Exploring America in the 1990s

Book excerpt: Exploring America in the 1990s: New Horizons is an interdisciplinary humanities unit that looks at literature, art, and music of the 1990s to provide an understanding of how those living through the decade experienced and felt about the world around them. Through the lens of "identity," it explores life in America and the myriad groups that coexisted in harmony and, often, with friction. Cultural movements like grunge and Generation X will be examined alongside larger issues such as rising racial tensions following the O.J. Simpson trial and Rodney King riots, the conflict between progress and morality as scientific advances in cloning and the Internet changed the U.S., and the growing debate over previously marginalized identities and gay rights following "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and DOMA. The unit uses field-tested instructional strategies for language arts and social studies from The College of William and Mary, as well as new strategies, and it includes graphic organizers and other tools for analyzing primary sources. Grades 6-8