Teaching the use of primary sources is of critical importance. One type of primary source, newspapers, offers readily available reports of current events and provides data for student research projects. Videocassettes perhaps offer the best opportunity to capture students' attention about the recent past. Video camcorders can be used to record classroom reenactments of significant public issues cases, such as the Senate Watergate hearings. Another 20th-century event of wide interest and concern is the Vietnamese conflict.
Many lesson plans deal with teaching about the Vietnam War.
He uses the common themes of 1950s music, e.g., school, cars, first love, and summertime, to tie together, for students, the post-war optimism. The 1960s protest songs reveal the historical significance of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-war sentiments. The controversy over rock lyrics of the 1980s can be utilized to discuss issues about limits to freedom of expression. There are multiple resources from which to draw interesting and educational 20th-century U.S. history lessons. Emphasis on issues and ideas will help to enliven the history classroom.