Lessons in this unit deal directly with some of the important topics in the history of America during the 1980s. The unit covers the stock market crash of 1987, the Yuppie culture, homelessness, the invasion of Grenada, and the case of the subway shooter, Bernhard Goetz. Also included are lessons on the presidential candidacy of Jesse Jackson, the Reagan Revolution, the Moral Majority, and the astronaut Sally Ride.

Academic activities include brainstorming; discussing; debating; essay writing; examining documents including the Immigration and Control Act of 1986, political cartoons, an excerpt from a speech by Ronald Reagan, and a letter from Reagan to Gorbachev; role-playing; and researching.