- Activity is both individual and cooperative. Students will work together to analyze primary sources on the inter-war period in both the Soviet Union and the United States and will work individually to draw conclusions about those sources by producing a Venn Diagram. Students will then participate in a teacher-led discussion about the topic and will draw conclusions as a class by producing a class Venn Diagram.
- The lesson will allow students to compare and contrast two of the major powers in the world during the interwar period. Also, because the two powers they will be examining are the Soviet Union and the United States, students will be able to see that despite the many differences between the two countries, there are also similarities. This lesson will occur after the assessment on World War I.
- Analyze ads and pictures as primary sources.
- Compare and contrast life in interwar Soviet Union and United States.
- Draw conclusions about events depicted in the sources.
MISSOURI STATE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
1.5 comprehend and evaluate written, visual and oral presentations and works
1.6 discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas and structures
1.8 organize data, information and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation
1.9 identify, analyze and compare the institutions, traditions and art forms of past and present societies
MISSOURI STATE ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Social Studies 6. relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions
Social Studies 7. the use of tools of social science inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps, documents)
KANSAS STANDARDS (High School-US History)
Benchmark 1: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of individuals, groups, ideas, developments, and turning points in the era of the emergence of the modern United States (1890-1930).
9. (A) analyzes factors that contributed to changes in work, production and the rise of a consumer culture during the 1920’s (e.g., leisure time, technology, communication, travel, assembly line, credit buying).
Benchmark 5: The student engages in historical thinking skills.
1. (A) analyzes a theme in United States history to explain patterns of continuity and change over time.
2. (A) develops historical questions on a specific topic in United States history and analyzes the evidence in primary source documents to speculate on the answers.
3. (A) uses primary and secondary sources about an event in U.S. history to develop a credible interpretation of the event, evaluating on its meaning (e.g., uses provided primary and secondary sources to interpret a historical-based conclusion).
Benchmark 3: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of individuals, groups, ideas, developments, and turning points of the Era of World War (1914-1945).
3. (A) examines the nature of totalitarianism in fascist Germany and communist Soviet Union (e.g., one party rule; systematic violation of human rights, secret police, state supremacy over individual rights, role of private property, class structure).
Attached instructions and analysis sheet
Advertisements from the 1920s from the following websites
- Please be aware students have already learned about traditional roles of women, consumerism (capitalism and socialism), flappers, and prohibition} Students will be divided into groups of two to examine the primary source images from the Soviet Union and the United States. Students will make a list of what they see in each image and begin to make inferences from the information gathered. For homework, students will individually make a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting life in the 1920’s in the Soviet Union and the United States. The next class period, the teacher will lead a discussion on the topic by drawing a big Venn Diagram on the board and asking students to fill it in. The Images will be projected in the classroom so students can defend how they made their inferences.
- On the exam over the interwar period, students will be asked to compare/contrast the social situations in the United States and the Soviet Union during the interwar period in an essay response. Full points will be awarded if students can describe two similarities and two differences.