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

live during these times? Why or why not?

-End of class

Lesson Two

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.

-End of Class

Lesson Three

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

Reserve’s Credit Card Repayment Calculator website

(http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcardcalculator/)

-Teacher will put the group total into the calculator and set the interest rate at

20%. The calculator will show the following information:

1. Minimum payment

2. Amount of time to pay off the balance if only the minimum is paid

3. The total interest charges

-Groups will discuss questions including, do you think this is fair? How would this

debt affect individuals and families?

-After the groups have shared, we will take a look at an actual credit card

statement, highlighting the important parts. If there is time students will also view

other types of debt, such as mortgages and student loan debt.

-Wrap up (5 minutes)

-To wrap up the lesson, groups will discuss what they learned about credit cards,

what they were surprised about and whether they think buying on credit is a good

or bad idea.

Unit Assessment

The Roaring Twenties Social Studies

8

Chapter 24 Quiz Mr. Girard

Directions: Select the best answer that completes each statement. Place all answers on your

separate answer sheet.

1. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Bessie Smith made significant contributions to the

Harlem Renaissance in the field of:

A. music

B. painting

C. poetry

D. sculpture

2. If we want anything, all we have to do is go and buy it on credit. So that leaves us without any

economic problems whatsoever, except perhaps someday to pay for them.” This quotation refers

to:

A. disarmament

B. women’s suffrage

C. installment buying

D. corrupt government

3. Famous aviator who was the first to make a non-stop flight from New York City to Paris in

1927 was:

A. Langston Hughes

B. F. Scott Fitzgerald

C. Charles Lindberg

D. Louis Armstrong

4. What was the significance of the Harlem Renaissance?

A. black writers celebrated their African and American heritages

B. the movement protested prejudice and racism

C. for the first time, a large number of white Americans took notice of the

achievements of

African Americans

D. All of the above

5. 16. The enactment of Prohibition allowed for the growth of which industry?

A. Clothing industry

B. Steel industry

C. Organized crime

D. Oil industry

6. Which of the following statements does not reflect the views or lifestyles of a flapper?

A. They often drank in speakeasies

B. They bobbed their hair

C. They practiced typical American values

D. They wore shorter skirts

7. Popular art in the 1920s, characterized by bold shapes and strong colors is:

A. Modern Art

B. Art Deco

C. Chrome

D. Renaissance Art

8. In the 1920s families would gather around the _______________ for entertainment

A. Radio

B. Car

C. Speakeasy

D. City

9. To Americans who voted for Warren Harding, a “return to normalcy” meant….

a. An end to the Teapot Dome Scandal

b. A return to Prohibition

c. A return to life as it had been before World War I

d. An end to the system of allowing immigrants from any country into the

United States

10. Teapot Dome Scandal involved:

A. secretly taking money from the Veteran’s Bureau

B. pocketing large sums of money from the treasury

C. fixing the election of 1920

D. secretly leasing government land to oil companies

Fill in the Blank: On your separate answer sheet fill in the blank with the best possible answer.

11. Word that means to limit (used often when creating immigration laws)

12. What time after WW I is often called

13. Famous Chicago gangster nicknamed Scarface

14. Foreign policy of avoiding European problems (hint: -ism)

15. The secretary of state whom became the first cabinet member imprisoned for committing a

crime

while in office

16. As leisure time increased, many people went to watch this sport

17. Term for certain American women in 1920’s

18. Scandal involving member of President Harding’s Cabinet

19. Nickname for President Coolidge

20. Fear of the spread of communism in the United States

Short Answer Response: (Choose One)

The Roaring Twenties/Jazz Age

On Separate sheet of loose-leaf paper

Guidelines for a good short answer response:

A. Short answer response contains one to two well-written paragraphs

B. The well-written paragraph must include: Topic Sentence, Supporting Details,

and Concluding Sentence.

C. Provide additional information to support textual evidence.

D. Be sure to edit punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

1. The Roaring Twenties were a decade of great social change. What were the two most

important changes that occurred in the decade? Why are they so important?

2. Before Prohibition, most Americans observed the nations laws. But during Prohibition, many

“good” citizens broke the law because it became fashionable to do so. Discuss how some

Americans broke Prohibition laws. Then infer or draw conclusions about how this may have

affected attitudes toward law and law enforcement.

3. Why was Harding and his presidential slogan "Return to Normalcy" able to win such a large

victory in the election of 1920, despite his obvious shortcomings and apparent lack of

presidential stature and qualification?

Name: ___________________________ Period: ____

Roaring Twenties Quiz Social Studies 8

Multiple Choice: Fill in the Blank:

1._______ 11. __________________________

2. _______ 12. __________________________

3. _______ 13. __________________________

4. _______ 14. __________________________

5. _______ 15. __________________________

6. _______ 16. __________________________

7. _______ 17. __________________________

8. _______ 18. __________________________

9. _______ 19. __________________________

10. ______ 20. _________________________

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Unit Reflection

While creating this unit, it became apparent just how many different things

teachers must consider when creating lessons and units. Teachers must be sure to

provide multiple entry points to units, to get all students interested and involved. The

lessons must be varied, engaging, and continuously assess understanding and

learning. It is my philosophy that students should work in groups whenever possible and

students should get out of their desks and walk around. Each segment of the lesson

should be no longer than twenty minutes. Teachers must understand that each child

learns in different ways and all students have valuable opinions and bring something

special to the class, therefore, it is imperative to get all students involved in class.

I also learned that creating a unit, with all of the above in mind, is a difficult

process. Therefore, it is important for teachers to create lessons and units in advance,

so they can really pause, and reflect on the lessons, make changes necessary and

ensure that students are getting the best lesson possible. This was a valuable and

rewarding experience and has certainly paved the way for making effective and

engaging units in the future.