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A Short History of America

Sometimes, you find a teaching resource or activity that works so well that it lasts for years. I am very grateful to my former colleague and friend David Potter at YCIS Shanghai for introducing me to Robert Crumb’s A Short History of America when we worked together at Shanghai Qibao Dwight. It’s a comic strip depicting the rapid growth in development in the US over the last few centuries, with nature portrayed as a blank canvas that has been painted over. In addition to the 12 main panels in the comic, there are three more proposing possible outcomes or solutions in the future. It’s an excellent example of storytelling without words and delivers a powerful message about human’s impact on the environment.

This page provides a series of activities based on the comic strip, including a communicative speaking task, grammar and vocabulary focus, exploration of figurative language for more proficient learners, creative writing, and even a TOK opportunity.

Resource: A Short History of America – Robert Crumb

Timeline Reconstruction

While I have adapted how I use this resource each year, I always begin with the same task David devised all those years ago because it’s such a winner! Here’s how it works:

  1. Print 1 copy of each of the 12 main panels and give one to each student. For classes with more than 12, put students in pairs. For classes with fewer give more capable students 2 or more pictures.

  2. Tell the class that they are going to reconstruct a picture timeline but they can’t look at each other’s picture(s). Instead, they will need to describe their image. If you teach Standard Level students, point out the connection to this task and part 1 of the Individual Oral.
  3. Give them time to annotate their image with key vocabulary and allow them to look up any words they need for precise communication of what’s in the panel. Get them to think about how they can describe what something is and/or and explain what it’s for, as well as stating its name. This is important for objects such as a telegraph pole (British English) or utility pole (US English). Simply stating the name without the listener seeing it might be confusing; explaining that “it’s a tall pole that carries electricity via cables” is more effective.
  4. Tell the class you’re going to time them as they attempt to put the images in the correct order. Suggest they start by working in small groups before bringing the discussion together as a class in order to make a final decision. Warn them that any pictures out of order will incur a 30-second time penalty! If you have more than one English B class doing this lesson in your school (as we did at Qibao Dwight – 8 of them!), tell them there will be a prize for the fastest.
  5. Monitor as students complete the task and make a note of successes in descriptive and explanatory language as well as any errors for delayed correction if you choose to.

Descriptive Language

 Handout: A Short History of America - Descriptive Writing ​​​​​​

Give students a copy of the handout and ask them to compare and contrast the two descriptions of the first panel from the comic. Which do they prefer? Why? Some students may say the first as it is more direct and easier to grasp the meaning, while others may prefer the second, more imaginative account.

Here, you can point out the two types of descriptive writing: factual and evocative.

Further details on these writing purposes can be found on this page. Discuss contexts in which each approach would be more effective. How might the intended audience influence the choice of language? What if the purpose is different?

The next task invites students to identify five different techniques for evocative description. They could either work individually, in pairs or even in a group with a larger copy of the paragraph. Have them identify and annotate the text with examples of the five approaches.

In this peaceful scene, the sun casts a soft golden light over the gently sloping green field, which stretches out like a velvet blanket beneath the vibrant blue sky. To the left, a dense cluster of trees stands tall, their leaves forming a lush green canopy that contrasts sharply with the clear sky. In the background, a flock of birds soars gracefully, their dark silhouettes dotting the horizon like dancing notes on a sheet of music. The trees' thick twisting branches create a sense of depth and mystery as if hiding secrets from the past, while the field itself exudes a quiet enduring tranquillity.

  1. Prepositional phrases (E.g. in front of, next to)

  • Over the gently sloping green field
  • Beneath the vibrant blue sky
  • To the left
  • In the background

  1. Cumulative Adjectives (E.g. the tough, bitter, old man)

  • Soft golden light
  • Vibrant blue sky
  • Lush green canopy
  • Thick twisting branches
  • Quiet enduring tranquillity

  1. Adverb + adjective/verb collocation (E.g. brilliantly bright)

  • Gently sloping green field

  • Contrasts sharply with the clear sky

  • Soars gracefully 

  1. Precise verbs (E.g. gaze or glance instead of look)

  • The sun casts a soft, golden light.
  • The field stretches out.
  • A dense cluster of trees stands tall.
  • The canopy contrasts with the sky.
  • A flock of birds soars gracefully.
  • Silhouettes dotting the horizon.
  • The field exudes tranquillity.

  1. Simile/metaphor (E.g. like a lion; as if breathing)

  • Like a velvet blanket (The field is compared to a blanket).
  • Like dancing notes on a sheet of music (The birds are compared to notes).
  • As if hiding secrets from the past (This is actually an example of personification – where human qualities are given to non-human entities. The branches here are compared to a somewhat mysterious person who is hiding something).

      Finally, get students to choose another panel in the comic and write their own evocative description using these techniques. Less capable students could attempt a more factual description. There is space on the handout for students to write their descriptions. 

      Inferring Meaning

      Depending on your perspective, the first 12 panels of Crumb’s comic can be interpreted differently. One take might be that humans have made astonishing progress in a short space of time and this is testament to our ingenuity. However, I’ve put this text alongside others in the Sharing the Planet section because of the panels that follow. You could also invite students to consider the significance of the changing colours of the sky in each panel. Is the sun setting on American civilisation?!

      Before you look at these, you might like to have students answer the “What next?” question posed at the end of the 12th panel. This could be as brief as a think-pair-share activity or more developed, with students sketching out another panel set 500 years in the future. I’ve done this before, and it’s incredibly illuminating to see how young people view the prospects of humanity! It’s also a chance for the visual artists to shine.

      Next, display the final three panels on your screen, share the images digitally, or print copies for the class. Take a poll on which outcome students would like to see (hopefully, nobody opts for the ecological disaster!). Explain the portmanteau word ecotopian (ecology + utopia). Ask students if they can envisage any alternative futures.

      Have students consider the main message of the comic. Get them to write a claim and supporting evidence. You could give them a sentence stem. E.g.

      • In his 1979 comic, A Short History of America, Robert Crumb is/could be saying that…

      You could draw students’ attention to the option for is/could be and discuss hedging language.

      Next, have students select two pieces of evidence from the comic that support their claim. Again, sentence stems help to model the academic language required for such a task. E.g.

      • This can be seen in…
      • One example that supports this claim is…

      At this point, you might like to have students produce an essay that analyses the message and techniques used in the comic, or you might opt for a more creative task such as the one below.

      Writing prompt

      After seeing Robert Crumb’s A Short History of America comic, you feel compelled to share your thoughts on humanity’s impact on the environment with a wider audience. Write a text in which you describe the comic, outline Crumb’s message, and explain what you think will happen in the future.

      Guidelines

      Blog

      Speech

      A blog would be most appropriate here, as it can reach a wider audience and is often written in response to a recent experience. A speech may be deemed appropriate if the context in which it is given is alluded to (E.g. a conference on sustainability). Guidelines wouldn’t really work as they are more appropriate for a methodical guide to how to do something.

      TOK Connection

      One criticism of Crumb’s comic is that it makes a very bold assumption: before settlers arrived in the United States, civilisation didn’t exist. This, of course, is not the case, with estimates of pre-settlement population levels ranging from 8 million to 100 million Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Rather than just telling this to students, have them think about possible criticisms of the comic themselves. Here are some first and second-order knowledge questions to guide your discussion.

      First order (specific to the text and topic)

      • What assumption does Crumb make in the first panel?

      • In what ways might the comic simplify or misrepresent complex historical realities?

      • How could the comic be interpreted differently by various cultural groups?

      Second order (applicable across disciplines)

      • How do we know what constitutes "civilisation," and who defines it?

      • What role do cultural perspectives play in shaping our historical narratives?

      • What are the ethical responsibilities of artists and historians in representing marginalized or colonised peoples?
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