Mrs. Johansson’s midterm project for AICE US History is a bit more unique than others. In addition to a test, the class holds a block party potluck in the theme of 1950s suburban life.

Firstly, the students are paired together and get “married.” Then, they develop a character and story for their nuclear family, filling out a small worksheet to describe them.

Secondly, the group picks a topic from what was learned in class for the 1950s, for example: Pro-Truman Administration, McCarthyism, The Rise of the Middle Class, etc. They then connect their topic to their family’s story and present it to the class. Junior Timothy Winburn got the topic of teenagers, which basically was about how teenagers lived during the 50s.

“I think that the topic assigned was cool, although since we didn’t have a teenager in the family, it was confusing to do since our topic was teenagers,” said Winburn.

The students dress up in clothing that was more common in the 1950s period, like suits, sweater vests, briefcases, sequin dresses, and fedoras. Also, they make a dish from that time period and bring it to the party. Some popular options include: Jell-o, pigs-in-a-blanket, Cheez-Whiz, Coca-Cola, and other dishes.

The backstories of the families are meant to be unique, but still similar in how they use themes that were learned during the lesson, like how one of the families might have been able to buy their suburban house because of the GI Bill of Rights, a bill that provided benefits to veterans and soldiers like giving them a lower mortgage or paying for college tuition, or how they are scared of communists because of McCarthyism, when there was fear and persecution against left-wing politicians and ideals due to their accused affiliation with communism.

This project will help the kids not only have a fun time with their friends, but also learn a bit about the culture and social dynamic of the 1950s, and allow them to see back in time to how people used to have fun and socialize.