This unit focuses specifically on the fear of communism that pervaded much of the United States in the 1950s. Students then begin individual or team research into people who are noted for their roles in anti-communism activities.
Student groups report their findings back to the class to create a timeline of pertinent events.
The class concludes this unit either by interviewing people who lived through the era, or by inviting such a person into the classroom. This lesson requires approximately two weeks of class time. The lesson can be introduced in any number of ways. If you have access to a copy of the film, The Atomic Cafe , it contains newsreel footage of a town in Wisconsin that enacted what life would be like in America under a communist regime. It is somewhat corny but amuses students today.