“Extra, Extra, Read All About It!”
Introduction: The Great Gatsby has just been published and it is an instant best seller. The publication that you
work for has picked you to create a special edition magazine covering: Life in the 1920’s. You have a midnight
deadline so that it can be out on the streets ASAP.
It is your group’s job to write the articles and design the layout for the publication. Within your group you will
designate who will report on each topic of 1920s culture. You have complete creative control on how you
assemble your magazine to make it look like it would in the 1920s.
The Task: Each group is going to create a publication comprised of all the writings that have been assigned as
part of the requirements for the magazine. The publication can be organized in any fashion.
You need to create a cover and decide on an original title for the publication.
Once each group is completed, you will give a short oral presentation covering the topics that each group
member learned.
Here are some examples of current publications. These images can help guide you when trying to design your
cover. Your magazine should have a similar structure to these publications:
1. A cover
2. Table of contents
3. Sections with articles that relate to them.
The Process: Your group needs to decide who is going to write which portions of the available topics.
Everyone must write the articles and have their name listed as the writer to receive an individual writing grade.
You should work together to proofread each article before the publication is assembled to avoid grammatical
errors on the final submission.
1. Life in the 1920s Reports: Will report on each of the following topics:
a. Nightlife:
h. Fashion/Hairstyles
b. Popular actors/actresses
i. Coverage of the Scopes Monkey
c. Writers and Literature
Trial
d. Performers/Musicians
j. Politics and 19th Amendment
e. Popular trends
k. Prohibition
f. Harlem Renaissance
l. The Charleston
g. Transportation
m. Flappers
2. Biographers: Will write a biography on two influential people during the 1920s.
a. Investigate their lives and why they were so influential in the 1920s.
b. These should consist of one full page of writing and consist of multiple paragraphs
focusing on the following:
i. Personal background/family information (where are they from, who are they
married to)
ii. How do they impact life in the 1920s? What makes them “the cat’s meow”?
iii. What are their accomplishments?
c. They should be done by two different people (i.e. – one person doesn’t do both of the
biographies)
d. Here is a list of possible biographies – this list is not the only list of people you may use,
however it will give you a good start. If you would like to complete a biography on
someone not on this list be sure to get approval from your teacher.
i. Alain Locke
xii. Duke Ellington
ii. Richard Wright
xiii. Babe Ruth
iii. Dorothy West
xiv. Charles Lindebergh
iv. Zora Neal Hurston
xv. Alfred Stieglitz
v. Langston Hughes
xvi. Thomas Benton
vi. Claude McKay
xvii. Robert Frost
vii. Jean Toomer
xviii. Bessie Smith
viii. Al Capone
xix. Charles Sheeler
ix. Louis Armstrong
xx. Mickey Mouse
x. Countee Cullen
xi. Charlie Chaplin
3. Layout Designer and Copy Editor: You should select one group member to lead the process of
putting it all together. This does not mean this person only does this job, everyone is expected to
write articles and work to type and produce their portion of the project! This person will be in
charge of determining the layout and design of the publication, including the table of contents,
cover, appropriate pictures throughout the publication, the final editing of all the articles and the
putting together the final product.
Each section of the publication must have at least TWO graphics (images). Brainstorm with
your group to see how your group’s publication can be the best. Graphics should have captions.
Make sure to include a cover with an original title and a table of contents.
You should also have advertisements from the 1920s included throughout the magazine.
Guidance
Research each aspect of your project very carefully!!!
Brainstorm within your group to figure out how you are going to organize your project.
Information Sources: DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA
Jazz Music http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/
Nightlife in the 1920s: http://nightlifeof1920s.weebly.com/
Cotton Club
Duke Ellington http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_ellington_duke.htm
Harlem Renaissance
Langston Hughes http://www.redhotjazz.com/hughes.html
Countee Cullen http://www.biography.com/people/countee-cullen-38950
Culture in the Jazz Age http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=13&smtID=2
Music of the 1920s: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=13&smtID=6
Article on Jazz music controversy: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/beyond/jazz.html
Business, Industry, and Invention:
 http://www.1920-30.com/business/J.C. Penny
 Charles Walgreen
 Model ‘T’ Ford
 Stock Market Crash
 Charles Lindberg http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/
 Radio
Government and Politics:
 Suffrage:http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage
 Prohibition
 Ku Klux Klan
 Coolidge
 Hoover
Society & Fads: http://roaringtwentys.weebly.com/fads.html
 Slang Language
 Dance Marathons
 Hairstyles & Fashion
 Dances
 Flapper Culture and Style
 Vanderbilt Family
Crime and Criminals: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/20th-gangsters.html
 Al Capone
 Leopold and Loeb
 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
General References
Lesson with many great resources on this time period:
http://www.kiko.com/richey3/the-age-of-the-great-gatsby
Final Requirements
 All papers should be double-spaced and well-edited.
 Pictures are not extra---they are REQUIRED, as is a table of contents and cover.
 Your publication should be approximately 10 – 20 pages in length if you have all the
required elements.
 A works cited page should be attached to the back of your publication listing any articles
and/or websites you used and what article they were used with.
 You will receive a GROUP GRADE out of 120 points; therefore, it is each individual
group member’s responsibility to make sure the publication as a whole is complete.
 If you want your magazine in color, you are responsible for printing the pages yourself.
 I will not print anything for you on the due date (just like a current event)
1920’s Group Project Scoring Rubric
Group Members’ Names:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Neatness/Organized
Appearance/Editing/Creativity
/20
Work Productivity in Class
/10
Content (included all required elements
including a cover, table of contents, articles
on the arts and entertainment, at least two
biographies,
graphics/pictures/drawings,
double-spaced, required length)
/50
Works Cited Page
/10
Group Presentation
/10
Total Group Score
/100
Comments: