Early Days of Route 66

Lesson Plan Overview: The history of Route 66 intersects with the histories of a diverse group of Americans and with many important historical events of the twentieth century. In this lesson plan, students will learn about the early history of the Route with a particular emphasis on the women who migrated to and set up businesses in the cities and towns along the historic highway. Using the first episode of the three-part documentary, Route 66: The Untold Story of the Mother Road, along with primary and secondary sources, students will analyze how individual people were affected during the route’s early history. The lesson also includes two assessment options; a creative project and a creative writing assignment.  

All materials available in Google Drive and PDF formats.

MATERIALS

  1. Presentation for Lesson Plan

  2. Secondary Source Presentation: A Brief History of Route 66

  3. Pre-watching activity

  4. Episode Summary: Route 66: The Untold Story of the Mother Road: The Early Days on Route 66

  5. Note taking Worksheet for The Early Days on Route 66

  6. Primary Source Analysis

  7. Creative Writing Assignment: Early Days on Route 66 Narrative

  8. Early Days on Route 66 Business Project

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

  • Gender Studies: Explore how the women on Route 66 challenged stereotypes about gender along the Route or how women’s intersectional identities impacted their experience 

  • Research Project: Pick one of the towns along Route 66 and research a business that opened in the town. Find at least two primary sources related to the business. 

  • Map-making Project: After hearing the stories of women along the route, create a map that shows where each one of them lived, the year that they or their family moved there, and what business or project they worked on

RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Learn more about the history of the route and the stories in the documentary at the website, Route66Women.

Websites with information about the history of Route 66:

A number of states have information related to the Route in their state: 

ALIGNMENT WITH STANDARDS

ELA Common Core Standards:

  • 9-10.W.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

  • 9-10.W.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

  • 9-10.W.5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

  • 9-10.L.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. 

  • 9-10.RH.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

C3 Social Studies Standards: 

  • D2.His.3.9-12: Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context. 

  • D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

  • D2.Eco.5.9-12. Describe the consequences of competition in specific markets.

  • D4.6.9-12. Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place