US History · 11th Grade

Active learning ideas

Culture Wars: Traditionalism vs. Modernism

Active learning works especially well for this topic because the culture wars of the 1920s were lived experiences, not abstract debates. Students engage more deeply when they step into the roles of historical figures or analyze primary sources that reveal the day-to-day tensions between tradition and change.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.His.1.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.14.9-12

• 25–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Socratic Seminar
• 45 min · Whole Class

Socratic Seminar: Debating the Scopes Trial

Students read excerpts from both the prosecution and defense arguments in Tennessee v. Scopes before engaging in a teacher-guided discussion about academic freedom, local control of education, and religious belief. The seminar develops the skill of understanding a historical argument on its own terms.

Analyze how the Scopes 'Monkey' Trial reflected the clash between science and religion.

Facilitation Tip

During the Socratic Seminar on the Scopes Trial, pause after each speaker to ask students to restate the previous point, which builds listening skills and reinforces close reading of primary texts.

What to look for

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are a journalist in 1925. Write a brief (3-4 sentence) news report from either Dayton, Tennessee, covering the Scopes Trial, or a city street discussing the impact of Prohibition. What specific details would you include to capture the cultural conflict?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Urban Modernism and Rural Traditionalism

Stations feature images and short texts representing urban modernism (Jazz, flapper fashion, speakeasies) alongside rural traditionalism (Prohibition rallies, fundamentalist sermons, KKK marches). Students annotate observations and questions at each station, then debrief on how geography and economics shaped these different experiences.

Explain the motivations behind Prohibition and why it ultimately failed.

Facilitation Tip

When students prepare for the Gallery Walk, assign each group a specific perspective to research so they can defend it during the walk, making the debate more focused.

What to look for

Provide students with a short primary source excerpt, perhaps a quote from William Jennings Bryan or a description of a speakeasy. Ask them to identify which side of the 1920s culture war (traditionalism or modernism) the excerpt most closely represents and justify their answer in one sentence.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why Did Prohibition Fail?

Students read a brief text on Prohibition enforcement challenges, then discuss in pairs whether Prohibition was doomed from the start or could have worked with better enforcement. Pairs share their reasoning with the class, sharpening the skill of evaluating policy arguments with evidence.

Compare the values of urban modernists with rural traditionalists in the 1920s.

Facilitation Tip

For the Think-Pair-Share on Prohibition, give students one minute of silent processing time before pairing to ensure quieter students have a chance to organize their thoughts.

What to look for

On an index card, have students write one sentence explaining the main argument of the prosecution or defense in the Scopes Trial, and one sentence explaining a key reason why Prohibition was difficult to enforce.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 50 min · Whole Class

Role Play: Town Hall Meeting on Teaching Evolution

Students take roles representing a school board, a fundamentalist parent group, a science teacher, and an ACLU observer in a simulated 1925 town meeting debating whether evolution should be taught in local schools. The activity builds the skill of arguing from a specific historical perspective with historically grounded reasoning.

Analyze how the Scopes 'Monkey' Trial reflected the clash between science and religion.

What to look for

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are a journalist in 1925. Write a brief (3-4 sentence) news report from either Dayton, Tennessee, covering the Scopes Trial, or a city street discussing the impact of Prohibition. What specific details would you include to capture the cultural conflict?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by treating it as a living controversy rather than a historical footnote. They use role play and simulations to help students feel the stakes, and they emphasize that the 1920s were not a simple clash between good and evil but a complex negotiation over who gets to define America. Avoid framing the debate as a moral judgment; instead, guide students to analyze why these values mattered to different groups and how power shaped the outcomes.

Successful learning looks like students confidently articulating both sides of the debate, using evidence to support their arguments, and recognizing that these conflicts did not end in the 1920s but continued to shape American life. They should leave the unit with a clear sense of how cultural conflicts become political and legal battles.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Socratic Seminar: Debating the Scopes Trial, some students may think the trial settled the evolution debate once and for all.

  During the Socratic Seminar, ask students to create a one-sentence timeline of legal battles over evolution education from the 1920s to the 2000s, using the Scopes Trial as a starting point to show the debate’s continuity.

• During the Think-Pair-Share: Why Did Prohibition Fail?, students may assume Prohibition was a total failure with no benefits.

  During the Think-Pair-Share, have students analyze a graph of alcohol consumption and public health data before, during, and after Prohibition to identify both successes and failures, grounding the discussion in evidence rather than assumptions.

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Methods used in this brief

• Socratic Seminar
• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share
• Role Play