Ostara: Modern America
20th Century Transformations • 4th Principle: Free and responsible search for truth
🌸 Unit Overview
As Ostara celebrates spring's balance, we examine America's 20th century—World Wars, Civil Rights, and the search for truth. We read The Grapes of Wrath and civil rights literature. In math, we master sequences, series, and functions.
🎯 Learning Goals
- • Analyze World Wars I and II
- • Understand Great Depression and New Deal
- • Examine Civil Rights Movement
- • Explore Cold War tensions
- • Master sequences and series
Weekly Lessons
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Ostara, balance of light and dark; examining conflict and progress
📖 Language Arts
WWI poetry: Owen, Sassoon; analyzing war literature
📐 Math
Arithmetic sequences; finding terms and sums
⚡ Science
Physics: review of mechanics; connecting to modern applications
🏛️ History
WWI causes: alliances, nationalism, imperialism; trench warfare; Treaty of Versailles
🎨 Art
WWI propaganda poster analysis; create an awareness poster
🏃 Movement
Trench simulation; understanding the physical toll of war
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Cycles of abundance and scarcity; gratitude in all seasons
📖 Language Arts
Begin The Grapes of Wrath; Steinbeck's style and social commentary
📐 Math
Geometric sequences; common ratio; growth and decay
⚡ Science
Physics: review of thermodynamics; energy in daily life
🏛️ History
Roaring Twenties: jazz, flappers, cultural change; Stock Market Crash; Dust Bowl
🎨 Art
Jazz Age art and music; Art Deco design
🏃 Movement
Jazz-inspired movement; 1920s dance
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Government's role in crisis; community support and responsibility
📖 Language Arts
The Grapes of Wrath: Joad family journey; themes of dignity and survival
📐 Math
Infinite series; convergence and divergence
⚡ Science
Physics: review of electricity and magnetism
🏛️ History
FDR and the New Deal; rise of fascism in Europe; road to WWII
🎨 Art
WPA murals and public art; create a community mural design
🏃 Movement
Community building activities; cooperative challenges
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Moral complexity—when is war justified? Multiple perspectives on conflict
📖 Language Arts
The Grapes of Wrath: California chapters; American Dream critique
📐 Math
Review of sequences and series; applications to population growth
⚡ Science
Physics: review of waves and optics
🏛️ History
Pearl Harbor, European and Pacific theaters, D-Day, Holocaust, atomic bombs
🎨 Art
WWII poster design; propaganda analysis
🏃 Movement
Discussion and reflection; memorial activities
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Standing up for justice—courage in the face of opposition
📖 Language Arts
MLK's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'; Malcolm X excerpts; civil rights literature
📐 Math
Introduction to functions; domain and range; function notation
⚡ Science
Physics: comprehensive review and applications
🏛️ History
Cold War tensions, McCarthyism, Korean War, Brown v. Board, Montgomery Bus Boycott, MLK Jr.
🎨 Art
Civil rights photography and art; visual storytelling
🏃 Movement
March and demonstration simulation; peaceful protest
🕯️ Hearth Circle
Change and resistance—how movements create lasting change
📖 Language Arts
Tim O'Brien 'The Things They Carried' excerpts; protest poetry; unit essay
📐 Math
Composite functions; inverse functions; review
⚡ Science
Year-end physics synthesis; connections across units
🏛️ History
Vietnam War, counterculture, women's movement, Watergate; 20th century synthesis
🎨 Art
Portfolio review; spring art showcase
🏃 Movement
Celebration of learning; Ostara activities