Lesson Plan - Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"

Background:
Song writer Billy Joel is a talent musician and lyricist. Many of his songs have outstanding
historical themes that can be used in the classroom. Music helps students retain information and
can increase their understanding of events. In 1989, Joel wrote a popular song called “We Didn’t
Start the Fire” in conjunction with his 40 th birthday. He recalled all of the people and events that
impacted his life as a “baby-boomer” growing up during the Cold War era. The song is now
readily available on CD, Itunes, and DVD and has the added advantage of the fact that most
students have never heard it.
1. Introduce the song and activity to the classroom.
a. Provide the students some context to the Cold War.
b. Why is 1989 considered to be the unofficial end of the Cold War?
i. Explain the events surrounding the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and
the subsequent collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union.
2. Pass out the handout with the listing of the major figures in the song.
3. Play the song for the class.
a. The DVD version is excellent but there is a very brief scene of drug use but this is
not gratuitous but in context of the period.
4. Assign each student two names from the list randomly.
a. Have the students research the individual and his/her significance.
b. Why was that person included in the song?
c. What was the timeframe of that individual’s fame?
i. Note that some of the people have long careers. The song is roughly
chronological from 1949 “Harry Truman” to 1987 “Bernie Geotz.”
d. You may want to have the students prepare posters or other materials to hang
around the classroom to illustrate the song.
5. You may also want to then have the students research some of the events portrayed in the
song as well.
6. There are several websites available for the song. YouTube has some excellent videos
illustrating it as well.
7. If time permits, you may want to play/show the Billy Joel songs “Leningrad” and
“Allentown.”
a. “Leningrad” shows the hostility between the United States and the Cold War.
b. “Allentown” portrays the growth of the suburbs and its homogenized culture.
c. “Goodnight Saigon” is Joel’s portrayal of the Vietnam War.
Teacher Guide Page 2