APUSH Students Time Hop to the 1960s

Mrs. Infanzon and Mrs. Barnes made history come alive when they shared how music and poetry influenced culture and history in the 1960s. Mrs. Infanzon says, "Mrs. Barnes has been very helpful in my being able to prepare for that lesson because she had the kids read portions of The Things They Carried, which is a memoir about Vietnam by Tim O'Brien." Because understanding the opposition to the Vietnam War and the support for the Civil Rights movement through historical analysis and literature was a huge part of the students being able to understand the lyrics/messages of the songs they heard, they were tasked with studying movements like the Freedom Riders and Woodstock in advance. In class, Mrs. Infanzon performed some of the music while students sang along. Mrs. Infanzon even dressed the part, which made the lesson even more engaging! She concludes, "Music is the soundtrack to history. When the students engage with the music, they have a much deeper understanding of the history."