1. Peace, Prosperity and Progress
Why are the 1950s remembered as an age of affluence?

2. WARM UP QUESTION OBJECTIVE Preview
Examine this collage of photographs.
What are some interesting things you see?
What seems to be missing from this collage?
OBJECTIVE
Why are the 1950s remembered as an age of affluence?

3. Preview
Today, we will examine different photographs that reveal what life was like for many Americans in the years after World War II.
You will then attend a neighborhood block party, where you will mingle with new “neighbors” and share what you have learned about current events.

4. reading

5. Reading
Be sure you understand these Key Content Terms for this lesson:
Fair Deal
Taft-Hartley Act
baby boom
Levittown
Sunbelt
interstate highway system
polio vaccine

6. Reading Read Section 1, Introduction of the text.
Find sentences in the section that match details in this photograph.
Read a sentence and then point out the corresponding detail in the photograph.
Then, discuss this question:
What might the success of Lakewood, California, tell us about the prosperity and progress of these postwar years?

7. BLOCK PARTY MIXER

8. Reading
Note which subsections you are assigned to read and what terms you must include in your statements.

9. Reading
Note which subsections you are assigned to read and what terms you must include in your statements.

10. Reading
Also, be sure to come up with basic information about yourself, such as the number of children you have, where you moved from, what kind of job you hold, and so on.
You can share this information with others during the block party.

11. Activity
This exercise is meant to re-create a neighborhood block party, similar to what might have been held in suburban neighborhoods in the 1950s.
You will mingle with other new “neighbors” who have just moved to the suburbs. As you mingle, you will engage in typical small talk and share with each other news about what is happening in the nation.
You will then complete your notes based on what you learned from your “neighbors”.

12. Activity
For each new neighbor you approach at the block party, do the following:
Greet your new neighbor with an enthusiastic, “Howdy, Neighbor!” Ask your neighbor some getting-to-know-you questions:
Where have you moved from?
What do you do for a living?
How many kids do you have?
Begin a discussion of current news, using your notes for your assigned topic. Start your conversation with one of these statements:
So, have you heard the latest development?
I was reading the paper this morning when I saw this story on …
This morning, the T.V. news said that …

13. Activity
Share the main ideas from your assigned topic, making sure to use all the assigned terms.
As your neighbor begins to discuss the current news, locate the image in your notes that corresponds with that topic. Jot down the key points to the story next to the image.
Once your conversation with your neighbor has ended, take a moment to write your own headline above the image to summarize this story.
Find a new neighbor from a different group to converse with and repeat these steps.

14. processing

15. Processing
Examine the photographs in your notes. Write a paragraph that answers the question:
Why are the 1950s remembered as an age of affluence?
Your paragraph should include…
A thesis statement that summarizes your position.
Two arguments that support your thesis.