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PPT
Curated OER

Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Life Since 1930

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The King of Rock'n Roll, Twiggy, William Beveridge? Sounds like its time to review events occurring after 1930. Kids play this fun Millionaire-style game to review common knowledge British trivia. This game would be a fun challenge for...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Atomic Age: Living in the 1950s with the Threat of a Nuclear War

For Teachers 10th - 12th
The threat of a Nuclear attack was very real for people in the 1950s. Share the hysteria, propaganda, and reasons behind this Cold War tactic gone overboard. A great presentation intended to build a context for understanding mid-century...
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PPT
Curated OER

The 1950s:

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Teens will get a kick out of this presentation, which provides a glimpse of the consumerism and rising pop culture of 1950's America. They will especially appreciate the discussion of "Teen culture" including the music of Elvis, the...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Brief American Pageant: The Eisenhower Era

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Starting with the election results of Eisenhower over Stevenson in 1952, this presentation features additional maps about the elections of 1956 and 1960, with electoral votes by state. Additional slides detail the Far East (Vietnam,...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Women in the 1950s

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners learn about suburban communities in the 1950s. In this women studies lesson, students watch a Power Point presentation about suburban communities in the 1950s. Learners look at images from the 1950s and discuss what they think...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Traveling Southern Style: A Lesson on the Jim Crow Laws

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders create a poster of a travel route. In this discrimination lesson, 3rd graders read The Gold Cadillac and use it to discuss the problems African Americans faced while traveling south in the 1950's. Students compare three...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1950's Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students encounter how to work together as a group to accomplish a common goal. They gain more experience in doing research using library reference materials as well as internet sources. Each group is responsible for making a bulletin...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Into the Fifties: Understanding the Context of Film Genres in the Fifties

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discuss prior knowledge of American culture during the 1950's. They complete KWL charts, participate in class discussions and view the documentary film Atomic Café. They record their observations from the film.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is the Attraction of the 1950s?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, using HyperStudio or PowerPoint, select the ten most important events that happened in the 1950s.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock n' Rollin in the '50s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the culture of the United States in the 1950's.  In this history lesson plan, students research culture in the 1950's, with a focus on fashion, music, television, automobiles, etc., then work in groups to create a...
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Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Red Hunts, Black Lists, and Communists

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students research and examine the unsavory history of the hunt for communists in the United States during the 1950s. They divide up into groups to review the Red Scare of the 1920s as a backdrop to the McCarthy era and write a short...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Pop Icons

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Pupils analyze art and decide if the images are an attempt to celebrate or criticize American Popular Culture of the fifties and sixties and discuss how successful "Pop Art" mirrored society. Students also discuss the difference between...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making More Places at the Table: The American Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the biography of Henry B. Gonzalez. They examine primary source documents from Congressman Gonzalez's personal papers related to his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Consumer Culture in the 1950s: New Shopping Centers and Advertising trends

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders analyze the cultural and social aspects of the 1950s. Using primary source documents, they work together to determine what society was like. They use that information to write an essay about how their information...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Corner of the Carpet

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the socioeconomic conditions in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1950's including the poverty and living condition of the blacks during this time by watching a documentary. They determine how these living conditions lead...
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Handout
BBC

Bbc: On This Day

For Students 9th - 10th
News reports--some with audio, video and eye-witness accounts--of significant events, 1950-2005, that occurred on today's date. Search by date, year, or theme.
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Interactive
Museum of Modern Art

Mo Ma: Abstract Expressionist New York

For Students 9th - 10th
Blockbuster exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art underscores the relationship between New York City and the explosion of creative activity among the artists who lived there in the postwar period. Learn why New York became the center of...
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Pop Art in the Us

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore Pop art in the US.
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Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Simple Justice

For Students 9th - 10th
Follow the civil rights quest for integrated schools from the beginning in 1849 through the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education and the struggle that ensued for decades following in the most reluctant...
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Eisenhower National Historic Site: Presidency

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the ways in which Eisenhower's presidency and personality mirrored the country as a whole during the years he was president (1952-1960). Includes many artifacts of the era, such as campaign paraphernalia and articles of...
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Study Guide
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Period 8: 1945 1980

For Students 9th - 10th
This Khan Academy resource provides a table of contents with notes for several sections of AP US History: Period 8: 1945-1980.
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Unknown Type
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: The Great Society

For Students 9th - 10th
A quick comprehension check over the "Great Society" of the 1950s.
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Unknown Type
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Early Steps in the Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
A quick comprehension check over the early steps in the Civil Rights Movement.
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Unknown Type
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Economy From 1945 to 1960

For Students 9th - 10th
A quick comprehension check over the economy from 1945-1960 in US history.