Students consider the roles that individuals and groups play in historical events through the study of labor history in the United States. They research the challenges that workers faced and the tools and institutions workers used to achieve their goals. The explore the roles of unions, contracts, and regulations, as well as the courageous actions of individuals.
Integrated Units - History - Social Science
Students learn that history has many voices and perspectives by researching places in their own communities. The unit introduces students to the kinds of questions historians ask and provides them with first-hand experience with research strategies and techniques, including examining artifacts, locating primary and secondary sources, and conducting interviews.
Through reading primary documents and works by historians, students gain an understanding of why and how post–World War II events such as the arms race and the decolonization movement provided the circumstances in which the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. came to see developing nations as the central battlefield of the Cold War.
Students conceive of a film sequence that tells the story of Europe’s path to World War II. They learn about the conditions and events leading to the war, watch clips from historical films, and explore the impact of film on our understanding of history.