Students do research to explore four important events and eras in twentieth-century American history. Then, they create a timeline and summary of these events. Next, they choose the event or era that they believe is most influential. Finally, they create a quiz for classmates on the content learned in the experience.
Students read an introduction explaining that they will investigate major twentieth-century U.S. events and eras and consider their influence on life today. They view an image of Martin Luther King Jr. and respond to a word cloud prompt by sharing a word or short phrase about what comes to mind when they think of him.
Teacher MovesPreview the experience overview and objectives, then facilitate a brief discussion of student word cloud responses to activate prior knowledge about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. Emphasize that this movement was one of the most important eras of twentieth-century American history and that students will study it along with other key events. Organize students into small groups in preparation for the next scene.
Working in small groups, students research four major twentieth-century U.S. events and eras—the Civil Rights Movement, U.S. involvement in World War II, the Great Depression (using resources such as The Great Depression Summary), and U.S. involvement in World War I—to identify key events, individuals, and groups. They create a timeline, either digitally on the drawing canvas or on paper and uploaded, that sequences these events and includes brief summaries. Groups then review other groups’ timelines, discuss similarities and differences, and revise or add to their own timelines as needed.
Teacher MovesClarify expectations for the research and timeline, and, as needed, direct students to the suggested resources or allow additional research time. Circulate to support groups in identifying accurate dates, major developments, and significant individuals or groups for each event or era. Lead a whole-class comparison of timelines to ensure students have captured essential details, and consider having groups create physical posters to display in chronological order. Transition students from group work to individual work for the remaining scenes.
Individually, students write a paragraph on the discussion wall explaining which of the four events or eras they believe was most influential in shaping the United States today, supporting their position with evidence from their research. They then read classmates’ posts and respond to at least two, including at least one that presents a different position, by asking questions or offering positive, constructive comments.
Teacher MovesRemind students to use evidence from their research in their written explanations and to engage respectfully with differing viewpoints in their responses. Highlight and share one or more particularly strong or thought-provoking posts with the class to model effective use of evidence and clear reasoning, and use these examples to prompt brief whole-class discussion.
Students reflect on what they have learned about key twentieth-century U.S. events and eras and create a five-question quiz for their classmates that focuses on important concepts and facts from the experience. They may compose the quiz directly on the discussion wall, upload a photo of a paper quiz, or post a link to a quiz created with an external tool. After creating their quizzes, students exchange and take one another’s quizzes to review and reinforce content.
Teacher MovesExplain the different options for creating and sharing quizzes and emphasize that questions should target key ideas rather than trivial details or trick questions. Once quizzes are created, organize students to trade and complete each other’s quizzes. Conclude with a class discussion about which aspects of twentieth-century American history appeared most often in the quizzes and how those events connect to contemporary issues in society.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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