The Great Society VS.

Reaganomics
Description:

The students are going to learn about The Great Society and Reaganomics and the

problems that each president was wanting to fix as well as the actions that were taken to

accomplish their goals. These students will do this by reading a variety a sources that give

different perspectives of both The Great Society and Reaganomics.

Enduring Understanding:

Faith in the government is determined by the actions of its leaders.

Essential Questions:

How does a public figure loose or restore a nation's trust?

Guiding Questions:

To what extent should the government be involved in fostering economic growth?

How did President Johnson and President Reagan try to stimulate economic growth?

Why does society change over time?

Resources/Materials:

The Great Society Graphic Organizer

Reaganomics Graphic Organizer

Documents 1-6

Notebook Paper

Youtube Video Reaganomics: https://youtu.be/EeyGdy_SdhQ

Youtube Video The Great Society: https://youtu.be/pD3Vn44F7as

Extra Reaganomics videos: https://youtu.be/pSLWuubcHK8

TEKS/SE:
 (2) Social studies skills. The student applies a process approach to a research topic,

applying the ideas, theories, and modes of inquiry drawn from the social sciences in the

examination of persistent issues and social questions. The student is expected to:

(E) use information from sources that take into account multiple perspectives;

(17) Economics. The student understands the economic effects of World War II and the

Cold War. The student is expected to:

(D) identify actions of government and the private sector such as the Great

Society, affirmative action, and Title IX to create economic opportunities for citizens and

analyze the unintended consequences of each; and

(10) History. The student understands the impact of political, economic, and social

factors in the U.S. role in the world from the 1970s through 1990. The student is expected to:

(B) describe Ronald Reagan's leadership in domestic and international policies,

including Reaganomics and Peace Through Strength;

Clarification/Specification:

Reaganomics

● Once elected president in 1980, long-time conservative Ronald Reagan planned to reduce

taxes and cut government spending in an effort to stimulate the economy and put

Americans back to work. While Reagan’s policies will ultimately cut the marginal tax

rate by 30% and lower the unemployment rate, he failed to move Congress to cut

government spending, which coupled with increases in defense spending, created

expanding budget deficits and historic increases in the national debt. While these

economic policies might be costly for Americans in the long term; after 1983, the nation

experienced economic growth spurred on by lower taxes, defense spending, and

deregulation. Opponents of Reaganomics have often referred to it as “Trickle-Down

Economics” due to their opinion that it unfairly helped the wealthiest Americans.

The Great Society

● President Johnson’s Great Society Programs were intended to provide

opportunities and improve the quality of life for all Americans. These programs

focused on:

○ 1. A broad program of Civil Rights legislation, including the Civil Rights

Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965). LBJ also introduced

affirmative action.

○ 2. LBJ’s call for a “war on poverty,” the Economic Opportunity Act

(1964) created a new government office to administer programs

established by the act. These included the Job Corps, to train

underprivileged youths, and a domestic “Peace Corps” to help in

depressed areas. Medicaid was created to provide a health program for

certain people and families with low incomes and resources

○ 3. The Medicare Act (1965) in which Social Security was expanded to

provide medical care, hospital insurance, and post-hospital nursing for

people over age 65.

○ 4. Addressing the growing plight of America’s cities, a new cabinet post

was created to help the nation’s urban areas; money was set aside for

urban planning, slum clearance, rental assistance for the poor, and the

reconstruction of buildings.
 ● Many criticized Johnson’s Great Society programs for extending the reach of the

● government too far into the lives of the American people. Despite Johnson’s

efforts, many Americans remained in poverty. The cost of the Vietnam War

eventually forced Johnson to withdraw much of the funding from domestic

funding of the Great Society programs. Because of these problems, LBJ did not

seek reelection in 1968.

Vocabulary:

Inflation

Medicare

Medicaid

Lesson Objective:

The students will able to identify and explain the problems that President Johnson was

facing and actions he took to solve those problems through the Great Society as well as the

problems that President Reagan was facing and the actions he took to solve these problems

through Reaganomics.

Lesson
Engagement Time: 12 Minutes

● Objective:

○ The students will examine the basic principles of both Reaganomics and The

Great Society.

● Guiding Questions:

○ What is the Great Society?

○ What is Reaganomics?
● Actions of Teacher:

○ The teacher will first start off with asking the students what they know about both

the Great Society as well as Reaganomics. This will allow me to gage what the

student’s prior knowledge is about the topic. After the short discussion, the

teacher will show two short 3 minute films from the History channel. One

discusses the programs of the Great Society. The other one discusses

Reaganomics and the controversy that went with it. Once the clips are over, the

teacher will have the students use the writing strategy think, pair, share, and write

with their shoulder partner to discuss the importance of each piece of legislation

was based on what they saw in the videos. Once they shared their answers with

their partner and wrote their answers down on a sheet of paper, the teacher will

have the students share their answers with the class.

● Actions of Students:

○ Today we are going to discusses the similarities and differences between the

Great Society and Reaganomics. First we will watch two short clips, one being

over the Great Society and the other being over Reaganomics. Before we watch

the clips, I want you to dig into your prior knowledge about these two pieces of

legislation. What can you tell me about these? Now that I have a better

understanding of your knowledge about the topic we will watch the clips. Now

you have seen the clips to gain a better understanding of the legislations as well as

what is to come later in this lesson, I want you to share with you shoulder partner

the significance of the Great Society as well as Reaganomics. Once you have
 shared your answer with your partner, write down you and your partners answers

on a sheet of notebook paper and be prepared to share you answers with the class.

● Transition Statement:

○ Now that you understand the basis of the Reaganomics and The Great Society.

let's get ready to analyze and gather information to further our understanding of

these policies.

Exploration Time: 20 Minutes

● Objective:

○ The students will be able to analyze the documents and formulate claims in

regards to either the Great Society or Reaganomics while providing evidence to

support the claims.

● Guiding Questions:

○ What problems were LBJ wanting to solve?

○ How did Ronald Reagan plan to solve his economic concerns?

● Actions of Teacher:

○ The teacher is going to provide six documents to the students. Three documents

will be over the Great Society while the other three documents will be over

Reaganomics. Working with a partner, the students will read through the three

documents for the Great Society and using the graphic organizer to help with their

organizational skills, the teacher will have the students make three claims that

about the problems that LBJ was wanting to solve through the Great Society. The

teacher will also have the students provide evidence from at least one document to
 support their claims. Once the students have finished, the teacher will discuss the

answers with the students.

○ The teacher will then have the students move onto the next graphic organizer and

with the same three documents, the teacher will have the students make three

claims about the actions that President Johnson and his administration undertook

to foster economic growth. The teacher will have the students support each claim

with evidence from at least one document. Once the students have finished, the

teacher will discuss the answers with the students.

○ With the next three documents that discuss Reaganomics, the teacher will have

the students use the same strategies but this time the students will have to make

three claims about the problems that Reagan identified as economic concerns and

the actions that Reagan and his administration undertook in order to foster

economic growth. Once the students have finished, the teacher will discuss the

answers with the students.

● Actions of Students:

○ Today we are going to take a look at six different documents. Three of the

documents talk about the Great Society while the other three documents discuss

Reaganomics. You are also going to be given four different graphic organizers.

With the first graphic organizer, I want you to work with a partner and read

through the first three documents about the Great Society. While reading, I want

you and your partner to make three claims about the problems that President

Johnson hoped to solve through the Great Society. You will write each claim

under the claims section of the graphic organizer. With each claim, I want you
 and your partner to provide evidence from at least once document to support each

claim. So you should have three claims and three pieces of evidence. Be ready to

have a class discussion to go over your answers. You will then do the same thing

with the second graphic organizer only this time you will make three claims about

the actions President Johnson and his administration undertook in order to foster

economic growth. Again, be ready to share your answers with the class.

○ We will do the same thing with the next 3 documents and next two graphic

organizers over Reaganomics. Only this time, you will first make three claims and

provide evidence to support those claims about the problems President Reagan

identified as economic concerns on one graphic organizer and make three claims

and provide evidence to support those claims about the actions that President

Reagan and his administration undertook in order to foster economic growth. Be

prepared to share your answers to these with the class as well.

● Transition Statement:

○ Now that we have assessed the claims that both Ronald Reagan and Lyndon B.

Johnson made in regards to their proposed legislation and policies as well as

provided evidence to support those claims, I want you to get ready to explain the

information that you have learned today.

Explanation Time: 12 Minutes

● Objective:

○ The students will be able to identify statements that either President Johnson or

President Reagan would agree with.

● Guiding Questions:
 ○ What was the basic principle of Reaganomics?

○ What was the basic principle of the Great Society?

● Actions of Teacher:

○ On another sheet of notebook paper, the teacher will have the students will write a

short 3 paragraph paper to the following questions:

■ In one paragraph, explain which statement President Johnson would agree

with and why. Support your claims with evidence from the documents

above.

● Sentence Starter: The statement that President Johnson would

agree with is...

■ In one paragraph, explain which statement President Reagan would agree

with and why. Support your claims with evidence from the documents

above.

● Sentence Starter: The statement that President Reagan would agree

with is...

■ In one paragraph, explain which statement you most agree with and why.

Support your opinion with at least two claims.

● Sentence Starter: The statement that I most agree with is...

○ The students will be given a sentence starter to begin each paragraph in order to

help with their writing. Once finished the teacher will have a few students share

their answers with the class.

● Actions of Students:
 ○ To end today’s class, we are going to do a writing activity. On another sheet of

notebook paper, I want you to answer the three following questions:

■ In one paragraph, explain which statement President Johnson would agree

with and why. Support your claims with evidence from the documents

above.

● Sentence Starter: The statement that President Johnson would

agree with is...

■ In one paragraph, explain which statement President Reagan would agree

with and why. Support your claims with evidence from the documents

above.

● Sentence Starter: The statement that President Reagan would agree

with is...

■ In one paragraph, explain which statement you most agree with and why.

Support your opinion with at least two claims.

● Sentence Starter: The statement that I most agree with is…

○ Once you have finished, be prepared to share your answers with the class.

● Transition Statement:

○ After you finish up your short paper, I want you to take out a separate sheet of

notebook paper, take a look at the question on the board. Now we are going to test

you knowledge.

Elaborate-Modification/Differentiation Strategies:
 Reteach Students: To check for understand, I am going to have the students write 3 facts

about President Lyndon B. Johnson’s The Great Society and explain how it impacted America

during the 1960s.

Evaluation:

In order to insure that the students understood the information that was given today, I am

going to have the students answer a question that will be posted up the board. Once the students

have chosen the correct answer, they will provide evidence to support their answer choice.

At the center of Reaganomics was a commitment to

A. Cut taxes.

B. Increase domestic spending.

C. Raise taxes.

D. Solve domestic problems by government action.