Prom: A Night to Remember?

An inquiry activityFor 11th and 12th

grades

Prom

• Does your high school have a prom? If so, what is it distinguished by? How would you describe it?

• Do you like it / are you looking forward to it? Why or why not?

• What purpose does your school’s prom serve?

• If you could change anything about your school’s prom, what would you change and why?

Prom: A Brief History

• What is the history and background of prom?

• Consider this history from Time Magazine (handout)

Prom Controversy?

• What is the purpose of prom? Why do schools host them?

• How did schools first begin to host proms? Are these the same reasons schools continue to host proms?

• Why do some schools not host proms?• What do you understand some of the controversies

surrounding proms to be?• Should there be limits on prom and prom activities?• What are the benefits of proms?• What are the problems of prom?

Racine, WI: “The World’s Best Prom”

• Every spring, Racine, WI, a small industrial town located between Milwaukee and Chicago, is turned upside-down by an event that captures the imaginations, the attention, and the concerns of nearly every citizen: prom.

• Read the article to learn more!

From Racine Post: images of prom

From Racine Post: images of prom

From Racine Post: Images of prom

From Racine Post: Images of prom

From Racine Post: Images of prom

Film Background: World’s Best Prom

• A seven-minute version of the documentary World’s Best Prom

• A two-minute news feature on the history of Racine’s post-prom

Racine Prom: Some criteria

Now that you’ve observed some artifacts from Racine’s prom events and considered the history of prom, as well as reflected on some of your own experiences with / ideas about prom, it’s time to consider some criteria by which we might be able to judge what “prom” should, and shouldn’t, be.

Racine Town Hall Meeting

Should we end prom?

Group Tasks:

• Decide as a group what sorts of data you need to read, and create a reading task sheet

• Read the data. Take notes. Discuss it as a group.

• Use the data to formulate a stance on prom. • Support your stance with claims, data, and

warrants.