Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

Our Town takes place between 1901 and 1913. What was daily life like in early 1900s America? In what ways was it similar or different in comparison to American life today?

Teaching Suggestion: This question can begin to gauge students’ general familiarity with the period in which the play is set and how they understand it. Students can be encouraged to offer insight into any aspect of early 1900s life they are aware of, including lifestyle, popular culture, work, family life, love, religion, death, and more.

• “American History 1900 - 1909 - How We Lived” is a 16-mm film strip featuring photographs and other artifacts from early 1900s America and a description of daily life during this period.
• “Mortality in the United States: Past, Present, and Future” is a scholarly article with tables and graphs comparing mortality rates and causes and life expectancy from 1900 to the present in the United States. Statistics such as these might allow students to draw additional conclusions about the differences in lifestyles between the time periods and might provide an introduction to the theme of The Cycle of Life, Love, and Death.