Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Life After WWII Name: Jacqueline Rodarte

Content Area: United States History Grade Level: 11
CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):

11.8 Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of postWorld War II America.
1. Trace the growth of service sector, white collar, and professional sector jobs in business and government.
2. Describe the significance of Mexican immigration and its relationship to the agricultural economy, especially in California.
3. Examine Trumans labor policy and congressional reaction to it.
4. Analyze new federal government spending on defense, welfare, interest on the national debt, and federal and state spending on
education, including the California Master Plan.
5. Describe the increased powers of the presidency in response to the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.
6. Discuss the diverse environmental regions of North America, their relationship to local economies, and the origins and prospects of
environmental problems in those regions.
7. Describe the effects on society and the economy of technological developments since 1945, including the computer revolution,
changes in communication, advances in medicine, and improvements in agricultural technology.
8. Discuss forms of popular culture, with emphasis on their origins and geographic diffusion (e.g., jazz and other forms of popular
music, professional sports, architectural and artistic styles).

Big Ideas:

War changes a society.
Economic conditions heavily influenced the economic boom after the war.
Consumerism influenced American society.

Unit Goals and Objectives:

1. Identify the cultural changes (i.e. art and music) that occurred in the United States.
2. Students will understand how the government used culture as a weapon against the Cold War.
3. Describe the changes that come with the economic boom after the war.

Unit Summary:

As a result of the war, Americans had saved a lot of money and were ready to spend. Students will recognize the economic, social,
and cultural changes occurring after World War II. In addition, students will examine how culture and economics influences the
Cold War.

Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level:
Quickwrite- What do you think were the
working conditions of field workers?
Have these conditions changed?
Formative:
Critical Thinking Question- Was the
C.I.A. successful in using culture as a
weapon of the Cold War? Should the
government invest in these kinds of
programs? Why or why not?

Crossword Puzzle- Concepts & key
words covered in the lecture.

Graphic Organizer- Economic changes
after the war

Quiz- Bracero Program

Summative:
Essay- Explain the changes that occurred
in the economy. What values/ideas did
these changes bring?

Newsletter- Interpreting the most
influential field of pop culture

Lesson 1
Student Learning Objective:

Identify the cultural
changes (i.e. art and
music) that occurred
in the United States.

Acceptable Evidence:

Identify and define
the context of the
following
terms/phrases:
- Jazz
- Rock N Roll
- Integrate
- Suburb
- Abstract
Expressionism
- Pop Art
- Beatific Writers

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction
Lesson Activities:

Teacher gives a lecture on the cultural changes that occur
after the war.

Students watch a documentary on Abstract
Expressionism & Pop Art.

Students make a presentation on an individual who
influenced culture in America after the war.


Lesson 2
Student Learning Objective:

Students will
understand how the
government used
culture as a weapon
against the Cold War.
Acceptable Evidence:

Define the Congress
for Cultural Freedom
and identify its goal.

Identify how
Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction
Lesson Activities:

Teacher shows documentary Jazz Session. The film
shows cases President Eisenhowers jazz ambassadors
and their endeavor to change the image of African-
Americans experience in the United States.

individuals in the
world of literature,
jazz, opera, art, and
film helped give a
positive image to the
United States.

Identify how culture is
used as a weapon
against the Cold War.

Students will interact and read excerpts from Satchmo
Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold
War.

Students will be grouped according to subject matter and
collect information/images that compare and contrast
American culture pre- and post- World War II.

Students will interact with quotes or sources that criticize
modern art and will write an entry where they discuss
whether the United States government should have
invested so much time and money into the arts, music,
literature, and film.

Webercise
Lesson 3
Student Learning Objective:

Describe the changes
that come with the
economic boom after
the war.

Acceptable Evidence:

Identify the:
- Conditions that
allow an economic
boom
- G.I. Bill
- White Collar
sector
- Bracero Program
- Conglomerates
- Franchise
- Credit Card
- Consumerism
- Competition

Instructional Strategies:
Communication
Collection
Collaboration
Presentation
Organization
Interaction
Lesson Activities:

Teacher presents information on the growth of the service
sector in addition to using a video on the subject matter.

Students will organize the economic changes that existed
before and after the war.

Students will collaborate with each other in groups of four
and will investigate whether the G.I. Bill benefited all
veterans in addition to determining the pros and cons of
credit cards that come with consumerism.
Unit Resources
Digital History
Duke Library- Ads
Jam Session
Levittown
Material Culture of the 50s
Mexican Immigrant Labor History
Modern Art was a C.I.A. Weapon.
Origins of the Congress of Cultural Freedom
PBS: Jazz
Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War by Penny M. Von Eschen. [Book]
The Cold War Science & Technology Studies Program
U.S. Post WWII Boom Video

Useful Websites:

American Experience: Truman (DVD) PBS Home Video
This video provides an autobiography on the president. In addition, the film details the domestic and foreign affairs Truman had
to confront with during his presidency.

GWU: National Security Archive
The university publishes declassified documents as a result of the Freedom of Information Act. Documents provide additional
information with foreign relations the U.S. has with other nations.

Marshall Plan
Provides information on the Marshall Plan. Key dates and its significance in foreign relations are presented.

Post World War II: This website provides a context to the social and economic conditions that led the Civil Rights Movement.

Service Readjustment Act:
Shows the actual document and provides a summary of the legislative act.

U.S. Containment Strategy After WWII:
Professor Hitchcock lectures on the containment policy adopted by the United States after World War II.