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Amy Robbins
09
Project
Summary
The CG 1920s Dance Project
1. General
Overview of the Proposed Project:
Title: The CG 1920s
Dance
Students will research American life during the 1920s. Students
will use their research findings as well as information given in
class to design and construct a “decoration” for our dance. All
decorations must include information that is historically accurate
as well as be eye catching. Specific requirements will be listed on
students’ project handouts and explained in detail during class.
Students who do not complete the “decoration” portion of the project
will not be able to attend the dance. If we are granted permission
to use our gym, it is my expectation that such decorations be used
to decorate the hallway area around the gym as well as the gym
walls. I would like to give a prize for the best 1920s decoration.
Students will be given a packet of 1920s slang. As a homework
assignment, students will be required to construct five school
appropriate sentences that incorporate at least two different 1920s
slang words per sentence. I am considering granting extra credit to
students who use their sentences during the dance. To accurately
keep track of the slang sentence participation at the dance, I am
considering making extra credit notifications on small pieces of
paper. Then, I may give the extra credit notifications to other
staff members at the dance. Staff member would then hand out the
extra credit notification to students when they hear a student using
a slang sentence. I would allow students to use their slang
sentences while talking directly to staff members to ensure they
were heard and gain the extra credit points. Students would be
responsible for keeping their extra credit notification, signing it,
and handing it in during their next social studies class. Neither
extra credit nor an additional notification would be given if
student/s reports a lost or missing extra credit paper.
Students will
be required to dress in 1920ish attire. A description will
be given in class, using photos and video clips. Students will be
encouraged to use what they already have at home for their outfits,
including using what might already be in various family members’
closets. If students would like to purchase items for the outfits,
they will be encouraged to use the Salvation Army. Students may
also make pieces of their outfits. Handmade constructions, such as
construction paper top hats and coat tails or lady’s tissue paper
hats will be also be discussed and encouraged. I will also
encourage students to create and make their own original
hand-constructed pieces. Students will be encouraged to dress in
1920s attire from head to foot, including make-up and hair. However,
as long as students are attempting to dress in a formal manner, they
will be allowed to participate at the dance. I would like to offer
a feather boa or dress coat or something to students who attempted
to follow the 1920s dress code, but may not have been able to go as
all out as other students. I would also like to give a prize for
the best 1920s female and male outfit.
Students will learn the Charleston dance in their social studies
class. All students will be required to begin dance marathon
portion of the dance with the Charleston dance. Once they drop out
the dance marathon, they can choose to dance in any style. I will
mark a squared area of the room for the dance marathon participants.
Students will be listening and dancing to 1920s music throughout
the whole dance. I would like to give a prize for the dance
marathon winner.
An invitation to our 1920s dance will go home to families of the 8th
grade students. Family members that would like to participate at
our dance will need to follow the same dress code at the students.
Family members will also be expected to begin the dance as
Charleston dance marathon participants. Family members will also be
expected to RSVP to ensure adequate space. Details of our dance
will be explained in the invitations. I am considering giving the
job of designing our invitations to students who volunteer.
2. Clear Purpose
and Objective:
w
Increase student ownership of learning
w
Foster an interest in history
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Facilitate long term learning of the 1920s era (NYS
Core Curriculum Unit 9, Part I)
w
Promote community involvement in our school
3. Stakeholders:
grade level, who will benefit, who will participate in this project.
Eighth Graders at
Canisteo-Greenwood
Volunteer CG Community
Members
Volunteer CG staff as
chaperones
4. U.S. History
Content Area
The “Roaring” 1920s
5. Outline
Describing Content
Content Outline:
Content Outline below is from the NYS Core
Curriculum Unit Nine, Part I
Topics that do not directly coordinate with
this project have been deleted from the outline. However, original
numbers, lettering, and descriptions have been left the same so that
the outline mimics the NYS Core Curriculum outline.
A. Prohibition and the 18th A m e n d m e n t
2. The rise of organized crime
B. The Republican decade
1. Political developments
a. Back to “normalcy”; the election of 1920
b. Scandals
c. Coolidge: austerity and integrity
d. Government and business: laissez-faire and
protection
C. Relative isolation of the United States in
world political affairs
2. Limited participation in international
activities
c. Efforts for peace; Kellogg-Briand Pact,
1928
4. Restrictions on immigration e.g., Quota
Act, 1924
D. Arising standard of living resulted in the
growth of a consumer economy
and the rise of the middle class
1. Increase in single-family homes; move to
nuclear families
2. Emergence of suburbs
3. Spread of middle-class values
4. Increased use of credit
E. Changes in the workplace
1. Shift from agrarian to industrial workforce
2. Lessened demand for skilled workers
3. Working conditions and wages improved
4 . Increase in white-collar employees
5. Women continued to increase their presence
in the workforce
G. Foreign immigration and black migration
resulted in a very diverse
population and an increase in social
tensions—the effects of human migrations on the nature and character
of places and regions
1. Restrictions on immigration
2. Black migration to Northern cities
3. Growth of organizations to fight
discrimination; e.g., NAACP
4. Growth of black art, music, and cultural
identity; e.g., the Harlem Renaissance
5. Generational conflicts
7. Right-wing
hate groups
H. New ideas about the use of leisure time
emerged
1. Impact of the automobile: Henry Ford
2. Organized sports: Babe Ruth
3. Search for heroes and heroines: Lindbergh,
Amelia Earhart
4. Motion pictures
5. Popular literature
6. Fads and fashion
7. Changes in social behavior
6. Software to be
used, internet materials, contacts, etc.
w
Photos and videos of life during the 1920s from
various websites
w
Purchase and download original 1920s music
7. Level of
Student Involvement
For this project to be
successful, it is essential for 8th grade students to
participate at all levels – from pre-setup planning, to
participating during, to post-cleanup
8. Evaluation
process (include students when possible)
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“Decorations” will be graded based on a rubric made by
the teacher
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“Decorations” will be judged by peers, community
members, and participating staff
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1920s slang sentences will be evaluated as a homework
grade
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Level of involvement and interest throughout our 1920s
unit will be a determining factors of success, therefore teacher
observation will be an important part of the evaluation process
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A unit exam including 1920s content based question
will help to evaluate students’ understanding of the era
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The New York State exam in June should include 1920s
content based questions and may help to evaluate students’
understanding of the era - results will not be part of my 08-09 TAH
project due to timing of the official exam results
w
Feed back from the eleventh grade teacher when the
current 8th grade students take high school American
history may be used to evaluate long term learning – results will
not be part of my 08-09 TAH project due to deadlines for submitting
post-project evaluations
9. Timeline: how
you envision the project being carried out between start up and
conclusion
The following schedule is
subject to change based on student need:
Week of January 5, 2009 –
Begin 1920s unit in class & explain dance party project
Week of January 12, 2009
–
Continue 1920s unit & students work on their portion of the project
Week of January 19, 2009
–
Transition
from the economics of the 1920s to the economics of the 1930s
Week of January 26, 2009
–
Compare
society and economics of the 1920s with that of the 1930s
January 28, 2009 – 1920s
Dance, 10th period
January 29, 2009 – 1920s
Dance, 10th period – in case of snow day on 1/28/08
10. Comments or
Questions:
Are there grant funds
available for me to use for the purchase of student prizes?
Categories of best decoration, best dressed female and male, as well
as the dance marathon winner would receive a prize. I would like to
purchase fun, yet education prizes, such as globes or social studies
related board games.
Are there grant funds
available for me to purchase feather boas for the girls and perhaps
top hats for the boys who need some help getting an outfit for the
dance due to finials burdens of their families? Students would
borrow such item. Therefore, I would be able to reuse such products
so long as I continue to teach American history.
Are there grant funds
available for me to purchase a school appropriate 1920s flapper
outfit to wear while hosting the 1920s dance? I would be able to
reuse this product so long as I continue to teach American history.
Amy Robbins
08-09 TAH project - 1920s Dance
Marathon
Reflection
The date of the dance was changed to
February 13, 2009. This change was made for several reasons:
social studies content schedule was a few days behind, Friday the
13th was changed to a half day for student for a superintendence
conference day, it was the day before winter break and Valentine's
day. Students had completed our 1920s unit prior to the dance. We
transitioned from the "roaring 20s" to the causes of the Great
Depression in block classes on 2/11/09 and 2/12/09.
2/13/09 schedule:
Extended homeroom time for 8th graders,
8:00 - 8:45
Students had the option of
coming to school in their 1920s attire or using the first 15 minutes
of homeroom to get changed and ready for the dance. While some
students put their costumes on in the bathrooms, others practiced
their 1920s slang and the Charleston for the first 15 minutes of
class. I arranged for the Great Gatsby to be played on each of the
TVs in each of the 8th grade homerooms for the extended homeroom
period. The clip surrounding the party scene was shown. At 8:15
students excitedly watched the video clip until 8:45.
Dance Marathon, 8:45 - 9:45
Students entered the
gymnasium one at a time. Outside of the gym, on the hallway walls,
decorative 1920s themed posters created by the students were
displayed. Students waited in line and looked over and read the
posters. Each student had to say the password before entering the
gym. The clue for the password was on their invitations, which they
received about a week in advance. Only one student did not know the
password (he was absent for several days before the dance due to
illness) and he had to go to the end of the line and use his time in
line to figure out the password, which he did. Music from the 1920s
was playing in the gym and students danced, talked and took photos
of each other until everyone was in the gym.
Once everyone was in the
gym, the marathon rules were explained:
- four 10 minute dance segments with
about three minutes in between each segment to take a break and
enjoy some orange Kool-Aid (a new product of the 1920s)
- boundary lines on the gym floor were
used to keep marathon participants in a group in the middle of the
gym
- teachers marked student roster
handouts when they saw a student stop dancing, even for a moment,
during the 10 minute marathon segments
- students could "free style" dance,
however to win the marathon prize they had to not only make it
through each 10 minute segment, but also prove they were the best
Charleston dancer
- students could dance individually or
with a partner or both
The dancing began and students really
seemed to enjoy themselves. I purposely chose all upbeat, fast, and
fun 1920s music. We went through nearly twelve gallons of orange
Kool-Aid for about 80 students. I used large coolers with push
nozzles and paper cups.
Awards Ceremony, 9:45 - 10:00
Students took their last
break and then all the girls lined up on one side of the gym and all
the boys on the other side, facing each other, for the awards
ceremony. I announced and recognized the best dressed five girls
and five boys. They each took a couple steps forward from the line
and everyone clapped. It was extremely difficult to choose, as they
all looked amazing. I had several teacher help me decide. I then
announced the best dressed boy and best dressed girl and gave them
each a grand prize, wrapped and decorated with ribbons, and
certificate explaining the award. Lastly I recognized the top ten
dancers of the morning and announced the Charleston dance marathon
winner and gave him a grand prize and certificate as well.
Mingling, 10:00-10:15
Students listened to more 1920s music,
danced, sang, talked in 1920s slang, took photos, drank more
Kool-Aid, went to the bathroom, and award winners opened their
prizes. At about 10:15 they were called to lunch and we continued
the district's half day schedule as normal.
What I learned:
·
Students were very well
behaved and appreciative of the experience
·
Students really seemed to
understand the society of the 1920s
·
Flexibility of other
teachers is necessary for such a lesson to be effective and go off
without a hitch - think about scheduling and use of a large room
with speakers for the dance
·
If you have a team (grade
level or content area) of teachers, they probably want to dress up
and learned the Charleston too - mine did!
·
Good quality 1920s music
is difficult to find, purchase, and record onto CDs
·
8th grade parents love
the idea of the 1920s dance, but do not want to participate
·
Make sure parents
understand that students do not have to purchase a costume, they can
simply dress up with what they already have and/or borrow ties and
whatnot from family members
·
The Salvation Army is a
great place for costumes and accessories
·
Make sure students have
plenty of time to round up an outfit for the dance and have some
extras available for students who do not have any dress clothes at
home and no money or family support to get any
·
There are 1920s slang
dictionaries online. However, I made my own modified version in
order to keep the language school appropriate
·
Make sure your camera
battery is charged and have other teachers and/or aides take some
photos also - as you will be too busy to take many yourself
·
Timing of the event is
crucial for full effect - make sure students have learned about the
1920s unit just previous to the dance
·
Details, details, details
- like make sure to a have several garbage cans available for all
the paper cups from the Kool-Aid
·
Simulation are A LOT of
work, but foster long term learning
What I would do again:
Everything! I will even continue to invite parents and community
members, even though very few stopped in.
What I would not do again:
I ended up skipping the research poster
contest, although there were quite a few really good ones. We just
did not have time to vote during the dance. But the posters made
really nice hallway decorations as students waited in line to enter
the dance. Most students did a nice job with the research portion
of the poster requirement also.
Hard copies of photos
from dance project, invitations, and receipts are available.
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