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| Learning Context | ||||||
| The purpose, objective, or focus of the learning experience: | ||||||
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The purpose of this learning experience is for students to learn about the Cold War era, hone research skills and become more technologically proficient. Students will research the various items listed in Billy Joel’s song "We Didn’t Start the Fire" and create books, posters and web sites.
Project Directions for "We Didn’t Start the Fire"
After the students have been through the learning experience they should be able to:
The learning experience asks students to research the Cold War time period in America from 1949 to 1959. This rather broad period in American history is steeped in cultural and political details, memories of which for many Social Studies teachers. For our students, however, the details of our recent history have become the same bland collection of facts and data. Using pop culture as a motivating tool, this learning experience seeks to make this exciting period in American history come alive for our students.
This learning experience is delivered as part units six and seven in the New York State scope and sequence. In 1999, the first year of the project, I assigned it in mid-April. As students were engaged in research we would then cover many of the topics and events in class. The presentations of the student work and assessments are then towards the very end of the course, around the beginning of June. This is an excellent culminating activity to the course and the students enjoyed it very much.
It should be noted that this experience is supplemental in nature. The Cold War unit is introduced with the Billy Joel song and the assignment of the project and students are researching as more "traditional" lessons are going on in the classroom. This is a project, not a series of lessons and is not to be done entirely during class time.
The core curriculum requires study of the national and international events of the Cold War era such as McCarthyism and containment, as well as many of the other domestic and cultural events listed in the song. In fact, analysis of the words of the song used for this experience shows that a great percentage of the lyrics are directly listed in the state core curriculum for United States History and Government such as:
The section of the project requiring students to create a sixth stanza of "We Didn't Start the Fire", using details from 1989 to today provides an opportunity to review many items we often fail to have time to adequately explore. It also utilizes a constructivist approach as students create history in a visual manner that they can relate to.
This project is an excellent way for teachers to teach skills named in the various performance indicators such as "discuss several schemes for periodizing the history of New York State and the United States." The song itself is a time line! The experience covers major turning points addressed in the performance indictor that states students should "research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United States history." It is also a wonderful way to teach students to learn to analyze documents in preparation for teaching document-based essay questions (DBQ’s). Each of the photos is a document that is captioned by the students.
This experience does go well beyond what is ordinarily in the curriculum. The song is a detailed "stream of consciousness" essay written by pop artist Billy Joel. Using this as a tool has proved effective from an academic and motivational perspective. As you will see, the required tasks enhance student research and communication skills, and asks students to analyze their own current history as well. This truly "brings history alive."
Standards and Performance Indicators
Standard One - History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Performance Indicators
- Analyze the development of American culture, explaining how ideas, values, beliefs, and traditions have changed over time and how they unite all Americans.
- Discuss several schemes for periodizing the history of New York State and the United States.
- Research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United States history (e.g., colonization and settlement; Revolution and New National Period; immigration; expansion and reform era; Civil War and Reconstruction; The American labor movement; Great Depression; World Wars; contemporary United States).
- Prepare essays and oral reports about the important social, political, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural developments, issues, and events from New York State and United States history.
Standard Two - World History
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
Performance Indicators
- Investigate key events and developments and major turning points in world history to identify the factors that brought about change and the long-term effects of these changes.
The experience is designed as a research tool done in advance of a unit on the Cold War. Before entering into this project students have learned about American History as called for in the core curriculum, up until the beginning of the Cold War. The students should understand about the concept of social movements and foreign policy, and they should understand the tension between the US and the Soviet Union. As the project unfolds, and students learn in class about the events and times depicted in the song, their understanding will increase dramatically.
The experience may also be used to reinforce a unit on the Cold War as well. Either way, no significant prior learning is required.
Student knowledge of how to research materials and how to use the library is needed. It is expected that my 11th grade students have these skills.
Student knowledge of certain technologies is helpful, but not required. The Internet is an excellent source of information on this topic and some students may elect to create web sites as their presentations.
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