2013, 48 pp
Paper, $45.00
ISBN 978-1-60635-166-6
A Teacher’s Resource Book for May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970
Drama, Education, History, May 4 Resources, Regional InterestJohn Morris
Created to supplement May 4th Voices, a play based on the 1970 tragedy, A Teacher’s Resource Book for May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970 explains how real teachers in real classrooms have adapted the play to use in various pedagogical situations and levels of instruction. It offers lesson plans and background material for students and teachers, describing the national mood in 1970, the events in Southeast Asia that heightened tensions on U.S. campuses, and the culture of antiwar dissent both nationally and within the community of Kent, Ohio.
A Teacher’s Resource Book for May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970 is designed to help teachers incorporate themes of social justice into the curriculum. It features materials to aid instructors at both the high school and college levels in navigating the play with their students. The Resource Book provides background on historically significant events, leveled comprehension questions, extended response writing prompts, cross-curricular activities, and independent collaborative projects. Essays on staging the play, working with oral history and verbatim theater in the classroom, and the significance of the events of May 4th, 1970, are included. The guide is also an excellent companion to the DVD and the online Kent State Shootings Oral History Project database.
What has been a defining historical moment dividing generations for decades has now been told and reshaped through the collective effort of Kent State University Press and Kent Historical Society. With contributions from educators around the country, A Teacher’s Resource Book for May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970 is the essential tool for teachers seeking to help students discover the legacy of the Kent State shootings and imagine how they will shape their world in the future.
A copublication of the Kent State University Press and the Kent Historical Society
**See also the May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970: A Play (ISBN 978-1-60635-165-9) and May 4th Voices DVD (ISBN 978-1-60635-187-1)
