Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets The 1980's

How Do You Rate? The 1980's

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How Do You Rate?
Print How Do You Rate? Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

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Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		immoral, profanity, ratings, sexual, brutality, morality, nudity, objectionable, screening, theaters, society, producer, unacceptable, circumstance, knowing, depict
	content words:		Motion Picture Association, Will H., United States, Hays Code, Hays Production Code, Motion Pictures Association

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How Do You Rate? By Jane Runyon

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¹     Have you ever wanted to see a movie but your parents said you couldn't go because of the rating? Maybe it was PG-13 and you were only 12. Maybe your parents will only allow you to see G movies. Why are there such ratings, anyway?
 
²     The Motion Picture Association of America began rating movies many years ago. This group was led by Will H. Hays. They formed because it was feared that motion pictures were going to interfere with the morality of the American people. During the 1930's, the United States was more of a rural nation. The average American was not familiar with the loose living done in the big cities. Motion pictures would bring these new ways of living right into the local movie houses. Many parents did not want their children exposed to what they considered "immoral" ways of life.
 
³     In 1930, the Hays Code of Production was created. It stated the "do's and don'ts" of movie behavior. Movies were not to depict behavior thought to be unacceptable in society. The rules were fairly broad. There were no penalties or ways to enforce the rules. In 1934, the rules were amended slightly. From that time on, any movie produced in America had to be submitted for screening before being released. The board would give the movie a certificate allowing it to be shown. Or, it could keep the movie from being shown.
 
⁴     Things went fairly smoothly for the next several years. Films containing any kind of nudity were to be changed to delete the objectionable scenes. Extreme violence or brutality was kept from the screen. The average American still had no way of knowing which movies were fit for viewing by young children. All of that changed in 1968.

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The 1980's

The 1980's

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United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

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United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

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50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

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