, “OWS. Like
Woodstock but without the mud and the music!” Memes serve as a tool for carrying popular cultural ideas, usually in a comedic or sarcastic way. This picture mocks the
Occupy Wall Street protests that began in New York City and spread across the globe. Participants in these protests vary from wealthy businessmen to homeless individuals. The picture to right is from Woodstock 1969.
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Commentary
Woodstock 1969 was a music festival in upstate New York during the height of protests against the Vietnam War. Woodstock was known for “three days of peace and music” in a very turbulent world. Students will research both events, examine these pictures, and discuss the similarities and differences behind the meaning of these events. Students can debate the virtues and vices of both events.
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Warhol, Andy. (1962). Gold Marilyn Monroe. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from http://utenti.romascuola.net/bramarte/pop%20art/img/war1.jpg
Summary
This picture was painted by Andy Warhol in 1962 shortly after Marilyn Monroe committed suicide. Andy Warhol popularized pop art during the 1960’s. Much of his artwork is still on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Commentary
Students will be introduced to the works of Andy Warhol through pictures and discussions on the meaning of his art and the style he promoted, pop art. Warhol was leading figure of the movement during this time. Student will learn about the movement and how it influence various artist today.
Ahmed Ali—EDRD730—1960’s Text Set 47

Finerman, Wendy. (Producer). (1994) Forrest Gump. Paramount Pictures.
Summary
This movie is titled Forrest Gump. It is about a simpleton goes about his life in the midst of many historical events throughout the 60’s and 70’s.
Commentary
Students will see a wonderfully created view of the 60’s and 70’s through the eyes of
Forrest Gump. Students will see visual representations of school integration, the
Vietnam War, President Kennedy, and other events. This movie can serve to culminate a unit of study on the 1960’s. Students will gain valuable insight into the era.
Ahmed Ali—EDRD730—1960’s Text Set 48