Introduction
You have just discovered a time machine in the school storage building!  Should you enter it or not?  The time machine will only go back to the 1950's and now you must decide if you would choose to live in that time period or stay in the current year. Once you are in the time machine there is no going back to the present so you must be sure of your decision.  Are you prepared to make such an important choice?  Time is a wasting...

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The Task
Now that you are facing such a serious decision you must weigh the options.  Your task is the following:

• Investigate the entertainment (music, dancing, movies, toys, sports) available in the 1950's to youth.
• Research clothing in the 1950's and discover what was considered fad clothing.
• Find the roles of women and men in the 1950's at home and at work.
• Investigate what food was popular and its cost compared to today.
• Look at photos and descriptions of cars of the 1950's and research safety features.
• Decide if you would rather stay in the 21st Century or jump back to 1950 and live on from there.
• Each investigator must interview someone who was in school during the 1950's  and give them a Fifties' Survey to complete.
• Write a summary of the information gathered and make a final statement with your decision for staying or going back in time, and defend your choice.  Use Microsoft Word to write your paper.
• Prepare a 10 to 15 slide Power Point presentation showcasing the entertainment, clothing, roles, foods, cars and inventions of the 1950's.          BACK TO HOME



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You will be assigned to a group of four investigators and everyone will have a specific area of research.  You will become an expert in the area of research you are assigned.  Gather as much information as you can. 

You will be an investigator in
ENTERTAINMENT AND FOOD
JOBS
CLOTHING AND FADS or,
CARS AND INVENTIONS

ENTERTAINMENT AND FOOD
1. Name at least 5 television shows of the fifties and are they still seen today?
2. Find what movies were popular and investigate where movies were seen.
3. Learn what music was "hip" and what musical artists were popular with young people. Are those artists still popular today?
4. What toys were children in the fifties playing with and did television and movies influence those toys?
5. What sports were played in schools and on television and radio.
6. What foods were popular for youth to enjoy and families to cook and what were food prices in 1950 compared to 2003?
7. Were there any fad foods?

JOBS
1. What jobs were popular for men and what roles did they play in raising their families?
2. Have those roles for men at work and at home changed in the last 50 years?
3. What jobs were popular for women and what roles did they play in raising their families?
4. Have those roles for women at work and at home changed in the last 50 years?
5. Do women have more opportunities today in the work setting? Do men?

CLOTHING AND FADS
1. Describe clothing for boys/girls/men/women in the 1950's.
2. Do you see any of those same clothing items today?
3. What clothing fads were popular with young people?
4. What other fads were there in the 1950's?

CARS AND INVENTIONS
1. What type of cars were popular in the 1950's
2. Find prices of the cars in the 1950's and compare them with today's prices.
3. Describe some of the features of the cars in the 1950's.
4. What safety features did the cars have compared with cars in the year 2003?
5. What are Hot Rods?
6. Name 5 inventions from the 1950's and describe how they worked and what their use was.
7. Are the inventions still being used today?
8. What was the space program like in the 1950's?

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
1. Have family values (marriage, work, children) changed in the last fifty years?
2. Are there any advances in technology or science today that make living in the year 2002/2003 better/worse?
 

You will be using on-line resources to gather the needed information and a personal interview with someone who was in their school years in the 1950's.  You will use the following Fifties' Survey for your interview. You should take notes on paper while investigating on-line and once everyone has investigated their subject area you will put your research together and write a 2 - 3 page paper, as a group, on Microsoft Word.  Choose a clear font for your paper and check for spelling and grammar errors using the ABC check.

Your group will make a final decision at the end of the paper and defend your decision to either stay in the current year or go back to 1950 and enjoy life from there onward.

You will make a Power Point presentation of 10 - 15 slides showing clothing, cars and inventions of the 1950's.  You may also include toys, musicians, foods and any other information you feel will add to your presentation.

Use the following on-line sites to start your important journey back into time:

Photo Diary of the Fifties
Fifties Information
Rewind the Fifties
Literature and Culture of the American Fifties
History Channel on the Fifties
Guide Picks for Classic Fifties Culture
American Cultural History
Fifties Popular Culture and Suburbs
Fifties Rock Culture
Fifties Television Culture
Greatest Films of the Fifties
Women in the Fifties
Polio in the Fifties
History of the Barbie Toy
Personal Accounts of the Fifties
NASA History
History of Cars in the Fifties
Fifties Teacher Page
Yesterdayland

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Evaluation
You will be graded on a Rubric Scale individually and it is important that you work well within your group to receive an exemplary score.  Each group member is responsible for sharing information learned and gathered.

Click Here for Rubric

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Conclusion

Now that you have traveled back to the 1950's you have a better understanding of the differences, similarities, changes, and growth in the past fifty years.  You will have a feel of the times your parents or grandparents grew up in and how they may feel when reminiscing.  You have been able to compare the 1950's to today and decide, in your opinion as a group, what time would best suit you and why.  Congratulations on a successful time travel experience through the internet and you have now gained a strong understanding of how it used to be and how far we have come, or not! 

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Credits and Teacher Page

All of the clip art used on this Webquest is from Microsoft Design Gallery Live. 

Go Here to view SC Education Standards met on this WebQuest.

I would like to thank Bernie Dodge for the template of this Web Quest.

I would like to thank Paul Irwin for his patience and generosity!

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