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1920s Newspaper

Lesson Author
Required Time Frame
One Week
Lesson Abstract
Putting together a 1920s newspaper as a group - each student will contribute an individual articles.
Description
  • Putting together a 1920s newspaper as a group-each student will contribute an individual articles 
  • Beginning of class we will dedicate 5-10 minutes talking about what the students like to do for fun. Then we will talk about what people did in the 1920s for fun.
  • The textbook briefly describes Coney Island and the desire for vacations.
  • I have old newspaper articles from the time I will show and share with the students. Their assignment will be to create a newspaper from the 1920s.
Rationale (why are you doing this?)

I am doing this because the students have enjoyed it in the past. They like to find out what others liked back in history and then pretend to be them by writing an article. The students really enjoy to look at sport, advice columns and front page story.

Lesson Objectives - the student will
  • Research the 1920s in the library using primary sources (old newspapers, magazines, etc.).
  • Learn to work in groups and share responsibility.
  • Learn how to set up a paper and run it by an editor (teacher).
District, state, or national performance and knowledge standards/goals/skills met

Show Me Standards: Social Studies

Knowledge Standards

6. relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions

Performance Goal

1.9 identify, analyze and compare the institutions, traditions and art forms of past and present societies

2.1

1. plan and make written, oral and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences

Kansas State Standards:

5.1.10 (A) The student evaluates various social conflicts in the early 1920's (e.g., rural v. urban, fundamentalism v. modernism, prohibition, nativism, flapper v. traditional woman's role).

5.1.12 (A) The student interprets how the arts, music, and literature reflected social change during the Jazz Age (e.g., Harlem Renaissance, F. Scott Fitzgerald, development of blues and jazz culture).

  • US History standard- Benchmark 1: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, developments and turning points in the era of the emergence of the modern US. Indicator 10 (A): Evaluates various social conflicts in the early 1920s.
  • US History standard- Benchmark 1: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, developments and turning points in the era of the emergence of the modern US. Indicator 11 (A): Analyzes significant developments in race relations.
  • US History standard- Benchmark 1: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, developments and turning points in the era of the emergence of the modern US. Indicator 12 (A): Interprets how the arts, music, and literature reflected social change during the Jazz Age.
Secondary materials (book, article, video documentary, etc.) needed

Books from library. Maybe researching sports of the time.

  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
Primary sources needed (document, photograph, artifact, diary or letter, audio or visual recording, etc.) needed
  • Photographs (to show the fashion)
  • Diary or letter (for advice columns)
  • Interview a grandparent or friend from the time
Technology Required

Computer and Internet Access

Fully describe the activity or assignment in detail. What will both the teacher and the students do?
  • The students will be placed in groups of 2-3.
  • I will show them a newspaper from the 20s and a newspaper now. This will give them ideas of the different topics and articles.
  • The students and myself will brainstorm what areas they want to cover in their paper.
    1. Classifieds (they will research items and services people needed of the time and give me a page of classifieds)
    2. Dear Abby (they usually rename this section but it is an advice column. The students might give advice to an anonymous white woman who thinks a black man is cute.)
    3. Sports (baseball- maybe 2 separate articles about white baseball and black baseball)
    4. Music (an article about a Jazz musician coming to town and give a bio about that person or band)
    5. etc. This will give you an idea of the various topics and columns

Main Story (Tulsa race riot, League of Nations, etc)

  • The students will be allowed to go to the library and research and organize what they want to do. They will be given a week and type and finish their column.
  • I will be previewing their work throughout and checking for corrections.
  • When everyone is finished we will put the paper together.
  • Something else they will have to do is come up with a name of the paper.
Assessment: fully explain the assessment method in detail or create and attach a scoring guide
  • I have provided a rubric. There is a rubric for the paper and a rubric that I will use each day of research on each student. This way I can see who is participating and who isn’t.
  • The daily grade will be part of their overall grade