War of the Worlds: Panicked America or Did it?

War of the Worlds: Panicked America or Did it?

Gerald D. Swick

APA Reference:

Gerald D. Swick. (2013) “War of the Worlds: Panicked America or Did it?” Retrieved from www.historynet.com/war-of-the-worlds-panicked-america-or-did-it.htm‎

Summary:

This article tells the story of the 1938 Orson Wells Radio Show ‘War of the Worlds.” The article explores the reports of the hysteria and other reaction supposedly caused by the Radio Show and asks whether the reports were authentic or made up.

Teaching Ideas:

After reading the article to the students, they will turn and pair up and discuss how they think that people could be influenced by the media, movies, video games and the internet. The pairs will submit a summary of their discussion and share their results with the class.