United States History (Part 4 of 4) - The Roaring 20s to Post-Cold War Era

Although math and English language arts are considered two of the most important subjects in school, a deep understanding of the past will help students become better prepared to handle their future as citizens of the world. History has a tendency to repeat itself, and because of this, it is important to understand where a country has been in order to understand how it could function in the future.

In this United States history course, the following topics will be covered as a means to give students a well-rounded understanding of the U.S.’s past:

Week 1 - The Roaring 20s
Week 2 - The Great Depression
Week 3 - FDR and the Shadow of War
Week 4 - America in WWII
Week 5 - The Cold War Begins
Week 6 - The Stormy Sixties
Week 7 - The Stalemated Seventies
Week 8 - The Resurgence of Conservatism
Week 9 - The Post-Cold War Era

I will present the true story of the experiences of Native Americans, Black, White, and all the various immigrants in US history. In order to make sure I handle certain topics such as segregation with care, I will include resources from Learning for Justice, formerly known as Teaching Tolerance.

I also think it is important for students to develop their own views of US history, so while I will present facts through lecture, usually at the beginning of each class meeting, students will have the opportunity to form their own opinions of historical events through class discussions, primary/secondary source analyses, and inquiry-based activities in the remaining class time each week.

Because we all come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, I cannot stress the importance of respecting all students’ views and experiences within the classroom enough. For this reason, students who are disrespectful to their peers will be removed from the Zoom classroom, and possibly the course as a whole. Instead, students should use their peers’ experiences as a means to help them form their own views and opinions of the past.