MR G'S GROOVY ORAL HISTORY MEGA-PROJECT

MR G'S GROOVY ORAL HISTORY MEGA-PROJECT
THE ROCKIN' 50s IN OUR TOWN
Bridges to our past…
by Ryan Goble.

BOOKS: Catcher in the Rye
Our Town

VIDEOS/LECTURES:            The Early History of Rock and Roll
                                                David Halberstam's The 50s
                                                Pleasantville
                                                Supplemental Reading will be given throughout the unit.

Literature is a series of stories and stories are our collective history. Stories are the things that hold us together as a community and as human beings. Holden Caulfield tells his story in his own distinct voice and in Thorton Wilder's Our Town it is the exploration of our lives that the reader focuses on. We are using the past to give us insight into our present lives -- the stories we live, versus the stories we are told.

UNIT OBJECTIVES:

To work collaboratively with parents.
To work with people from other generations
To understand all phases of designing, implementing, and completing an activity.
To increase active involvement in the study of stories
To preserve a small segment of a relatively recent historical period as viewed through the eyes, experiences, and memories of people who lived during that time.
To increase active involvement in the study of United States history.
To provide students the opportunity to "experience" history firsthand, which places local history within the overall context of United States history.
To understand that United States history is not simply a series of isolated events from the pages of a textbook, but rather is composed of life experiences and memories of many Americans.
To learn that history is in essence the collective memories of actual events that has directly affected the lives of their friends, acquaintances, and relatives.
To increase their understanding of a specific historical event.
To gain first-person information about an historical event which makes it much more relevant to one's life.
To create and administer various interview instruments. Students must pilot the interview instrument to better understand that various questions may elicit unanticipated, unexpected, and unintended answers.
To understand that participant selection will result in comprehension of the dynamics of time, continuity, and change among age groups.
To generate a list of questions and ask questions only as guidelines.
To learn to listen carefully to people talking and to record their stories and ask questions accordingly.
To improve on personal relations skills for better communication, etc. etc.
To improve student's question skills as they ask the various questions and follow-up questions of the "what" variety, and the probing questions of "how" and "why."
To improve student's writing skills as they become cognizant of how people use their language skills.
To enhance student's listening skills by accurately listening to what was said, and by listening for how and why the person being interviewed chose to describe an event as he/she did.
To gain organizational skills pertaining to their use of time, energy, and information.
To hone proofreading skills which will be improved as they read and re-read their final product to insure accuracy.
To work through both the creative and writing process.
To have students understand themselves better.
To make the connections between the past and the present.
To understand how history the art of storytelling and literature.

ANN ARBOR HISTORY TOPIC LIST

Commerce
Consumer Culture/Advertising
Women's Issues -- Memoir of homemakers, working women?
History of Local Theatres
Local Music
Growth of Ann Arbor (Urbanization)
Minority Issues/Civil Rights
History of University of Michigan (any facet, football, marching band, a department --as a side note there were interesting military research projects going on at the u)
The U of Michigan and the cure for Polio
History of Ann Arbor Public High Schools (as Huron/Pioneer weren't around as we know them today--but the Frieze Building…)
Architecture
Beatniks
Detroit Music Scene (In. Motown)
Toys
Medical History--Mental Health, Psychology, Medicine
American dream--Death of a Salesman--Arthur Miller at the U
Beatniks/Subculture
Television
Korean War
McCarthyism
Communism
Cold War (Precautions in A2)
Ann Arbor teachers from the 50s/any grade
Drive In Theatres in A2
Dating
"Peyton's Place"/Ann Arbor
Milltown antidepressants
Space exploration

You may also opt to volunteer at the Veterans Hospital and write about your experiences working there helping vets…

THE STEPS

Week 1--March 6 Discuss 50s Topic Selection
Week 2--March 13 Declare Topic; Groups (if you're in one)
Week 3--March 20 Research; Prep Interview; ?s
Week 4--March 27 Do interviews; Transcribe Interviews
Week 5--April 3 Begin Creative Synthesis
Week 6--April 10 Drafts; In Class workshops
Week 7--April 17 Due Presentation

You are historical investigators, and story hunters…This will be your performance, show, idea, project. You may not have groups larger than three or you may investigate alone…

TOPIC/GROUP SELECTION

Head to the Ann Arbor public library. According to historians at the Bentley Historical Library, the best way to get a feel for an era is to read the newspapers -- The Ann Arbor Public Library carries the News from the 1950s -- Start hunting there.

Research the general issues with the big picture of your project in mind.

Begin locating people or events that would be meaningful to you and help you make a connection to a person or place in the past. What kind of people might be able to direct you to the type of story you are looking for?

CREATIVE SYNTHESIS

3 Nights of Presentations (one for each hour).

YOU are to use your interviews for any of the following. You need at least a written and visual component for each piece.

Round table interviews may be really cool…three nights of presentations…
A Dateline 20/20 Investigative Video Report
Photo Essays
Journals
Short Stories
Plays
Music Videos
Comic Strips
Poems
Sitcom
Interactive Media
Design Game
Newpaper Article/News Feature
Essays
Website

THE RESOURCES

Places:
Dawn Treader Bookstore on Liberty carries many old magazines at inexpensive prices
Kaleidoscope--funky toy store on State. The people who work there know tons. They also have old mags.
Dascola Barbers on Liberty by the Michigan Theatre. There are many stories to tell…
Local Nursing Homes (look in your phone books)
A2 Public Library--994-2333
345 S. Fifth Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Glacier Hills Nursing Home

Bentley Historical Library--http://www.umich.edu/bhl

Kathy Marquis (Kmarquis@umich.edu)

Search their catalogue through Mirlyn, but be sure to limit the search to the Bentley's collection. That way whey you go to view their collection (which can not leave the library) you will know what you're looking for--They have an extensive collection of personal papers, photos, and pre

OTHER MATERIALS (from Sandra L. Arlinghaus, sarhaus@umich.edu).
The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit website: http://www.bhere.com/
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio: http://www.rockhall.com
Midi files: Elvis Presley, Hound Dog and others. http://www.geocities.com/~rlmillerjr/elvis_presley.html

Animated map of the changing boundaries of Ann Arbor. Base maps from Mallett's Creek Management Plan, February 2000, Mallett's Creek Association, Ann Arbor, MI.

Street map of Ann Arbor, 1999. City of Ann Arbor base map. Map produced in ArcView GIS, v. 3.2 (ESRI software).

Parcel map of Ann Arbor, 1999. Smaller parcels are shaded in lighter colors; larger ones in darker colors. Parcel boundaries have been removed to show pattern. City of Ann Arbor base map. Map produced in ArcView GIS, v. 3.2 (ESRI software).

Find where you live and where your oral history contacts live!

LINKS TO STUDENT WEBSITES