"The Sixties"
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"The Sixties" |
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"The Sixties"
Reflections on a Decade of Protest,
Change, Uncertainty and New Frontiers
Introduction | The Task | Resources | The Process | Learning Advice | Conclusion
Introduction
You are about to have some fun exploring a period of history that was quite exciting. Every generation thinks there's is the best. We all think that we are growing up in the best of times. If you interviewed your parents or grandparents you would probably find out they have very fond memories of their early years. They might even tell you that when they were growing up it was the best of times! The Sixties was a decade of change and new frontiers for our nation and our world. Young people started to question the world around them in ways they had not done before. Civil Rights and the Vietnam War were very controversial topics. Music took on a whole new direction with the popularity of Motown and the British Invasion. Television shows were more family-oriented and innocent than today. Folk singers protested the ills they saw in society through their music. Woodstock was a happening that we would all remember. Surfing became popular. President John F. Kennedy inspired the youth of our nation to get involved and make a difference in society. The Sixties saw us on the brink of a full-scale nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The "Race for Space," was in full gear. Long hair on boys and mini-skirts on girls was the new look. Words like mod, psychedelic, protest, bell-bottoms, political assassinations, the Beatles (not bugs), Beetles that you drove, the Rolling Stones, tie-dyed shirts and cars with convertible tops were part of our culture. We watched television shows with names like, “Batman,” “The Jetsons,” and “Huckleberry Hound”. Rock & Roll was king, and so was some guy named Elvis. Students marched on college campuses, in the streets and at political conventions. It was a time when people cooked on hibachis and ate from fondues! If your dad made $10,000 a year he was probably average middle class. Most likely, your mom stayed home to raise the family, but was starting to think about getting a career outside the home. A new social movement known as Women’s Liberation was about to change all that. A new 1963 Chevrolet Impala cost under $3,000!
The Task
So here you are, a child of the new millennium. It seems like ancient history to you when I talk about the Sixties. You are about to take a trip back in time. You and two classmates will become time travelers to recreate the Sixties in a computer project. Your sources will be mostly from the World Wide Web links included here in the WebQuest. You must use a library source as well. You will work in teams of three.
- Spend some time exploring the links included in this WebQuest. (The ones in the Introduction and Sources sections)
- Decide who your partners are going to be and submit your names on an index card to your teacher.
- Go through the list of suggested categories and pick 6 that interest your group. You might want to take two for each of you.
- By the end of this project your team will have done the following:
- Created a Sixties scrapbook with pictures, articles and reports about the Sixties.
- Created a database of all research sources used.
- Written a paper about one year in the Sixties and the events that shaped that year. Each team member will pick a different year.
- Interviewed one person who was a teenager during the Sixties, and write up your findings.
- Designed a newspaper as if it was being published sometime in the Sixties.
Resources
Use the links in the Introduction as well as this list of links to learn all about the Sixties. Use the information here to complete the WebQuest requirements. Also, make sure you use one source from the media center or public library. Keep a careful record of each source you use, including these Web sites.
The Psychedelic ‘60s
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/
The Sixties Pop Diary
http://www.sixtiespop.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm
Oldies Central (Hear the 60’s music.)
http://www.OldiesCentral.com/
Oldies Music
http://www.oldiesmusic.com/
Nick at Nite and TV Land Online
http://www.nick-at-nite.com/
Academy Awards 1960-1969
http://www.filmsite.org/oscars60.html
The Hippy Ring of Peace
http://www.rdescape.com/Hippyring/
The Sixties
http://www.slip.net/~scmetro/sixties.htm
American Cultural History 1960’s
http://www.nhmccd.edu/contracts/lrc/kc/decade60.html
American History 1960’s (Liberty University)
http://www.nhmccd.edu/contracts/lrc/kc/decade60.html
Baby Boomer Headquarters
http://www.bbhq.com/sixties2.htm
The Smithsonian- A Visual Journey- The 1960’s
http://americanhistory.si.edu/lisalaw/1.htm
Civil Rights Movement
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/
14 Days In October- The Cuban Missile Crisis
http://library.thinkquest.org/11046/index.html
Chicago 1968 Democratic Convention
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1553/
Hippie History
http://club.netdoor.com/~greenlee/hiphistory.htm
President John F. Kennedy Memorial Site
http://members.aol.com/JFKin61/jfk.html
Apollo Moon Landing 1969
http://www.msnbc.com/news/289739.asp
Sixties Radio Dot. Com (Real Audio)
http://www2.sixtiesradio.com/sixtiesradio/
1969 The Summer of Love
http://www.summeroflove.org/
Vietnam War Internet Project
http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/shwv/vwiphome.html
Possible Topics To Consider For Your Project:
Civil Rights
Fashion- Hairstyles- Fads
Hippies
Beatles
British Invasion
Vietnam
Drugs
TV Shows-TV Stars
Movies-Movie Stars
Folk Singers
John F. Kennedy
Music-Dance
Saturday Cartoons1964
New York World’s Fair
Politics
Cars
Books-Other Publications (Examples- 1984 by George Orwell, LIFE, MAD)
Historical Events
Famous People
Sports
Art-Poetry
Food (Examples- Tony the Tiger, Swanson TV Dinners)
Homes-Architecture-Home Furnishings
Toys (Examples- Barbie, G.I. Joe, etc.)
Technology and ScienceWomen’s Liberation
The Process
- Choose your teams of three. Place your names on one side of an index card.
- Decide on the responsibilities of each team member. A possible list of jobs might be:
· Database Keeper (Historian)
· Artist
· Note Taker
· Photo Collector
· Interviewer
· Web Searcher
· Library Resource Specialist
- Go through the links in the introductory paragraph and the list of links in the Resources section. Spend a period or two going to the sites and becoming familiar with them. Enjoy yourself.
- Discuss with your partners what six topics in the list you would like to research. List these topics on the back of the index card you give your teacher. Pick topics that sound like fun and you would enjoy learning about.
- Decide who will keep a record of all sources used. These should be listed in a simple Database.
- Decide who will be the group artist to use the computer and/or hand draw the artwork for the scrapbook. The cover must be designed with the computer and photos from the off or on the Web. Check the link to the Corbis Photo Collection on our school’s home page!
- Design a 2-page newspaper that includes appropriate clip art, photos, and articles about the Sixties. Include ads that reflect the Sixties in your newspaper. Include an Editorial (opnion) Section about one controversial event in the Sixties. One team member write one viewpoint in their article. Another team member writes an article with the opposite opinion on the same issue. Support your opinion with logic, reasons and accurate facts.
- Interview a person who was a teenager in the Sixties. One interview per group. The group decides what questions to ask and one of the members conducts the interview and writes up the results. Include the written interview in the group scrapbook. The group must develop the interview questions together. Ask probing questions!
- Each member of the group is to choose one year in the 1960’s and write a one page paper summarizing the major events of that year. In your paper, tell how some of the events of that year influenced our world today.
- Create a scrapbook with your 2-page newspaper, a collage page of the Sixties, a drawing of something that reflects your research, a computer designed cover, the interview, the yearly summary papers, and a page listing all sources used in the project. This could be a printout of your database.
Learning Advice
- Divide the work up fairly in your team.
- Pace yourself and watch deadlines and due dates.
