Historic Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Curriculum

Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash

Site Tour Curriculum Framework

The Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash site tour is a great
supplement to the classroom curriculum for K-12 grade students. During guided
tours, students not only learn about Johnny Cash’s role in Arkansas’s musical
legacy, but also how certain historical time periods, such as the Great
Depression, New Deal, and the Flood of 1937 impacted the people and culture of
the Arkansas Delta region. The topics discussed during the tour are aligned with
the Arkansas Department of Education Social Studies and Arkansas History
Curriculum Frameworks. Additionally, several on-site programs coincide with the
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.

The Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash, as a historic
site, is a cultural document – a primary source—that can be “read” and
analyzed by students. Through analysis of certain historical events,
cultural changes, and the musical influence of Johnny Cash, students
garner an understanding of how the site fits into a larger historical
narrative and reflects a diverse cultural heritage.
The guided tour and on-site programs offer an interactive opportunity to
apply a “reading across the curriculum” approach that is aligned with the
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies for grades 6 -12.

*For a complete description of the Reading Standards for Literacy in
History/Social Studies, please visit http://www.arhistoryhub.com/frameworks/

As you prepare for your class’s tour of the Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home
of Johnny Cash, the following list can serve as a guide for where the tour content
fits into specific Arkansas History/Social Studies curriculum frameworks. The
A tour can either be used to address a specific subject, such as the Great
Depression in Arkansas or the tour can provide a multi-subject review for
students. Please consult the heritage site staff on how the tour can be tailored to
meet your classroom curriculum needs.

K-4 Geography: Culture & Diversity

G.2.K.2: Discuss the location of a community and the ways that location affects the
people of a community (e.g., the Arkansas Delta region).
G.2.1.2: Explain ways in which the location of a community affects people’s lives, dress,
and occupation (e.g., the Arkansas Delta region & Cash family’s experiences at Dyess).
2
K-4 History: Regionalism & Nationalism
H.6.1.3: Identify historical sites of Arkansas (e.g., Dyess Colony Administration Building
& Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash).
H.6.2.3: Discuss historical people of Arkansas (e.g., Dyess colonists, Johnny Cash’s
contribution to Arkansas’s musical heritage).
H.6.3.2: Examine historical people and events in Arkansas (e.g., the Cash family, the
Great Depression, and New Deal).
K-4 History: Continuity & Change
H.6.K.6: Discuss how historical events relate to the present day (e.g., stories of the Cash family
members’ lives, Johnny Cash’s life in Dyess, inspiring his musical work and its legacy).
H.6.1.6: Explore people events from the past using primary and secondary sources (e.g.,
Dyess colonists’ photographs, family artifacts, and books.
H.6.2.6: Determine how photos and documents are used to gather information about the
past (e.g., Dyess colonists’ photographs and letters).
H.6.3.7: Analyze a timeline that illustrates selected historical events (e.g., Dyess colony
progression timeline, Cash family’s timeline).
H.6.4.10: Examine artifacts relating to events in Arkansas history (e.g., objects located in
The Dyess Colony Administration Building and Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash.
Grade 5 – 8 Geography: Culture & Diversity
G.2.5.3: Recognize examples of cultural diffusion, cultural exchange, and assimilation
(e.g., Dyess colonists’ way of life).
G.2.6.3: Identify the occurrences of cultural diffusion, cultural exchange, and assimilation
in local and national history.
G.2.7.1: Examine creative work as examples of cultural heritage (e.g., music by Johnny
Cash).

Grade 7 – 12 Arkansas History Curriculum Frameworks:

Great Depression – GD.8.AH.7-8.4, 9-12.4: Discuss the effects New Deal programs
had on society in Arkansas during the Great Depression.
GD.8.AH.7-8.5, 9-12.5: Explore economic and social consequences of the Great
Depression.
World War II – WWP.9.AH. 7-8.2, 9-12.2: Describe the social and economic effects of
World War II on Arkansans (e.g., impact on Dyess Colony).
WWP.AH.7-8.12, 9-12.8: Identify significant contributions made by Arkansans in the following fields: art, business, culture, medicine, and science