Birth of the American Teenager

Pop Music History

1. Be on Time

Successful Saints are on time to classes.

2. Be Prepared

Successful Saints come with school supplies and have completed assigned

homework and readings.

3. Be in Uniform

Successful Saints are in full uniform at all times on campus.

4. Be Responsible with Personal Electronics

Successful Saints have their personal electronics off, out of sight, and put
away during class time.

5. Respond Promptly & Politely

Successful Saints should respond to all adult responses promptly and

politely.

All schools have rules that must be followed. At Locke, the most important are called the...

Class Norms

●Stay engaged in the discussion

●Stay in the classroom

●Instruments are OFF LIMITS

●Check Google Classroom daily

●Follow instructions the first
time they are given

Hello Locke Saints!!
Today is:9/12/23

Objective: SWBAT:

●Relate popular music to the social context in which it was
produced

●Characterize social, economic, and cultural change over time

Standard(s): Connecting 11: Relate artistic
ideas and work with societal, cultural and historical
context to deepen understanding.

Agenda:

Language Criteria: Speaking and Listening 2: Integrate
and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media,
including visually and quantitatively, and orally.

●Framing

●Opening Activity

●Changes in Teen Life

●Wrap Up

Academic Preparation: Prior knowledge of American
History during and after WW2

BIRTH OF THE AMERICAN
TEENAGER

Essential Question:

How did teenagers become a
distinct demographic group in

the 1950s?

Framing

●American Popular Music (AMP) began in the Jim Crow South after
Reconstruction.

●The two main influences on AMP, blues and gospel music, were deeply rooted
in West African musical traditions.

●The Great Migration carried blues and gospel music from the South to the
urban centers of the North and West.

●During the late Forties, the big bands of the swing era were replaced with
smaller bands (Rhythm and Blues).

Framing

●During the Fifties, the electric guitar replaces piano as the main instrument of
rock and roll music.

●As television began to take over as the main source of entertainment in the
home, radio responded by focusing on music. DJ’s like Dewey Phillips and
Hunter Hancock used their programs to introduce Black music to white
listeners.

●Young people considered rock music as a symbol of rebellion against the
beliefs of their elders.

Multiple Choice

American Popular Music as we know it does not exist without the contributions of West African and Black American culture.

• True

• False

Turn and Talk

With an elbow partner explain why you chose your answer in the previous question. Respond with:
"I chose TRUE because... (give reason)"
"I chose FALSE because ... (give reason)"

Opening Activity

Open Ended

In your own words, what is a "teenager"?

Turn and Talk

With an elbow partner explain why you chose your answer two questions.

"Have teenagers always existed?"

"How would you characterize the
relationship between teenagers and
adults?"

What is a teenager?

In the early 20th century, the period between childhood and
adulthood was simply called adolescence, a passing phase
between the two main periods in one’s life. But in the postwar
period, this age cohort – now known as teenagers –
developed a distinct identity and established itself as an
important demographic group that would come to have
enormous influence on American life.

Multiple Choice

Before "teenager", the word used to describe the period between childhood and adulthood was...

• Rudeness

• Effervescence

• Adolescence

• Trouble

Chuck Berry -
“School Days”

Open Ended

After listening to the song on the last slide. Answer these questions:

Who is the “you” in the song?

What happens to the person in the song?

What audience do you imagine Chuck Berry had in mind when he recorded this song in 1957? Who did he think might buy the record?

What conclusions can you draw from this song about the influence of teenagers on popular music in the 1950s?

The Birth of the American Teenager

How did teens become a force in the 1950s?

You will be viewing a series of
images depicting teenagers
before World War II and in the
1950s. For each set of images, you will answer a series of questions. Please answer in complete sentences.

Comparison 1: 1911 vs late Forties

Open Ended

Based on the images on the last slide, answer these questions:

What do you imagine the girl in the first picture does with the money she earns? Does she keep it for herself, or use it to help support her family?

Do you think the boys and girls in the second picture have jobs?

If they do have jobs, what do you think they do with the money they earn? Do they keep it for themselves, or use it to help support their families?

Comparison 2: Average weekly income of a teen boy

Open Ended

Using the information on the previous slide, answer these questions:

How much more did the average teenage boy have to spend per week in 1956 than in 1946?

What kinds of things do you imagine the teenager in 1956 would have spent this money on?

If teenagers in this era were able to spend more money on themselves than teens in earlier times, how do you think this might have affected their relationship with their parents?

Big Idea

Because of the postwar economic boom, many white,
middle-class teenagers had more leisure time and more
spending power than previous generations of young people. If
they held jobs, they were increasingly able to keep their
earnings rather than contribute them to the support of the
family, as they generally did in early generations.

Open Ended

Would black or Latinx teens have had the same sort of life as white, middle-class ones? Provide details to support your position.

Comparison 3: Soda Ads - 1940 vs. 1954

Open Ended

Using the information from the images on the last slide, answer these questions:

Who do you see in the first advertisement?

Who do you see in the second advertisement? Who is no longer in the picture? What does this suggest to you about changes in family life in the 1950s?

Comparison 4 - LIFE Magazine

Look at the photo and then read the article on the next slide.

Home

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Open Ended

Please list the opening claim for the article on the last slide along with 2 sub claims.

Big Idea

American business soon realized the enormous potential of
this emerging market, gearing advertising of everything from
soda pop to cars in order to cash in on teens’ growing
purchasing power. Companies in every segment of the
entertainment world — records, radio, television, movies –
were not far behind.

Open Ended

How might companies use Rock and Roll to reach white, middle-class teenagers? Would their marketing strate gies have worked on the black or Latinx populations?

Wrap Up

Open Ended

Based on what you've learned today, how did teenagers become a distinct demographic group in the 1950s?

Poll

I understand how teenagers became a distinct demographic group in the 1950s.

• Yes

• I have some questions.

• No