United States History: 1877 to the Present

Turmoil and Change: 1890s to 1945

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Begin the unit with questions about: who the leaders in art, literature, and music were; what their contributions were; and how the Harlem Renaissance influenced American life.
• Explain that the 1920s and 1930s were important decades for American art, literature, and music.
• Discuss that the leaders of the Harlem Renaissance drew upon the heritage of black culture to establish themselves as powerful forces for cultural change.
• Discuss the cultural climate of the 1920s and 1930s by learning about:
  • Art -- Georgia O'Keeffe, an artist known for urban scenes and, later, paintings of the Southwest
  • Literature -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, a novelist who wrote about the Jazz Age of the 1920s; John Steinbeck, a novelist who portrayed the strength of poor migrant workers during the 1930s
  • Music -- Aaron Copland and George Gershwin, composers who wrote uniquely American music
• African American artists, writers, and musicians based in Harlem revealed the freshness and variety of African American culture. Popularity of these artists spread to the rest of society. Explain the Harlem Renaissance by having students learn about:
  • Art -- Jacob Lawrence, painter who chronicled the experiences of the Great Migration north through art
  • Literature -- Langston Hughes, poet who combined the experiences of African and American cultural roots
  • Music -- Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, jazz composers; Bessie Smith, blues singer
• Introduce this session by asking students to identify the music, books, and possibly movies that have had a significant impact on their generation. Students might mention, among other things, rap music and Harry Potter. Help students understand that certain cultural contributions span generations (e.g., da Vinci's Mona Lisa), while many others are popular for a time and then fade away. Tell students that this session will introduce them to artists and writers who have made lasting contributions to American culture.
• Show students a selection of paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe. A short biography of O'Keeffe can be found at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum available at http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/indexflash.php. Images of paintings by O'Keeffe can be found at the Georgia O'Keeffe Online Gallery at http://www.happyshadows.com/okeeffe/. Have students examine these paintings on the Internet, or use a selection of paintings projected on the overhead projector or in an electronic presentation. As students view the paintings, ask them to consider the following questions:
  • What colors do you see in this painting?
  • What adjectives would you use to describe this painting?
  • From observing O'Keeffe's paintings, what can you learn about the Southwest region of the United States?
  • How do O'Keeffe's paintings of flowers differ from traditional flower paintings? (Show a more traditional painting to help students make comparisons.)
• Have students listen to selections from the music of George Gershwin and Aaron Copland. Biographies of and music selections by George and Ira Gershwin can be found on the Internet at George and Ira Gershwin: The Official Web Site at http://www.gershwin.com/. A biography of Aaron Copland can be found at Classical.Net at http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/copland.html. Selection's from Copland's Appalachian Spring can be found at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000029XG/103-9140471-8509440?v=glance#product-details. (Scroll down to the "Listen to Samples" section). The Library of Congress's American Memory Collection contains the Aaron Copland Collection, ca. 1900-1990 at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/achtml/achome.html. Stress that these composers wrote original American music, not music purely in the style of European composers. As students listen to specific selections, ask them to consider the following:
  • What is the tone or mood of the music?
  • What imagery does this piece generate for you?
  • Have you heard any of these selections before? If so, where?
• Have students read short excerpts from the novelists F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck. Emphasize that each writer addressed a specific time period in American history. Fitzgerald's work exemplifies high life during the Jazz Age, while Steinbeck's work exemplifies human struggle during the Great Depression.
  • For F. Scott Fitzgerald, have students read a passage that exemplifies the decadence of the Jazz Age from the novel The Great Gatsby or from one of Fitzgerald's short stories. This reading offers the opportunity to discuss Prohibition and its impact on American society during the 1920s. Historical background on Prohibition and Fitzgerald's attitudes regarding it can be found at Speakeasies, Flappers & Red Hot Jazz: Music of the Prohibition at http://www.riverwalk.org/proglist/showpromo/prohibition.htm.
  • For John Steinbeck, Have students read a short passage from the Grapes of Wrath. Present a passage to students that exemplifies the struggles of migrant workers and the effects of the drought during the 1930s. This reading offers an opportunity to introduce this topic before the study of the Great Depression. For information on the writing of the Grapes of Wrath, chapter summaries, and other information about the novel, see the NPR Web site Present at the Creation: The Grapes of Wrath at http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/grapesofwrath/.
• Provide students with historical background on the Harlem Renaissance. Explain that the Harlem Renaissance was a "rebirth" of African American culture centered primarily in Harlem in New York City. During this time, African American artists, writers, and musicians made a lasting contribution to American culture.
• Have students read poetry selections by Langston Hughes that reflect the obstacles to equality African Americans faced at this time period. These poems can be connected to the earlier session on the Great Migration. Poetry selections can be found on the Internet at Poets.org at http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83. The Web site Poetry of Langston Hughes: Teacher CyberGuide at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/langhu/langhutg.html offers creative lesson plans on this topic.
• Have students listen to song selections by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Bessie Smith, emphasizing how these jazz artists influenced many contemporary musicians. The Official Site of Duke Ellington at http://www.dukeellington.com/ offers a biography, song list, and other information. A biography and an extensive sound-recording archive of Louis Armstrong can be found at Red Hot Jazz.com at http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html.

WEB SITES

http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/indexflash.php
Short biography of O'Keeffe from the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

http://www.happyshadows.com/okeeffe/
Images of paintings by O'Keeffe from the Georgia O'Keeffe online gallery

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/
Brief biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald

http://www.pbs.org/kteh/amstorytellers/bios.html
F. Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream

http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html
National Steinbeck Center

http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1962/steinbeck-bio.html
John Steinbeck

http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/twen/american.htm
Aaron Copland and George Gershwin

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/arts/lawrence.html
Jacob Lawrence

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=84
Poetry selections on the Internet at the Academy of American Poets

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/langhu/langhutg.html
Poetry of Langston Hughes: Teacher CyberGuide offers creative lesson plans

http://www.dukeellington.com/
Duke Ellington

http://www.pbs.org/ellingtonsdc/
Duke Ellington

http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/armstrong/
Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy

http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_smith_bessie.htm
Bessie Smith

Copyright ©2008 Prince William Network/Virginia Department of Education