Name___________________________________ Per_____________

You are currently reading The Outsiders in ELA and have discussed some of the
historical aspects of the plot and setting. For Media class we are going to continue with the
timeframe of the setting from the book, the 1960s, and research what those years were actually
like. Each of you will be given a specific year to conduct your research on and write about your
findings. I have broken down areas in which to focus your research. We will be using different
graphic organizers to collect your information, use the one that works the best for how you
operate. All organizers and findings are going to be kept in your folders on the counter so we
dont have missing work. If you are uncomfortable with this topic, please see me to discuss
selecting an alternate topic.
Through our research and writing we will use several different sources to answer what
life was like during a given year in the 1960s. We will also discover information from print and
digital sources, determine the reliability of these sources, and use proper citation to credit the
sources used. We will also use information from texts to support your analysis of genocides in
history. We will work on creating clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to the task.
WHST 6-8.4, 6-8.5, 6-8.7, 6-8.8, 6-8.9
Your research should begin with these main questions:
What were historic or newsworthy events?
o Were laws created?
o Were there now famous/ important Supreme Court cases?
o Did any world events take place?
o Were there any political campaigns or election?
o Did any wars occur in your year?
What were the popular music and dances?
o What artists reached the top of Billboard Magazine?
o How did kids dance at school dances?
o What were the popular topics of music?
o Was it the same for all races? All social classes?
Were there fads and technological advancements?
o What were some of the inventions?
o Were there explorations- countries, space, ocean?
o What sorts of discoveries were made?
o What were the new/popular toys?
Fashions
o How did men dress?
o How did women dress?
o Was it the same for all races? All social classes?
Popular food and entertainment
o What new foods were introduced?
o What did people watch?
o What were the movies that came out?
o Were there any television shows that began?
o Who were the big actors and actresses?
Speech
o What sort of things were people saying?
o What sort of slang was spoken by kids?
o Were there new terms?
o What is the equivalent today?
In addition to writing about genocide, you can create a powerpoint about your year to share with
the rest of the class. This should include an overview of the main areas of research and should
include pictures, songs, quotes, and video from your year. We will be experimenting with
adding multimedia to our presentations to make them more interesting.
We will be working step by step through this. It may look overwhelming now, but it will not be
as bad as it sounds. We will build upon your skills with each class and you will become more
and more familiar with what is expected of you and hopefully more confident in your ability to
conduct research and write about your findings.
Grading
Writing 30%: Writing is clear and coherent and the organization and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience
Research 30%: Sufficient research is conducted and collected in the form of graphic organizers
and notes
Citation 20%: Use of 5 different sources, cited in proper MLA form
Format 10%: Writing is in size 12 font, Times New Roman, black, and double spaced
Editing 10%: Incorporating revision, peer editing, and rewriting
Great places to start your research online:
The History Channel
Time Magazine
National Geographic
National Museum of American History