Scott McAnally

Post-WWII Social Climate New York City Immigrant Experience in the 1950s

Lesson Outline
This lesson will use the song America from the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story to illuminate the struggles and opportunities of the 1950s Puerto Rican immigrant community in New York City. The songs lyrics offer short anecdotes that demonstrate the ambiguity of the American Dream. While the women in the scene primarily see America as a land of opportunity that fairs better than their native Puerto Rico, the men focus on the difficulties of fitting in to a mostly white society. This lesson will go beyond the lyrics and choreography of this specific show tune by searching through various primary and secondary source documents to uncover the historical events that influenced the conception of West Side Story by Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents. West Side Story has the potential to be used in a number of different subject areas. The musical could be featured in a unit on Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet in an English class to show the impact of his works on modern culture. This musical is recognized by many as the breakthrough achievement for composer Leonard Bernstein (Candide, On the Town), a subject worthy of discussion in any fine arts class. West Side Story can also be used to talk about issues of urbanization and immigration in a sociology class. For this specific lesson, I will use America from West Side Story in a 10th grade US History class to look into the social and cultural aspects of post-WWII urban life. The story of Puerto Rican immigration to the United States in the mid-20th century is fascinating because of its parallels to the struggle for civil equality by the African American community during the same

Scott McAnally

period. Both groups had been officially granted US citizenship years prior (1868 14th Amendment for African Americans, 1917 Jones Act for Puerto Ricans), however the social culture of the time viewed the two groups as second-class citizens. I therefore envision this lesson to fall somewhere in my unit on the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. While the African American civil rights movement is undoubtedly an essential piece to cover in this unit, I would not want my class to overlook other minority groups who were also fighting for their equality at this time.

Objectives
SWU immigration and urbanization has led to the development of ethnic neighborhoods and a struggle over territory and power in cities across American and over the span of its history. SWU de jure racist policies and attitudes subjugated Puerto Rican immigrants to unfair stereotypes and treatment that often negatively impacted their ability to pursue liberty and economic advancement. SWBT analyze song lyrics to make connections between the subjective fictional storylines and some of the objective realities of the time period.

Content Standards
Michigan High School Content Expectations (HSCEs) P2 Inquiry, Research, and Analysis P2.3 Know how to find and organize information from a variety of sources; analyze, interpret, support interpretations with evidence, critically evaluate, and present the information orally and in writing; report investigation results effectively. This skill-based standard will be used in this lesson when students try to organize the lyrics from America into select themes. Students will need to use higher-order thinking to find ways to relate lines such as buying on credit is so nice and industry boom in America. The process of organizing lines of the song into broader categories will improve students ability to interpret and analyze non-academic texts. Additionally, the second part of the lesson will have students sifting through a number of primary and secondary sources to defend the artistic expression represented in the song lyrics to historical accounts and events. The ability to skim through a number of texts to find information pertinent to your own research is a valuable skill that all students need to obtain through social studies education. 8.2 Domestic Policies 8.2.1 Demographic Changes Use population data to produce and analyze maps that show the major changes in population distribution, spatial patterns and density, including the Baby Boom, new immigration, suburbanization, reverse migration of African Americans to the South, and the flow of population to the Sunbelt. (National Geography Standards 1,3, 5, 9, 10; p. 184, 188, 192, 201, 203)

Scott McAnally

While not mentioned specifically in the content standard, students will be using population data, charts, and maps to understand the waves of immigration from Puerto Rico to the United States from the turn of the century until the 1960s. Students will investigate the reasons behind the demographic shifts and what technologies and events allowed for the push factors. 8.3 Civil Rights in the Post-WWII Era 8.3.4 Civil Rights Expanded Evaluate the major accomplishments and setbacks in civil rights and liberties for American minorities over the 20th century including American Indians, Latinos/Latinas, new immigrants, people with disabilities, and gays and lesbians. (National Geography Standard 10, p. 203) Much of the mid-20th century civil rights-oriented content standards focus on the African American community and for good reason. The struggle to gain equal rights decades after the abolishment of slavery is one of the most important American storylines of the 20th century. There were, however, a number of other important civil rights narratives, such as the experiences of Puerto Rican immigrants to New York Citys crowded neighborhoods. While this lesson will only focus on one specific community, the experiences of all immigrants in American urban centers often parallel the stories provided herein. Common Core Standards Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 612 Key Ideas and Details 2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text During the first part of the lesson, students will interpret the song and choreography as a primary source and will be asked to identify the views presented by the various characters. What are the two main voices arguing about? How are the opposing sides divided visually and through the choreography? How do the musical stylings influence the mood of the scene? These types of questioning strategies will lead students to an understanding the key ideas of the piece.

Method of Instruction
1. Play YouTube video of America from the film adaptation of West Side Story. Analyze primary source using questioning strategies. What was the main theme of the musical number? What sides of the issue were represented? What impact did the choreography / staging have on the message? How does the music (mixed meter / hemiola) help tell the story? Insert more...

Scott McAnally

2. Move from full class discussion questions to looking over the lyrics. Pass out lyrics and instruct students to take 1-2 minutes to read them over. Put Wordle of lyrics on board and ask students how they would categorize the song lyrics into themes (interpretations of Puerto Rico, opportunity in America, consumerism, racial attitudes toward Puerto Ricans in NYC). More generally, students could decide to divide lyrics between positive and negative views of America as a country or idea. 3. In order to facilitate the next part of the lesson, Id have to fudge the categories that the students created to fit into the materials I have prepared. Although not ideal, the process of generating categories develops students higher-order thinking skills. Students will now be divided up into 5 groups based on the following categories: Group 1 - Push factors in Puerto Rico/ability to migrate to US (New York City) Group 2 - Social makeup of NYC in 1950s (demographics) (# of Puerto Ricans immigrating) Group 3 - Economic conditions for immigrants in NYC in 1950s (housing, jobs, opportunity) Group 4 - Social attitudes toward the Puerto Rican community in NYC Group 5 - History behind West Side Story After the students have been placed into groups and given areas of focus, I will distribute a number of different materials to the groups and they will be tasked with sifting through the texts to provide a historical backing to the lyrics. For example, if I were in the group tasked with matching the lyrics that talk about the push factors that led to massive emigration out of Puerto Rico, I might choose to use the line Always the population growing, and the money owing. I would then sift through the texts provided to find out if/why this line is historically accurate (reading the article on the Puerto Rican diaspora in the United States would be a good start). Below is a list of some of the texts I would provide to all the groups. Life experiences of Puerto Ricans in New York from 1950 to 1960: a Research Little Things Are Big - Cultural Anecdote provided by Jesus Coln (Group 4) Short biography of Jesus Coln (Group 4) Puerto Ricans: Immigrants and Migrants Puerto Rican Diaspora in the United States Library of Congress - Puerto Rican Immigration Background and Statistical Information of the Puerto Rican community Puerto Rican migration to New York City West Side Story - Genesis of the concept (Group 5) The Real-Life Drama Behind West Side Story (Group 5) 4. After students have been given ample time to match lyrics with excerpts from the documents, I will assign a number to each group member (1-5). This will essentially

Scott McAnally

break up the groups so that there is one to two representatives from the original categories in each new group (jigsaw technique). Group members will then report to their peers about the different lyrics they chose and what they learned about the history behind them. Each group will have one set of materials that they can use to reference. Students are encouraged to ask questions or provide additional commentary. 5. Once groups have been given adequate time to share their discoveries, I will wrap up the class with an overview of what was covered, highlighting key historical events that the students should take away with them from this lesson. Additionally, I feel that it is important for me to justify to my students why the process of the lesson is good for their education. I would simply point out that the ability to sift through different lengthy texts to find the information that is pertinent to your task is an invaluable tool in higher education and in the workforce.

Humanities in Social Studies Education

As teachers of history, geography, economics or government, it is sometimes difficult to find ways to connect abstract or antique content to our students everyday lived experiences. The humanities can offer this connection through film, art, music, or any number of different mediums that focus on the human condition. In popular culture, media often contains a message that is linked to a historical event or is based on social conditions of the past. These texts, which many students may already be familiar with, can be used as a gateway or entry point for discussion. Some current examples include The Help, Mad Men, Band of Brothers. These films are nestled in a historic event or period and aim to recreate the social norms or experiences of the time. The set design, costuming, and art direction perfected in period pieces can bring historic scenes to life in ways not possible through text. In addition to making connections with students, teaching with the humanities can train students to consume media critically. The ability to read between the lines and ponder on the message of different types of media is an essential skill for students. Critically evaluating texts often requires a certain degree of interpretation and creativity. In my lesson using a song and dance from West Side Story, I encourage students to focus on musical stylings and body language to figure out the choreographers or composers message. As Denee Mattioli said in her presentation about media at the 2003 National Media Education Conference, It is essential in our citizenship role to view critically, analyze, ask powerful questions and draw our own conclusions. . . . Media literacy then, is essential to the citizenship role. In other words, the skills that students gain by analyzing song lyrics or interpreting a dance also adds to a students civic vocabulary.