Adam Girard ETAP590 Unit Plan Unit Overview The Roaring Twenties were a decade of American history that contained major changes and challenges to the American way of life. The decade begins with a return to normal life following American involvement in the First World War. A party atmosphere abounded. Many felt, however, that the United States was in social decay. Prohibition was in effect, which led to the rise of organized crime and the mafia, funded by illegal speakeasies and bootleggers. The decade saw Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic, a world’s first, the expansion of electricity, radio, and consumer goods. Along with these new luxuries came the expansion of consumer credit, and debt. By the end of the decade, Americans had put the economy in crisis, leading into the Great Depression of the 1930s. The lessons contained in this unit follow some of the major themes of the decade. These themes include new American literature and cultural norms, organized crime and the dangers of the increased use of consumer credit. Unit Rationale The Roaring Twenties are an important decade for eighth grade students to learn. The decade contains the invention and expansion of many inventions and cultural norms that still exist. The increase of radio and mass communication can be connected with today’s expansion of the internet. The role of women changed during the 1920s,
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Transcript
Adam Girard
ETAP590
Unit Plan
Unit Overview
The Roaring Twenties were a decade of American history that contained major
changes and challenges to the American way of life. The decade begins with a return to
normal life following American involvement in the First World War. A party atmosphere
abounded. Many felt, however, that the United States was in social decay. Prohibition
was in effect, which led to the rise of organized crime and the mafia, funded by illegal
speakeasies and bootleggers. The decade saw Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across
the Atlantic, a world’s first, the expansion of electricity, radio, and consumer goods.
Along with these new luxuries came the expansion of consumer credit, and debt. By the
end of the decade, Americans had put the economy in crisis, leading into the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
The lessons contained in this unit follow some of the major themes of the
decade. These themes include new American literature and cultural norms, organized
crime and the dangers of the increased use of consumer credit.
Unit Rationale
The Roaring Twenties are an important decade for eighth grade students to
learn. The decade contains the invention and expansion of many inventions and cultural
norms that still exist. The increase of radio and mass communication can be connected
with today’s expansion of the internet. The role of women changed during the 1920s,
paving the way for equality, opportunities and changing styles that continue to evolve.
The prohibition of alcohol was an experiment in which the government attempted to
legislate morality, and eventually failed due to the increase in organized crime and
corruption. These issues are still with us, if only in different forms. The above examples
are just a few connections students make with the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties are
important, as they set up the events of the rest of the 20th Century and signal the
beginning of modern America.
Content and Skills to be Learned
Students will learn cultural changes in the 1920s, from the changing role of
women, the gap between rich and poor, new consumer goods, urbanization and new
types of art from the Roaring Twenties. In addition, they will learn the impact Prohibition
had on the increase in organized crime and everyday citizens. Students will also learn
the dangers of buying on credit and how individual debt put the national economy in
position for The Great Depression.
Some skills students will learn and practice in this unit include gathering
information from primary and secondary sources, working in groups toward a common
goal, teaching topics to their peers, and how interest on debt causes individuals to fall
deeper into financial ruin. These are valuable skills for eighth graders, as they will
continue to use these research skills as they progress through their education. They will
also better understand how credit works, which will be very important once they
graduate high school and begin to be inundated with offers for credit cards. Group work
and learning to work well with others will also help them throughout the rest of their
educational career and their lives after school.
Supporting Research
This unit is based on the Teaching for Understanding framework. The Teaching
for Understanding framework, as explained by Blythe and Associates (1998), looks to
develop student understanding using four key ideas. The key ideas are generative
topics, understanding goals, performances of understanding and ongoing assessment
(p. 17). This unit incorporates the above key ideas to support learning and
understanding through various activities, explained below.
All three lessons are strongly based in research synthesized by Borich (2011).
The first lesson, which involves the analysis of the Great Gatsby, is based on direct and
indirect instruction, guided practice, independent practice and group discussions.
Having students watch a video clip and determine several important parts is an example
of direct, mastery learning (p. 226). The students are actively engaged in the learning
process, through group work. After groups have completed the questions together, the
class goes through guided practice. The teacher solicits the answers with verbal
prompts and a short discussion follows each question (p. 235). This guided practice is
an assessment of understanding. The second activity of the first lesson provides an
opportunity for independent practice (p. 241). Students look through a magazine
containing many important aspects of the Roaring Twenties and make connections to
today. This makes the day’s lesson meaningful to students, as they can connect and
relate to many of the changes from the Roaring Twenties. Both of the day’s activities
include group work and group discussions, which are a form of indirect instruction.
Students are broken into groups of less than six to collaborate and work together to find
answers to questions. Once finished, the class has a full-group discussion, to check for
understanding and so all viewpoints are aired and students are allowed to express
themselves (p. 283).
The second lesson, regarding organized crime, highlights cooperative learning
and task specialization. Students are assigned to groups, each group is given sheets of
information and a blank wanted poster. Groups read through the information and create
a wanted poster for their gangster. This cooperative learning is important, as it
continues through their educational careers into their adult lives (p 364). To complete
the assignment in the time allotted, students must specialize in completing certain tasks.
Some students become expects in the information, another draws the picture and
another writes why the gangster is wanted. Once finished, another student presents to
the class. This allows students to practice task specialization, or dividing work and
breaking it into smaller, manageable pieces (p. 367). This lesson also allows students to
be involved in reciprocal teaching, in which students teach their peers (p. 338). The
students become experts about their gangster and teach the rest of the class the
information they have learned. This helps students to retain much more information than
a basic lecture.
The third lesson, regarding credit, includes many of the principles stated above,
as well. The lesson includes cooperative learning and task specialization, as students
work in groups and come together to create a “family” budget based on their own wants
and needs. The lesson also includes reciprocal teaching, as each group reports what
their interest charges would be and how long it would take to pay off their debt to the
rest of the class.
Lesson Plans
Lesson One
Grade Level: Grade 8 United States and New York State History
Title: Introduction to the Roaring Twenties
Goals:
Students will be able to identify what Prohibition legislated.
Students will be able to determine how the Roaring Twenties got its name
Objectives:
Students will evaluate the video clip to determine how the 1920s treated the rich.
Students will compare how Prohibition affected different classes of society.
Learning Standards: Intermediate Level
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Key Idea 2: Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives.
Students will show this by analyzing the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies.
Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.
Standard 4: Economics
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.
Prerequisite Content:
Students will know the general social values and family structure of the United States at the turn of the 20th Century.
Materials Needed:
Teacher: Computer with PowerPoint, copy of handout, video clip and class set of magazines.
Students: Pen/pencil, printed handout provided by teacher including PowerPoint slides for notes and magazine.
Anticipatory Set: Briefly introduce the 1920s.
Lesson Description:
This lesson will focus on a general overview of the Roaring Twenties. A film clip from The Great Gatsby shows many of the themes that will come up in the unit from flappers, to alcohol Prohibition, to the Charleston, partying and new consumer goods. Students will then look through a magazine on the 1920s to identify things they are familiar with to make connections to today.
Lesson Procedure:
-Students enter class and teacher gives a very brief introduction to the unit,
simply by saying something like “Today we are going to start the Roaring 20s”
-Students will be shown an 8 minute clip from the 1974 movie The Great Gatsby.
(http://youtu.be/wpTxwWHDhmE)
-After the video clip, students will be asked to answer these questions on a piece
of loose leaf paper (10 minutes)
-Describe the scene, what stands out to you?
-The main character (Nick) mentions “the War” several times, to what war
is he referring?
-What is the name of the dance in the clip?
-Are the partygoers paying attention to Prohibition?
- How are women portrayed in the clip? How is this different than previous
time periods?
-How are the people acting at the party? Why do you think they are acting
this way?
-Show the two PowerPoint slides introducing the Roaring 20s (2 minutes)
-Hand out the Roaring 20s magazine (3 minutes)
-Have students look through the magazine and in groups list ten things they are
familiar with (10 minutes)
-Have students share answers with the class (5 minutes)
-Have the students answer the following question: (5 minutes)
-Why was the decade called the Roaring Twenties? Would you want to
Grade Level: Grade 8 United States and New York State History
Title: The Roaring Twenties: Organized Crime
Goals:
Students will be able to identify how Prohibition caused the increase in organized crime
Students will be able to determine how organized crime operated.
Objectives:
Students will evaluate information about specific gangsters to determine how organized crime operated.
Students will compare how alcohol Prohibition and the current drug Prohibition relate to organized crime.
Learning Standards: Intermediate Level
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Key Idea 2: Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives.
Students will show this by analyzing the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies.
Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of
evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.
Standard 4: Economics
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.
Prerequisite Content:
Students must know what alcohol Prohibition is and why it was enacted.
Materials Needed:
Teacher: Copy of handouts, video clips
Students: Pen/pencil, gangster information and wanted poster provided by teacher
Anticipatory Set: Question of the Day: How did organized crime take advantage of Prohibition?
Lesson Description:
This lesson focuses on showing students how Prohibition led to the rise in speakeasies, bootleggers and organized crime. The lesson takes a look at the North and Southside gangs in Chicago, featuring Al Capone. In groups, students will read about a specific gangster and create a “Wanted” poster based on the reading and their outside knowledge. Each group will then teach the rest of the class about their gangster in a short presentation, using the wanted poster.
Lesson Procedure:
-QOD (3 minutes):
1. In 3-5 sentences: How did organized crime take advantage of Prohibition?
Students answer the question individually and then the class goes over the
answer.
-Clips from the Untouchables (5 minutes)
These clips are from a famous movie about Al Capone and the Chicago
gangster, they help students humanize the historical characters.
-Gun and a kind word (http://cli.ps/34AZ) (2 minutes)
-Knife to a gun fight (http://movieclips.com/MPXR-the-untouchables-movie-knife-
to-a-gunfight/45.75/124.01) (2 minutes)
-Main Activity – Wanted Posters (30 minutes)
-Students will be split into six groups. Five groups will receive information on a
specific gangster and will create a wanted poster for that gangster.
-The sixth group will be given a newspaper article about the Saint Valentine’s
Day Massacre and will create a poster describing the events.
-Students will be asked to create a wanted poster based on the information
provided. Students will also be asked to think about how the current drug
prohibition relates to alcohol Prohibition in the 1930s and compare how
organized crime seized opportunities for each.
-When students are finished, each group will show the rest of the class their
poster and give details about the gangster they studied.
Grade Level: Grade 8 United States and New York State History
Title: The Roaring Twenties: Credit
Goals:
Students will be able to identify the possible impacts of buying on credit.
Students will be able to determine how interest on debt increases the price of items.
Objectives:
Students will determine how credit led to an increase in buying power in the 1920s.
Students will describe how credit/interest can be dangerous to personal finances.
Learning Standards: Intermediate Level
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
Key Idea 2: Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives.
Students will show this by analyzing the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies.
Key Idea 4: The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.
Standard 4: Economics
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the U.S. and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.
Prerequisite Content:
Students must know the optimistic and party mentality of the Roaring Twenties
Materials Needed:
Teacher: Copy of handouts, computer with internet access
Students: Directions, iPads (if available) piece of paper, pen/pencil, calculator
Anticipatory Set: Question of the Day: As Americans, we want to “Keep up with the Joneses” and we believe bigger is always better. We love to buy things. What are the financial dangers of this philosophy?
Lesson Description:
This lesson focuses on the use and impacts of credit on individuals. The 1920s were a time of great expansion in production and consumption of new, cheaper consumer goods. However, many people still could not afford these items and bought them on credit. Many Americans would be unable to pay later in the decade as credit and interest racked up. Many Americans find themselves in similar troubles today. This lesson shows students how quickly credit debt and bills can increase and become overwhelming.
Lesson Procedure:
-QOD:
As Americans, we want to “Keep up with the Joneses” and we believe bigger is
always better. We love to buy things. What are the financial dangers of this
philosophy? (5 minutes)
-Notes
-PowerPoint slides on installment buying and buying stocks on margin. Students
will fill in the associated note sheet. (5 minutes)
-Activity (25 minutes)
-Students will get into groups of 4-5 and each person will be given a calculator
and a set of directions.
-Students will be asked to list 5 things (under $1000 per item) they want and will
put a price next to each item
-Students will add up the cost of all of the items and put a grand total on the
bottom of the list.
-One student will add up the totals from each member of the group to get the
group (family) total.
-Each group will report their total. The numbers will be used with the Federal