Looking Forward by Looking Back
The Imagine curriculum was developed as a project of The Next Fifty, a program designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. This curriculum uses the fair, also known as the Century 21 Exposition, as a lens through which students will examine what life was like in the Pacific Northwest fifty years ago and identify similarities and differences as compared to the world today. The curriculum challenges students to, through an analysis of where we have come from in the past five decades, look at where we are now and imagine where we will go in the future.
Ten individual units, tailored to a range of grade levels, offer interesting and relevant themes for students to pursue. The subjects include a variety of topics: the emergence of civil rights for women and communities of color; the changing geography (both physical and social) of the Pacific Northwest; developments in marketing, advertising, popular culture, and technology; and the lasting physical, cultural, and personal legacies of the fair. Carefully planned activities include materials with background information, primary and secondary sources, worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, audio and video clips, maps, and suggested teaching strategies.
The Imagine curriculum content and format were developed to align with Washington state academic standards, national social studies themes, national geography standards, and Newman's criteria for authentic assessment. All unit and extension activities have been designed to enhance the basic themes of The Next Fifty by stimulating imagination, encouraging innovation, and promoting individual and group involvement.
Introduction Unit: Fair Enough
Basic Project Information
Unit 1: Through the Looking Glass
Appropriate for grades 3-12
(Suggested to review basic information and/or selected activities from this unit prior to using units 2-10 to familiarize students with the 1962 Seattle World's Fair and its history)
Unit 2: Symbol in the Sky
Appropriate for grades 3-4
Unit 3: Everyone was Fairly Represented
Appropriate for grades 3-4
Unit 4: Journeys to the Center
Appropriate for grades 3-11
Unit 5: The Fairer Sex
Appropriate for grades 7-12
Unit 6: Sounds Fair
Appropriate for grades 4-12
Unit 7: Re-imagining Seattle Through Maps and Images
Appropriate for grades 4-8
Unit 8: Building the Fair
Appropriate for grades 5-8
Unit 9: What's Science Got to Do With It?
Appropriate for grades 6-12
Unit 10: Marketing the FairAppropriate for grades 10-12 (Economics)
APPENDICES:
Appendix 1, Resources: Annotated list of 1962 Seattle World's Fair primary and secondary sources, exhibits, and events.
Appendix 2, Walking Tour: A simple walking tour that can be used as a field trip or to develop field trip activities. Photos
Appendix 3, Curriculum Team: More about the educators who developed this curriculum, and relevant contact information.
Appendix 4, Oral History Techniques and Projects: Simple suggestions to get you started on a basic oral history project.
The Imagine curriculum is a project of The Next Fifty and was made possible with funding from the Seattle Center Foundation and 4Culture. Additional in-kind support was provided by KCTS 9, HistoryLink, The Seattle Times Newspapers In Education, Jack Straw Productions, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Museum of History & Industry, the Seattle Architectural Foundation, Bellevue Public Schools, Seattle Public Schools, and the Edmonds School District.
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