Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Affluenza

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Students are introduced to the "disease" of affluenza. After watching a documentary, they identify the forces that have changed the nation into a consumer society. As a class, they discuss ways to avoid catching on to this phenomenon.
Worksheet
Curated OER

ESL Holiday Lessons: Plan on Buy Nothing Day

For Students 4th - 5th
In this ESL holiday lesson worksheet, students read a passage about Buy Nothing Day, then complete a variety of comprehension and vocabulary activities. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Need vs. Wants in Creating Sustainable Communities

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders create a T chart of their needs and wants. In this environmental science lesson, 9th graders brainstorm ideas on how to create a sustainable community. They decide what they would give up and keep to make the community...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Prosperity: Consumerism

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Article
Other

Westland Research: Consumerism and the New Capitalism

For Students 9th - 10th
This essay on consumerism and the new capitalism is a good resource on the topic for the serious student.
Handout
PBS

Art21: Barbara Kruger

For Students 9th - 10th
Much of Kruger's art questions the viewer about feminism, consumerism, and desire. Her trademark black text on a red background has been seen around the world and can still be recognized today.
Website
British Library

British Library: Discovering Literature: Georgian Society

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the Georgian period in its social, political, and historical contexts, with overviews of popular politics, the rise of consumerism, and entertainment.
Website
Other

Story of Stuff Project: The Story of Stuff

For Students 9th - 10th
Activist Annie Leonard narrates this anticonsumerism video that traces the links between what we consume as finished goods and what is consumed in the production of those goods. The hidden costs of consumption-costs attributable to...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The 1920s an Overview

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief overview of what is in store for America in the 1920s, the Jazz Age. Read about the rise of consumerism, the clash of values, and the rise of fearing the "other."
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: New Yorker Cartoons

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Education: Artifact & Analysis: Historical Interpretation

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A companion to American history courses, Artifact & Analysis features historical artifacts and documents about consumerism and the nation expanding, teacher's guide, writing assignments, and essays.
Unit Plan
Tom Richey

Tom Richey: Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression (1920 1939)

For Students 9th - 10th
Getting back to the daily grind after World War I led to an age of consumerism and wealth which created an entirely different culture of affluence in the United States until Black Tuesday in 1929. Find lessons, videos, slideshows, and...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: Becoming Modern: America in the 1920s: Prosperity

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Collection of six sections with primary resource material on the prosperity achieved during the 1920s explores consumerism, labor, and business. Includes notes, discussion questions and links to supplemental sources.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Transformation in North 1800 50: Early Industrialization Northeast

For Students 11th - 12th
Examines the transformation of work from artisan-centered to a mechanized workforce. Looks at the emergence of industrialization and the impact it had on production and on the worker experience, the development of the consumer society,...
Website
British Library

British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians the Middle Class

For Students 9th - 10th
Throughout the course of the 19th century, the middle classes expanded rapidly. Those moving up the social scale had to learn new modes of behavior and ways of life. These articles research how this sector of society was reflected in the...
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment

For Students 9th - 10th
This article traces the rise of consumerism; from the car to installment credit buying, and the rise of chain stores such as Woolworths.
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Shopping Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
This video [2:19] from Wide Angle provides a look at the new opportunities and consumerism created by the success of India's outsourcing sector.
Activity
SparkNotes

Spark Notes: Social Trends of the 1950s

For Students 9th - 10th
Spark Notes gives a brief overview of the 1950s from consumerism and conformity to poverty to youthful rebellion. A good review of this important decade in American history.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Lesson Plan: What the World Consumes

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
These visual, easy-to-grasp lessons in world economics and consumerism features lessons and related videos in which students experience first-hand the economic dilemmas faced by other countries and are asked to examine their own values...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Lesson Plan: What the World Consumes

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
These visual, easy-to-grasp lessons in world economics and consumerism features lessons and related videos in which students experience first-hand the economic dilemmas faced by other countries and are asked to examine their own values...
Lesson Plan
Other

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago: H. C. Westermann Curriculum

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Useful curriculm for introducing key sculpture and printmaking concepts focuses on the work of H. C. Westermann, whose work is often valued for its criticism of consumerism, militarism, and other social phenomena. Provides overviews and...
Lesson Plan
Other

Soil Association: Food for Life Curriculum Pack [Pdf]

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
A curriculum focusing on food production and consumerism.
Website
American Chemical Society

The Pharmaceutical Century: The 1950s

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive review of the advances in medical research and technology in the 1950s credits the Cold War and Cold War thinking with promoting scientific research and government funding of that research, including medical issues. Find...
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Industrialization 1870 1900: A New American Consumer Culture

For Students 11th - 12th
Learn about the development of the consumer mindset at the end of the 19th century.

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