PRINT RESOURCES

 

America in the 1960s / by Michael Kronenwetter

Lucent Books, World History Series 1998

http://tinyurl.com/y8548uk (WCLS)

Recommended for grades 6-10, but shelved in both juvenile and adult sections, so most likely appropriate for 11th graders.

Review excerpt from School Library Journal: "An excellent overview of a turbulent time in our nation's history. Kronenwetter has synthesized solid research with considerable skill to create a panoramic picture of the stormy decade that literally changed America. His prose is taut and straightforward but readable and scrupulously objective. Concisely, but with sufficient supporting detail, he examines topics and people such as John F. Kennedy, growing up in the `60s, the Cold War, the space race, the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson, the Great Society, Vietnam, and the events of 1968." Full review here.

 

The Vietnam Era / by Virginia Schomp

http://tinyurl.com/yel49tu (WCLS)

Benchmark Books, American Voices series, 2005

Recommended for grades 6-12

Describes, through excerpts from diaries, speeches, newspaper articles, and other documents of the time, the Vietnam War and related events that occurred in the United States during the 1960's, including the women's movement, the struggle for civil rights, and the generation gap.

 

Review of American Voices series from VOYA (excerpt): "These books offer overviews of topics, with the unique perspective of primary source materials. They will be useful for classroom discussions, lesson plans, and student reports" - Florence H. Munat. Full review here.

 

The Counterculture Movement of the Sixties / William S. McConnell, editor

Greenhaven, American Social Movements series, 2005

Reading Level: Young Adult

http://tinyurl.com/yc9rnme (WCLS)

Summary: With the emergence of student activism in the early 1960s, American youth reorganized the political conscience of a nation. By protesting against the Vietnam War, fighting for civil equality between the races, and introducing drugs and sexual freedom to a younger generation, the counterculture movement impacts both political and social practices in America.

 

Review excerpt: "The 21 essays, speeches, book excerpts, and personal observations, organized historically, look at the movement from both inside and out. The anthology offers a solid starting point for research." -- Booklist (September 2002)

 

The 1960s / by Timothy Maga

Facts on File, Eyewitness History series, 2003

http://tinyurl.com/yg2hoqm (WCLS)

From description: "The Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and trends in fashion and popular music are among the major themes. Each chapter includes a narrative of the main events and concerns of the period, followed by an annotated timeline, and selection of excerpts from speeches and documents. Appendices contain primary documents, short biographies, maps, graphs, and a bibliography."

This appears to be a bit less focused on conflict than the other titles, but may be useful regardless. Favorably reviewed by Booklist.

 

The Cold War / by Paul Harrison

Lucent Books, How Did it Happen? series, 2005

http://tinyurl.com/yhvlw5y (WCLS)

Recommended for Young Adults

Summary: Key images, professional opinions, and participant experiences enliven this title's discussion of spying, the space race, conflicts in Vietnam and Korea and more. Genocide, intentional nuclear destruction, world war -- what inspired such events and what was left in their wake? How Did It Happen? investigates these questions and others as it probes some of the major turning points in modern history. Encouraging readers to develop interpretive and critical thinking skills, this series from Lucent Books combines primary source materials, full-color images, expert opinions and narrative explanation of the causes and effects of key economic, political and militaristic events in 20th-century history.

 

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 / Juan Williams

African American History Series (Penguin), 1988

http://tinyurl.com/yhb36j3 (WCLS)

http://tinyurl.com/yjz8mss (Amazon.com)

From School Library Journal review: "Williams brings the events of the nonviolent civil rights years to life with photographs and lucid text, as well as brief asides interspersed throughout to provide participants' perspectives. Written in conjunction with the production team of the PBS-TV series of the same name, the book uses still photography, which provides different insights than the film footage of the same events shown on television. While the two could be used together, the book stands solidly alone as one of the best available summaries of the period." 

 

The sixties / photographs by Robert Altman

http://tinyurl.com/yhf7m4a (WCLS)

This oversized book of iconic photography could be useful for getting the kids' imagination and curiosity piqued.

 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES

 

American Cultural History 1960-1969 from Lone Star College - Kingwood Library

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html

A very good illustrated overview of the history of this time period, including statistics and historic events. While it does not go in depth on any particular points of conflict, it is a good background overview of life during the decade.

 

A Decade of Dissent: Student Protests at the University of Michigan in the 1960s from Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

http://bentley.umich.edu/exhibits/dissent/index.php

This is an interesting online exhibit describing the history of student protests at University of Michigan. Conflicts which inspired protests are described; some are local but others are national issues such as the Vietnam War. The personal view of the decade's conflicts from the locus point of a single university may be compelling for students.

 

The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation from PBS

http://www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/index.html

While connected with the DVD of the same name, linked to below, this site is a resource in and of itself. The "Revolutions", "Politics" and "War and Peace" sections all pertain to conflicts of the era, and the Resource Library contains many Web links as well as links to primary documents (bottom of page). There is also a For Teachers section with standards-based lesson plans.

 

A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law 

http://americanhistory.si.edu/lisalaw/1.htm

An online gallery of photographs from the era; the Social Activism and the Counterculture section is especially applicable. There is also a brief timeline.

 

DVD/VIDEO

 

The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation From PBS, 2005

From Web site: "The 1960s was a decade of change and hope that transformed America. Trace the events of one of the most turbulent and influential periods of political and cultural change in the 20th century and the powerful impact forced on an entire generation. Experience the 60s through revealing interviews with the prominent figures of the era, including: Daniel Ellsberg, Jesse Jackson, Tom Hayden, Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Bobby Seale and others." See also Web Resources section for interactive online features related to the DVD.

http://tinyurl.com/yjkzl6n (WCLS)

http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=2060671 (PBS Store)

 

A note on the research:

 

WCLS has many books on the 60s; I selected those which focused on conflict which seemed appropriate for a middle high school reading level. Many of the books and online resources contain primary source material.

 

 

 

Researched by Talia

Research time: 2.5 hours

 

Grade level: Junior

 

U.S. History

 

"Conflict" in this case has a broad context.  Conflict could be any issue people disagreed about in the United States during the 1960s.

Students may be doing research on topics like the Vietnam War, Civil Rights and the Cold War.