This week we did a lesson on Populism, a social and political movement of western farmers and laborers in the late 1800s. One way to hook the students into the ideas and concepts surrounding this topic is to explain the popular theory that Frank L. Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz as a parable on Populism. Supposedly, many of the characters in the story represent ideas and concepts of this movement. This connection to The Wizard of Oz was first introduced by an American high school teacher named Henry Littlefield in the 1960s. You can read his original essay here.
I put up pictures of various characters from the book/film on our bulletin board as visuals. I love this lesson because as the students make connections between our discussion of the Populist movement and various characters in the film, I can see little 'light bulbs' going off in their minds via the expressions on their faces. It's really fun and engaging!
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