History Through Film Grades 11-12 The
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HISTORY THROUGH FILM GRADES 11-12 THE EWING PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2099 Pennington Road Ewing, NJ 08618 BOE Approval Date: August 29, 2016 Michael Nitti Written by: District Social Studies Teachers Superintendent In accordance with The Ewing Public Schools’ Policy 2230, Course Guides, this curriculum has been reviewed and found to be in compliance with all policies and all affirmative action criteria. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Unit 1: In Search of the American Dream (15 Days) 1 Unit 2: Foundations of America (10 Days) 5 Unit 3: Immigration (10 Days) 8 Unit 4: Media’s Role in America (8 Days) 11 Unit 5: Depictions of War (12 Days) 14 Unit 6: The Cold War (5 Days) 17 Unit 7: America’s Role in the World/Foreign Issues (10 Days) 20 Unit 8: Modern Economics (10 Days) 23 Unit 9: Culminating Project (10 Days) 26 1 UNIT 1: IN SEARCH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM (15 DAYS) Why Is This Unit Important? This unit will examine the search for the American dream throughout different time periods in American history. The drive to achieve the American dream acts as an omnipresent catalyst for our economy, politics and society. Various factors such as race, gender and socioeconomic standing play a large role in the availability of the American dream. These same crucial factors also influence the different interpretations of the American dream. Enduring Understanding • The American dream possesses influence throughout American history (overarching) • The American dream fuels major economic, social and political change in history (overarching) • Throughout American history, certain aspects of the American dream remain the same and certain aspects change (overarching) • Different background factors such as ethnicity, race, gender and social standing create an exponential amount of variations on the American dream (topical) • Case studies from the Revolutionary time period, the Civil War, the Great Depression, The Women’s Suffragist Movement, the Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, and modern day provide useful examples for studying the evolution of the American Dream (topical) Essential Questions • What is the American Dream? • Is the American dream a myth? • Is the American dream open to every race, gender, social class and ethnicity? • Is social mobility in the United States real or has this concept stalled out over the years? • Are the different methods of achieving the American dream viable for everyone? • How has the American dream evolved over the years? Acquired Knowledge • Create a definition for the American dream • Identify various methods for achieving the American dream • Identify the concept of social mobility • Explain different methods for attaining the American dream • Identify the role of social class, gender and race in the American dream 2 • Explain the effects of the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Women Rights movement, the Cold War, The Civil Rights Movement, and modern day on the American dream • Explain the connection between the Enlightenment and the American dream during the Revolutionary time period • Compare and contrast the attempts to expand the American dream to ethnic and racial minorities, and women • Explain the importance Protestant/Calvinist work ethic to the development of the American dream • Explain the importance of education in the American dream • Describe the role of athletics, fame and celebrity status in the evolution of the American dream Acquired Skills • Analyze films regarding each of the time periods • Summarize articles regarding each of the time periods • Compare and contrast the interpretations of the American dream during different time periods • Analyze primary and secondary sources regarding the different time periods • Debate the effects of race, social class and gender on the American dream • Use MLA format for citations of articles and films in a formal essay • Evaluate the evolution of the American dream in a formal essay Benchmark Assessment Formative: • Quote/Photo Essay Analysis - Find a quote or photo that represents the American Dream and explain it • Discussion on the goals of the American Dream, the Protestant Work Ethic, and the evolution of the American Dream • Debate on the availability of the American Dream: Is the American Dream open to everyone? Which groups are excluded from the American Dream? Has this changed over the years? If yes, provide examples. • Socratic circles discussing the success of the American educational system as being the great equalizer for the American Dream; discussing recent reforms to the educational system including No Child Left Behind and “The Race to the Top” program • Guiding Questions for each movie Summative: • Essay on incremental change vs. large scale rapid change - Students will discuss the way that change occurs in the United States. The question for this essay will force students to look at the origins of major changes in the United States. 3 • Essay - Students will write a two to three page paper discussing the evolution of the American Dream discussing the effects of modern events on methods of achieving the American Dream. Instructional Materials • Movie Clips: O Brother Where Art Thou 2000, October Sky 1999, Revolutionary Road 2008, Malcolm X 1992, Hoop Dreams 1994 • Articles: Reviews and articles related to each of the films, Max Weber’s definition of the Protestant Work Ethic, George Will on American Dream from the Atlantic 2007, Vanity Fair article Rethinking the American Dream April 2009, The Effects of Sputnik on the Educational System by Roger Launius 1995, Looking Back on Broken Dreams by Michael Wise Washington Post 2004 • Books: Carnes, Mark. Past Imperfect: A History According to the Movies . New York: Holt, 1995, Print Hollitz, John. Thinking through the Past: A Critical Thinking Approach to U.S. History. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001 Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 1992 Weinstein, Allen. The Story of America: Freedom and Crisis from Settlements to Superpower. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2002 • Primary Sources: Various quotes from famous Americans regarding the American Dream, The Declaration of Independence, Excerpts from Booker T. Washington’s 1895 “Atlanta Exhibition Speech”, Excerpts from the Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois, Huey Long’s “Share the Wealth Speech” in 1934, excerpts of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 from Congress’ website Accommodations and Extensions • The higher level students will be given excerpts from The Conservative Mind by Kirk 1985 and A People’s History of the United States by Zinn 2004 to supplement the readings from Weinstein’s The Story of America. NJCCS Standards 6.1.12.A.2.a; A.4.c,d; A.6.c; A.13.a,b 6.1.12. B.5.a,b 6.1.12. C.5.b; C.7.b; C.12.c,d; C.13a,c 4 6.1.12.D.2.b,d; D.3.d,e; D.5.d; D.6.c 6.1.13.D.13a,c Interdisciplinary Connections • The students will work on their writing skills during their composition of two formal essays. Technology Integration • Use of private online chat rooms involving the technique of back channeling. Students will answer discussion questions in an online chat room while watching some of the films. 5 UNIT 2 FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICA (10 DAYS) Why Is This Unit Important? This unit will focus on different interpretations of historical events in early colonial America, the Revolutionary War, and Antebellum America. Events from these time periods are important to the foundations of American history and culture, yet legend, myth and error surround the events from these time periods. This unit will investigate the sources of misinformation and reconfigure a factual based interpretation of the events. Enduring Understanding • Historians have many different views on the intentions of the Founding Fathers (topical) • Students will identify and confront common misconceptions regarding the formative years of the United States (topical) • Students will evaluate the reliability, bias, opinions and underlying agendas of research sources (overarching) • Throughout American history, politicians from the liberal and conservative sides make compromises to achieve a perceived greater good (overarching) • Some key figures in the “mythology of the United States” live up to their legendary status, while others possess many flaws upon closer inspection (overarching) • The debate over the economics, constitutionality, and morality of slavery contributed to regional tensions during the formative years of the United States (topical) • Many modern historians continue to use the issue of slavery as a means for assessing key figures in American history (topical) • The political values of historians and authors influence their interpretations of past events (overarching) Essential Questions • How has your understanding of early American history changed over the years (from elementary school to present day)? • How do your views on the creation of the United States and early stages of American history influence your interpretation of being an American? • How do political bias and personal opinion influence the understanding of American history? • Should key historical figures from American history be judged on current standards of morality or standards of morality from their time periods? • Do political compromises produce generally immoral politicians? (Do the ends justify the means?) 6 Acquired Knowledge • Identify cause, effects, goals and legacy of the Revolutionary War. • Compare and contrast historically accurate accounts of early American history and popular film portrayals of the time periods. • Analyze the different political goals of the early political parties. • Assess the importance of the Amistad case in the debate over slavery. • Debate the intentions and effects of inaccurate portrayals about early American history. Acquired Skills • Identify political bias and opinions present in historical sources, films and articles. • Identify the underlying goals of historical sources, films and articles. • Analyze films regarding each of the time periods. • Summarize articles regarding each of the time periods. • Critique the arguments of historians, filmmakers and any other writers regarding their views on early American history.