Exploring America in the 2000s: New Millennium, New U.S. (Grades 6-8)

Exploring America in the 2000s: New Millennium, New U.S. is an interdisciplinary humanities unit that looks at literature, art, and music of the 2000s 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 the rise of social media and the advancements of minorities are examined alongside larger issues such as 9/11 and its profound effect on American identity, our redefined role in the War on Terror, increasing environmental awareness, and economic recession and corporate struggles. 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.