Better Dead Than Red. Or.....Pink Flamingos or "Levitt To Beaver". From Elvis to Edsels, Sputnik to Beatnik, and Cold War to Consumerism.

An Integrated, Interdisciplinary, Thematic Unit on The American Dream in the 1950s This is an integrated, thematic, interdisciplinary unit designed for eleventh grade students in American history and American literature. It focuses on the birth of what would become known as the American Dream and acquaints students with changes affecting American culture and society in the 1950s as a result of the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. Topics include a comparison of history/politics, literature/theater, religion/philosophy/learning, visual arts, music, science/technology, and daily lives of the people in the 1950's and now. It focuses on the question of how this generation has been shaped by the "More/Better/for Less/American Dream" and assesses how suburbanization has positively and negatively affected our nation.