Curricular Unit Outline Rough Draft

Rachel Socia
Social Studies Methods
September 24, 2009
J Nickelson


Curricular Unit Outline

Unit 11.6 The Twenties and Thirties (c 1920-1930)

Content Standards: Students describe how the battle between traditionalism and modernity manifested itself in
the major historical trends and events after World War I and throughout the 1920s.

1. Trace the growth and effects of radio and movies and their role in the worldwide diffusion of
popular culture. (G, S)
2. Describe the rise of mass-production techniques, the growth of cities, the impact of new
technologies (e.g., the automobile, electricity, airplanes), and the resulting prosperity, expansion
of freedom (derived from the car and the building of roads/highways), and effect on the American
landscape. (G, E)
3. Describe the policies of Presidents Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover (e.g.
“associationism,” The Teapot Dome scandal, “New Era” politics). (P)
4. Analyze the attacks on civil liberties and racial and ethnic tensions, including the Palmer Raids,
the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, and the emergence of Garveyism. (P, S)
5. Trace the responses of organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Anti-Defamation League to those
attacks. (P, S)
6. Explain the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act
(Prohibition). (P)
7. Analyze the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment and the changing role of women in society.
(P, S)
8. Describe the New Negro Movement/Harlem Renaissance and new trends in literature (e.g., Zora
Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald),
and music, with special attention to the “Jazz Age” (e.g., James Reese Europe, Duke Ellington,
Louis Armstrong). (I)
9. Describe forms of popular culture, with emphasis on their origins and geographic diffusion (e.g.,
professional sports, flappers). (G, S)

Skill Standards:

1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and
decisions, and determining the lessons that were learned.
3. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.


Personal Stake: I’m not sure that I have an overwhelming personal stake to any of the many, many units that comprise the DCPS secondary social studies curriculum. Several of the brief overviews piqued my interest, however I chose this one because this is a period in American History I’ve had an interest in for many years. This is largely in part because the years of my schooling in which we covered 20th century American History, I was fortunate to have exceptional teachers. A lot of what I have decided to include in my unit is inspired by selected materials and activities of my own teachers.

Enduring Understanding:

Assesment: Throughout the unit students will complete a number of journal entries related to covered material which will allow a chance to demostrate their undersntading of concepts. At the end of the unit there will be a unit exam, which will be comprised of a variety of styled questions, including multiple choice, short answer and an essay question. Also, at the beginning of each class, the students will be asked one question about yesterday’s topic that can be answered in two sentences or less. Each correct response will be worth ¼ of a bonus point to add to unit exam.

Date Topic Lesson
Day 1 What do you know about the 1920s in the US? KWL Chart

Overview of Unit
Distribute packet of key terms/names

Introduce Ragtime
Assign each student 1-2 historical characters to research

Start Ragtime as read aloud


Homework: look up assigned character, write brief biography in journal
Day 2 New Technologies/
Growth of Cities

Students share character bios

Assembly line activity: small groups build something with some groups using assembly line fashion, others with parts non-standard, ill fitting parts

Class Discussion: Benefits of assembly line

In journal-list of daily/weekly places you go in a car

Record key points on board, and have students copy

Read Aloud: Ragtime

Homework:
In Journal -
search your home and make a list of the top ten technological conviences you can’t live without
Growth & Effects of Radio

Collect class data on how students receive news, small groups organize data then present to class

Listen to Orson Wells’ War the Worlds & discuss the panic that ensued

Discuss people’s faith in techonolgy and media
Compare media consumers of today with that of 1920s/30s could a WoW panic happen today?

Homework: Read chapter on Harding and the page on Coolidge from A Treasruy of Great American Scandals
Day 4 Presidential Policies/Attacks on Civil Liberties

Lecture
Teapot Dome
Palmer Raids

Read Aloud: Ragtime


Homework:
In journal-
Compare (in paragraph, list or graphic organizer form) Alien & Sedition Acts of 1917 with those of 1798, and the Patriot Act, may require some research and/or text reading
Day 5 Attacks on Civil Liberties/Racial & Ethnic Tensions

Share last night’s journal entries

Lecture/Notes
NCLU, NAACP

Read Aloud: Ragtime

Homework: none
Day 6 Prohibition

Read Aloud: Ragtime
Homework
Day 7 Changing role of women/Right to Vote

Think/Pair/Share on expectations of women today, ask students to describe their moms’ day to day life if they are stuck

Brief Lecture/Notes

Read Aloud: Ragtime
Homework
Day 8 Watch Ironed Jawed Angels

No Read Aloud
Homework: none
Day 9 Watch Ironed Jawed Angels

No Read Aloud
Homework: 1 page journal response to film
Day 10 Flex Day

Finnish Ragtime

Homework: In journal-write a response to Ragtime

Day 11 New Negro Movement/ Halrem Renaissance
Read Aloud: Langston Hughes Poem
Read/Act a scene from Raison in the Sun
Discuss in relation to what they have learned about discrimation
Homework:
In Journal-Write a letter to an organization asking for help as one of the characters discriminated against

Day 12 Pop Culture

Listen to Jazz Age Music
-Louis Armstrong
-Duke Ellington
-Ella Fitzgerlad & Chick Web Band “A Tisket, A Tasket”

Discuss students’ tastes in music then draw conections to Jazz

Listen to theme from Thoughoully Modern Millie, discuss why women were raising their skirts and bobbing their hair, invite students to compare with modern trendsetters

Distribute packet of Flapper slang and have students write dialogues/skits to perform for class

Sports:
Put up figure comparing NBL stats with those of Negro League

Art Deco Slides



Finnish Ragtime

Homework: complete unit review packet, highlight questions to go over in class
Day 13 Unit Review

Answer questions

Class game of Jeopordy-with prizes

Homework: Study
Day 14 Assessment: Unit Exam
Homework: none

Learning Processing Entry 1

While reading Takaki’s A Different Mirror, as well as my assigned chapter from the Zarrillo text, which happened to be on diversity, I couldn’t help but think of the apparent diversity in my practicum classroom. There are students of a wide variety of complexions that have parents from quite the array of cultural backgrounds. What I find most interesting is not only is the class population very heterogeneous, but many of the kids themselves are a blend of several races and cultures. As of right now, from what I have observed at least, culture and race does not seem to affect their interactions with one another. I’m curious if over time this will change or not. However, I think that because so many of them are being raised by parents of different backgrounds that in the future making and maintaining friendships with people different from themselves will be easier and much more naturally than for children raised in homogenous home and school environments.
I also kept thinking while reading about how individuals from diverse backgrounds, like many of my students, view themselves. Which culture do these kids more closely identify with now and will this change in the future? My parents come from different cultural backgrounds, and I have in the past felt conflicted about my own identity. My mom is Jewish (I realize some might object to Jewish being used to describe culture, but from my perspective it is) and my dad’s side of the family is more of a mixture, but predominately Irish and most are practicing Catholics. I’ve always identified myself as Jewish, as my overbearing mother and her equally overbearing parents made sure my sister and I connected with these roots and aligned our thinking to their way of thinking. While I am proud of this identity, my dad and I often don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things and it hurts me to know that he is disappointed I am a reflection of my mom and her family and not of him. We have a lot of difference in opinion on familial roles that are influenced by norms of our respective cultures, which has caused a lot of fights and alienated ourselves from each other.
Also, I noticed that many of the portions of the book that caught my interest or prompted me to take note were passages or really the few quick sentences that were about Jewish people. I’m curious if individuals who identify with other cultures and races were more interested with details about their ‘own kind’ too.