History Educators Project
Teaching American History through the Lens of Indiana
Course/Grade Level: 11
Lesson Title: Change and Tension in the 1920s
Teacher: Pat Carroll
State and National Standards:
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State the standards that the lesson supports
Describe briefly how the lesson supports the standards
USH.4.2 Describe the development of popular culture. (Individuals, Society and Culture).
USH.4.3 Explain how America reacted to a changing society by examining issues
associated with the Red Scare, Prohibition, the Scopes Trial, the changing role of
women and African-Americans, the Ku Klux Klan, the Palmer Raids, the National
Origins Act, and restrictions on immigration. (Government; Economics;
Geography; Individuals, Society and Culture).
USH.4.7 Describe technological developments during the 1920s and their impact on rural and
urban America. (Economics; Geography; Individuals, Society and Culture).
USH.9.2 Locate and analyze primary sources and secondary sources related to an event or issue
of the past.
USH.9.3 Investigate and interpret multiple causation in historical actions and analyze
cause-and-effect relationships.
USH.9.4 Explain issues and problems of the past by analyzing the interests and viewpoints of
those involved.
Objectives:
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State the objectives and which level one is addressing utilizing Bloom's taxonomy
(knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation)
o Students will recall previously learned material about cultural, social, political,
and economic changes in the 1920s and the tensions these changes created
between traditionalists and modernists of the era.
o Students will analyze why the 1920s were a period of change in society, culture,
politics, and economics and why conflict arose between traditionalists and
modernists..
o Students will analyze what happened as a result of the changes in society,
culture, politics, and economics in the 1920s.
o Students will analyze what happens as a result of the tension between
traditionalists and modernists over the changes in society, culture, politics, and
economics in the 1920s.
Time:
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Explain how your school day is organized (traditional, block, alternate, trimester,etc...)
o Trimester schedule with 67 minute periods
Hook: Interest Building
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How will you motivate the students? For example: use an appealing dramatic reading,
or video website (YouTube) or other motivational piece.
o A discussion of how, in U.S. history there have always been a series of actions
and counteractions to reform movements. The cultural, social, political, and
economic change and tension are a reaction to the Progressive movement.
o A video clip from the PBS video “Sister Aimee” (See the “Materials” section
below for the web address).
Outstanding Teaching Strategies: Use a minimum of one strategy per lesson plan.
____Focus In: Interest Building
____Teach for Ideas: Concept Development
____Teach for Inquiry: Discovery
____Teach through Drama: Dramatic Expression
____Write to Learn: Perspective Taking
____ Teach for Deliberation: Decision Making
o
Teach for Ideas: Students will use previously learned and new material to
conceptualize why the 1920s were a period of social, cultural, political, and
economic change.
o Teach for Inquiry: Students will discover why the changes in society, culture,
politics, and economics in the 1920s led to tension between traditionalists and
modernists.
Content:
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Concept Development: Big ideas that will be addressed in this lesson
Perspective Taking: Multiple perspectives must be incorporated into every lesson
(classism, racism, equality, social justice, etc…).
 Meaningful, Integrative, Value-based, Challenging, Active (NCSS Standards)
 Multimedia used: PowerPoint, audio, video, etc…
o Meaningful: Encourages students to see history from multiple perspectives.
o Integrative: Integrates ideas and concepts across the social studies spectrum
(History, Geography, Government, and Sociology)
o Value-Based: Students will develop their own definitions of 1920s
Traditionalists and Modernists and as a culminating activity compare these
definitions to modern day Traditionalists and Modernists.
o Challenging: Develops/exercises student’s higher-level cognitive abilities by
requiring them to see and explain the change over time concept of history and
cause and effect relationships.
o Active: Students will actively participate in the discussions.
Background for lesson implementation
Need to develop deep and rich explanations of your learning activities and very specific
procedures that you will be implementing. Choices include, but are not limited to:
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Discovery: research (inquiry) as detective
Dramatic expression: folk art, protest song, role play, reader's theatre, etc…
Decision-making: deliberation and/or pro/con views, etc…
Socratic seminar
o Students taking the U.S. History AP class need to develop higher-level
cognitive skills. The need to be able to see history as change over time and as a
cause and effect relationship. To do this they need to be able to understand and
explain why an event, movement, or trend is significant, why this event,
movement, or trend happened, and what happens as a result of this event,
movement, or trend.
Procedures:
o As a review of previously covered material, students will be asked to
list/discuss the changes in 1920s culture, society, politics, and economics.
o Students will then formulate an answer to the following questions:
o
What values would a traditionalist hold in the 1920s?
o
From what part of the country would we be most likely to find a
traditionalist?
o
What values would a modernist hold in the 1920s?
o
From what part of the country would we be most likely to find a
modernist?
o Students, after reading the documents, categorize them as reflecting either a
traditionalist or modernist viewpoint.
o With each document, students will do the following:
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Explain why it is categorized as a traditionalist or modernist viewpoint.
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Describe what broad social, cultural, political, or economic change the
document reflects.
o
Describe what specific event, if any, the document reflects.
o
Using the student developed criteria for traditionalist/modernist values and
their understanding of the time period, students create an opposing
argument.
o As a culminating activity, students will develop an answer to the following
questions:
o What would we call traditionalists and modernists today?
o Are the values the same today as they were in the 1920s?
o Are the social, cultural, political, and economic factors that created these
groups in the 1920s similar to today?
Materials:
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List materials, supplies, books, artifacts, and computer equipment needed for the
lesson.
List titles and authors of all books and primary sources.
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o Textbook: America Past and Present. Devine, et al.
o Documents: Doing the DBQ. The College Board
o PBS website: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/sister
Evaluation:
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Debrief discussion, exit slip, or quiz, test, journal entry, or KWL strategy to surface
knowledge and insights that have occurred, paper, etc…
o Chapter Test