Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

Oklahoma History: Culture, Migration, and Tourism

Daniel Schwarz | Published: July 19th, 2022 by K20 Center

Summary

This lesson invites students to take a virtual trip along Oklahoma's most storied roadway, Route 66. Students explore the impact that this highway has had on Oklahoma's culture, economy, and history since its construction in 1926. Students have opportunities to learn about American Indian tribes whose lands the highway passes through, the use of Route 66 as a migratory route during the Dust Bowl, and the important role the road has played in linking communities across Oklahoma. Additional activities allow students to see how Route 66 has been a boon to tourism and other industries for many years.

Essential Question(s)

What does Route 66 teach us about the impact that transportation, tourism, and migration have had on Oklahoma's culture and history?

Snapshot

Engage

Students listen to the song from which this lesson takes its title. Then, they engage in a Collective Brain Dump activity to analyze the song and determine what they already know about Route 66.

Explore

Students read an excerpt from the novel The Grapes of Wrath or one of several articles about Route 66 and use the Jigsaw strategy to discuss and analyze the readings with their peers.

Explain

Students engage in a whole-class discussion to explain what they have learned about the historical and cultural significance of Route 66.

Extend

Students work in groups to plan their own road trip along Route 66 and present their research digitally or by creating a map poster.

Evaluate

Students turn in their completed Route 66 Trip Planners and map projects for evaluation.

Materials

  • Lesson Slides (attached)

  • Route 66 Lyrics handout (optional; attached, one per student)

  • Route 66 Student Readings (one reading per student)

    • Excerpts from AIANTA Travel Guide (attached)

    • Excerpts from The Grapes of Wrath (attached)

    • America on the Move article (linked in the Explore section)

    • Route 66 Overview article (linked in the Explore section)

  • Route 66 Name Strips (attached, one set)

  • Three hats or boxes

  • Route 66 Trip Planner handout (attached, one per group of three students)

  • Create Your Presentation Using Google Earth handout (optional; attached, one per group of three students)

  • Pens or pencils

  • Poster board

  • Markers

  • Student devices with Internet access

Engage

Begin the lesson by displaying slide 3 from the attached Lesson Slides. Play the video on the slide, a recording of Nat King Cole's performance of the following song: "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66." Make sure students have a chance to read the lyrics displayed on the screen, or provide students with a copy of the attached Route 66 Lyrics handout so that they can study the lyrics more closely.

After the song has ended, ask students to get together in groups of three or four and engage in a Collective Brain Dump concerning the following questions:

  • What do you think of this song?

  • What do the lyrics tell us about Route 66?

After students have met with their groups, reconvene as a class and ask several questions to gauge students' existing knowledge about the highway.

Display slides 4 and 5, which introduce the essential question and lesson objective.

Explore

Display slide 6, which outlines the procedure for the Explore portion of the lesson. Organize students into groups of three or four. Invite students to use the Jigsaw strategy to read and discuss four different articles related to Route 66.

  • Reading 1: “American Indians & Route 66” reading from the Excerpts from AIANTA Travel Guide attachment.

  • Reading 2: Excerpts from The Grapes of Wrath attachment

  • Reading 3:Life on the Open Road” from the Smithsonian (from the beginning up to the section titled “Bobby and Cynthia Troup: ‘Get your kicks on Route 66’”)

  • Reading 4: Route 66 Overview from the National Park Service

Assign each group one of the readings. Give students 10-15 minutes to read and take notes, and then ask groups to work together to summarize their reading and discuss what they have learned about Route 66.

Explain

Reconvene students to engage in a whole-class discussion. Call on groups to present a summary of their article and explain what they have learned about Route 66.

Consider using some of the questions below to help guide the discussion.

Extend

Display slide 7, which includes a link to the sample tour “Route 66 Road Trip” created in Google Earth. Take students on a virtual tour of the three featured sites on the map. Ask students if they can guess why each site is significant. For each site (Blue Whale of Catoosa, Arcadia Round Barn, and Steven Grounds' mural at Concho Indian School), ask students the following questions:

  • What is this site?

  • Where is it located?

  • Why was it built?

  • What do you find interesting about this place?

Consider asking the additional questions listed on the Route 66 Trip Planner handout to encourage students to better understand the historical and cultural significance of each site. Explain to students that they will be designing a similar trip that will take them to three different sites along Route 66.

Display slides 8 and 9, which detail the instructions for the trip planning portion of the Extend activity.

Organize students into groups of three, and have each member of the group pick an item from one of the three sets of prepared Name Strips so that each group has one item from each of the three sets. The items they choose will determine the "road trip" they will be taking along the highway.

  • Set 1 includes sites along or near Route 66 that are either culturally significant to members of American Indian tribes in Oklahoma or are examples of cultural misappropriation.

  • Set 2 includes sites along or near Route 66 that reflect the role the highway played in shaping Oklahoma's economy by catering to the needs of migrant workers, aiding in the growth of communities, or allowing for the transportation of goods across the state and to various points between Chicago and Los Angeles.

  • Set 3 includes tourist attractions along or near Route 66 that show the role the highway played in enabling people to drive across the country, especially in the years following the end of World War II.

(All three sets list the sites from east to west.)

Distribute one copy of the Route 66 Trip Planner handout to each group. Tell groups that they will explore their chosen sites and create maps to document their visits.

Have students begin by researching their sites. As they conduct their research, encourage groups to use various online resources as they answer the questions on the handout. The National Parks Service website is particularly useful, but students might also wish to consult the websites included in “Oklahoma’s Route 66 Repositories,” published by the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Once students have completed their research, they should refer to their answers to compose a paragraph about each site to include as a caption on their map.

Evaluate

Engage groups in a Gallery Walk to view each of the other groups’ posters and ask questions of each group about the places that they visited. If students created digital maps, have them provide a link for their classmates to access.

The completed Route 66 Trip Planner handouts and map projects can serve as evaluations for this lesson.

Resources