We Didn’t Start the Fire

We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel

When I was in grad school, it was a running joke that you could not pass the exit exam unless you could lecture for 15 minutes on any line in this song.  Being familiar with the song is a great way for students to be able to touch upon the major historical points of 1945-1989 in both American and World History, and honestly the catchy tune doesn’t hurt either.  The video was first created by Scott Allsop, who currently teaches at an international school in Egypt. From then on, this gem became one of the most shown (and remade) modern history educational videos.

For item by item explanations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Didn’t_Start_the_Fire

For a lesson plan accompaniment:

http://www.mrallsophistory.com/fire.html