1990s/Perks of Being a Wallflower

Introduction

While visiting a European museum, an interesting display catches your eye - the museum is accepting design proposals for a new exhibit on American popular culture, from the 1990's. You are overcome with nostalgia as you remember the days that helped to shape you and the entire nation...the songs, the sites, the sounds, the events, the movers and the shakers...

You then imagine how you, given the opportunity, would design this exhibit to share with the world the odyssey of American culture during the 1990's...how could you effectively capture the essence of those tumultuous times for the enjoyment and enlightenment of generations to follow?

Task

The Task

You and/or your colleagues form a think tank for the task. Living in an information age, you decide to harness modern technology to accomplish your design -you will construct a PowerPoint that will introduce the exhibit. When you complete the PowerPoint, you will present it to the class. Therefore, you will get a project grade for the PowerPoint and a class grade for the presentation. After much brainstorming, you and your team decide to "divide and conquer" the awesome task of communicating the highlights of the 1990's. To do this, you will accomplish the following:

  • Brainstorm and research information pertinent for the 1990's,
  • Furnish a powerpoint presentation for the respective decade which includes songs, television shows, movies, fashion/hair and important events.
  • Prepare a "summary statement" for each section you are assigned and include necessary links and images. Be ready to present the PowerPoint.
  • The last slide of your PowerPoint will be your work cited page
  • When you are complete your work, you will come up with 4 test questions with answers, which I will collect separately. Make sure when you are presenting, you review the information for the test questions to your classmates. 

For this webquest, you will be finding your own resources using a search engine. Many answers, however, can also be found on the website: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1990s.html

You must cite your sources! Including images!

Process

1990's

1. History/EVENTS: Add illustrations to your powerpoint-get creative!

1. Who were the Presidents of the United States? 

•What does it mean to impeach a president?

•Why was President Clinton impeached?

•Do you believe that Bill Clinton should have been removed from office? 

2. Persian Gulf War, 1991:

http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_gulfwar.htm

    1. Who is involved?
    2. What was happening?
    3. What was the outcome? 

 

4. Who is Rodney King? Explain

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june12/rodneyking_06-18.html

5. What events did the Rodney King Court case spark?  Explain.

6. What happened in the World Trade Center? Explain 

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/lessons-world-trade-center-bombing-article-1.1272998

7. What is the Branch Davidian? Explain

8. Why was O.J. Simpson in the news during the 1990's? Explain

9. Who is Timothy McVeigh? Explain

10. What happened on April 20th, 1999? Explain

11. What is the Brady Bill? Explain

12. What is the Contract with America?Explain

13. What historic event took place on December 31, 1999 at noon?Explain

 

2. MUSIC: Make sure to add illustrations-get creative!

(http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/90smusic.html will be useful here)

Collect information on music that was popular in the decade. Be sure to include illustrations and add links to each selection. Be ready to share a couple of your favorites! 

  • Overall top artist-female and male. What song were they known for? 
  • Overall top 10 hits

a. What is Grunge music? What is Alternative Music?

b. Describe the style, roots, and influences of Grunge and Alternative Rock:

C. Listen to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” What traits of Grunge do you see in it?

D. What is Bubblegum Pop? Explain 

E. Listen to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls. What traits of Bubblemgum POP do you see in it? Explain

F. What artists were at the top of each music chart category and what song were they famous for?

  • Country:
  • Classic Rock:
  • Grunge:
  • Metal:
  • Pop:
  • Techno-Dance:

 

3.  Television: Make sure to add illustrations-get creative!

a. Look up the T.V. show M*A*S*H.* what does it stand for and what was the show about? List the main characters in the show and what are they doing now? Add a link for an episode. When we have extra time, we can watch the show as a class. 

b. What are the top 10 most popular television shows of the 1990's?  list them by year below. Find a trailer/commercial or poster for each T.V. show and attach it to the year. Add a links for each show and pick out your favorite one. When we have extra time, we can watch the show as a class. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

c. What are the top 10 most popular commercials for the 1990's? Add links for each one and be ready to share a few of your favorites with the class. 

1,2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

 

4. Movies: Make sure to add illustrations-get creative!

a. What were the top films of each year? List them by year below. Find a trailer or poster for each movie and attach it to the year. 

1990, 91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98, 99

b. Who was the top actress? actor? Who was the top child actress? actor? What are they doing now?  Write a brief summary for each person. 

5. Fashion/Hair/Technology: Make sure to add illustrations-get creative!

1. Name 4 fads that became big in the 1990s and explain what they are. 

2. Name at least 4 fashion styles and find examples to illustrate. 

3. What were the big collectible items of the 1990's?

4. Name three popular fashion designers for the 1990's and give a brief biography and show examples of their designs or work. 

6. 1990’s technology (start of the internet, CD’s, etc.) Was Facebook invented? Or online dating sites? What was going on with technology? 

  • Instant Messaging and the buddy list becomes popular. AIM and ICQ are two early protocols.
  • The first MP3 player, the MPMan in 1998, is released. Sony Disc man is released as well.
  • DVDs become available in the US in 1997 and rapidly increase, making video cassettes obsolete.
  • Netflix is launched, offering DVDs mailed straight to your home, which you could select in an online queue.
  • The first touch screen Smartphone is released in 1993, with a monochrome screen.
  • The first mobile phone game, Tetris, is released.

  • Mobile phones become smaller and more affordable throughout the decade.
  • The first SMS text message was sent in 1992.
  • Cars are being installed with automatic doors, windows controlled with electric levers replace cranks, GPS are installed, and CD drives are put in cars
  • Dolly the Clone sheep

 

Evaluation

Evaluation



Teacher Name: Ms. Mahoney
Student Name:     ________________________________________
CATEGORY 95-100 94-90 89-80 70 and below
Attractiveness The exhibit is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. The exhibit is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. The exhibit is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. The exhibit is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.

Required Elements
The exhibit includes all required elements as well as additional information.
All required elements are included on the exhibit.
All but 1 of the required elements are included on the exhibit.
Several required elements were missing.

Content - Accuracy
All facts are accurate.
1-2 Facts are incorrect.
3-4 facts are incorrect.
5 or more facts are incorrect.
Labels All items of importance on the exhibit are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. Almost all items of importance on the exhibit are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. Several items of importance on the exhibit are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled.

Citations
All sources are correctly cited.
1-2 sources are not cited correctly.
3-4 sources are not cited correctly.
5 or more sources re not cited correctly.
Conclusion

Conclusion

You have completed an odyssey through four decades of American life and experience for the 1990s. How accurately do you think you completed this task?  Do the elements of popular culture - media, art, music, entertainment - seem to actually influence the events of the nation, or are they merely a barometer of the times?

Credits