Lesson 1: Building Background Knowledge: The 1960s, Part 1

Turn and Talk

Directions: Turn and talk with a partner about the following question to prepare for today’s lesson.

1. What are some things that connect us to other people?

How do relationships and communities shape a person's sense of belonging and identity? Think about the ideas you shared during your discussion. Consider how different communities—like sports teams or classes—and relationships—like family or friend groups—connect to this question.

1. When looking at the unit Essential Question: “How do relationships and communities shape a person’s sense of belonging and identity?”, what do you think a sense of identity is?

Part A: The 1960s You Already Know The Sixties”

Pre-Reading

Subculture: a group within a larger society that shares its own style, values, and identity

Counterculture: a movement that rejects mainstream values and promotes different ways of living

1. What groups do you belong to that have their own style, music, or way of doing things? How does belonging to that group shape how you see yourself?

Think-Pair-Share

Directions: Read the informational article “A Decade of Change: The 1960s in America” with a partner or in a small group. Then think on your own, talk with your partner, and refine your answer before we discuss it as a class.

1. According to the text, what were two or three of the most significant forces dividing Americans in the 1960s? Cite evidence from the text.

2. The article describes the counterculture and hippie movement as one response young people had to the events of the 1960s. What specifically were hippies responding to? Use the text to explain.

3. In two sentences, summarize the central idea of this article.

Part B: The 1960s You Might Not Know

Jigsaw Reading/Viewing, Part 1

Directions: With your group, study your assigned photographs carefully. Read the caption for each image because it counts as evidence. Use the Jigsaw Worksheet to jot your observations and thinking before you share with a new group in Part 2.

1. What do you notice in this photograph? Describe who is in it, what they are doing, and any details about clothing, setting, or expression.

2. What does this image suggest about how teenagers in this era formed their identity or sense of belonging? How does this picture of teen life compare to what you read about in Part A?

Jigsaw Reading/Viewing, Part 2

Directions: In your new group, take turns sharing the photographs you studied and what you observed. As each person shares, the rest of the group listens and records in the T-Chart graphic organizer. Your goal is to collect at least two entries in each column.

insert T-Chart graphic organizer}

1. Look at both columns of your T-Chart. Could everything in both columns be true about the same decade? What does that tell us?

2. The photographs in Text 2 do not show protest signs, marches, or political events. Does that mean those teens did not care about what was happening in the country, or does it mean something else?

3. The final image in Text 2 shows you how the people behind a film adaptation of the anchor text of this unit, The Outsiders, chose to portray its cast. Based on your knowledge of 1960s subcultures, where do you think these characters would best “fit in”?

Quick Write

1. Directions: At the start of class, we named what we thought we knew about the 1960s. Now use at least two specific details from today’s article, photographs, or captions to show how your thinking has changed. Then name one question you still have.