Idaho Social Studies 9-12.US2.32

Social StudiesGrades 9–12United States History II

The Standard

Examine the various ways the counterculture critiqued United States society.

Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Affluence, Cold War, and Social Revolutions 1945-1974

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain what counterculture groups objected to, including the Vietnam War, pressure to conform, and consumer culture. They use posters and accounts of communal living to show how people expressed those objections.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain what an antiwar poster opposed and why. They can also explain how living in a commune challenged common ideas about work and possessions.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat the counterculture as one group with one set of beliefs. They may see unusual clothes and music as the whole story, or assume every antiwar protester lived in a commune.
How to Assess It: Show a “Make Love, Not War” poster. Ask: What does it oppose, and what does it suggest people should value instead?

Lesson moves

Give pairs a 1968 Whole Earth Catalog page and a 1960s suburban home ad; have them circle clues about buying and self-sufficiency.
Ask: Why might someone who opposed the Vietnam War also reject pressure to obey authority? Use a “Make Love, Not War” poster.
Play critique match: students pair Vietnam War, consumerism, and conformity cards with an antiwar poster, a commune, and long hair.
Compare a current tiny-house listing with a homesteading page from the 1968 Whole Earth Catalog; ask what each suggests about possessions.

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