Name:
American Literature
Ms. Zarkh
1920s Museum Project
Imagine yourself as a museum curator. You are being asked to help create an exhibit
about American culture and history during the 1920s. In order to do so, you will
need to identify important artifacts from the time period to display in your section
of the exhibit.
Your Task:
You will create an exhibit that will include the following components:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Overview: Write an introduction to your exhibit. Explain key facts and cite your
sources using parenthetical citations. Your overview should be no longer than one
page (double spaced, 12 point font). You may wish to mount this on a small piece
of poster board or mounting paper. Remember, your reader knows nothing about
this topic, but does not want to be overwhelmed with information, so make it
readable!
Three Artifacts: Find/create at least three objects representing your topic.
Consider the kinds of things you might see in a museum: memorabilia, personal
effects of famous people (including letters and other papers), examples of
“typical” items from a particular era, photographs, multimedia displays (music or
video). Be creative!
Explanatory Cards: For each object, write an explanation identifying the object.
State what the object is, where it came from (hypothetically or actually), what its
approximate date is, and a one-paragraph explanation of its significance, with
citations. These should also be typed and mounted on index cards or small pieces
of mounting paper.
Works Cited: On a separate sheet of paper, write a Works Cited page listing all of
your sources, including sources of images. Use a variety of sources—online
databases, books, websites. Format your Works Cited correctly.
Topics:
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Music and dance (What was popular during the 1920s?)
Sports (Consider especially the Black Sox scandal of 1919)
Organized crime and Prohibition
Cars and car culture
Social and cultural effects of World War I
Immigration and life in cities
Women’s suffrage
Big business, industrialization, and the stock market
Long Island’s Gold Coast
Fashion
Trends, fads, and popular culture (Why were they called the “Roaring ‘20s”?)
The Lost Generation
F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
The Harlem Renaissance
Name:
American Literature
Ms. Zarkh
Research Tips:
First:
Second:
Third:
find out general information about your topic.
decide on three artifacts that will effectively represent some key
ideas/highlights of your topic to your classmates.
Create your objects, write your overview and explanatory cards, and
compile your Works Cited page.
Remember, research writing is:
analyzing
and
synthesizing
information
gathering
information
conveying
information
in writing
1. As you read sources, take notes. Don’t simply print and highlight—that’s the first
step to a cut and paste job.
2. Once you’ve read all your sources, organize your notes. Decide on the most
logical way to convey the information you’ve found. Make an outline.
3. Ask yourself if there is any key information missing or if there is more that you
need to add. If so, find some new sources and take more notes.
4. Based on your outline, write your overview. Once again, if there are any gaps to
fill in, go back to your sources.
5. Keep track of bibliographic information for your sources as you read them. That
will make writing the Works Cited easier.
6. Most important of all, remember your purpose and your audience. You are
providing information to your classmates, so everything you write should be easy to
read and digest. For this assignment, there is no need for direct quotations, except
from primary sources, so nearly everything should be in your own words.
Submit all written work (overview, cards, works cited)
to turnitin.com as a single document.
Name:
American Literature
Ms. Zarkh
Formatting Citations
After a direct quotation or a specific piece of information that is not general
knowledge, include the author’s name and the page number in parentheses. Please
note punctuation:
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At Gatsby’s parties, “men and girl came and went like moths among the
whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (Fitzgerald 39).
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If your source has no author, use the title or a shortened version of the title:
Flapper fashion rejected constricting Victorian corsets (“The Jazz Age”).
For all other citation information, including how to cite web pages or sources
without page numbers, go to: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
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Your Works Cited page provides full citation information for your sources. It says
Works Cited at the top of the page (centered), and lists, single-spaced, all of your
sources in alphabetical order.
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Works Cited
Fields, Jill. "'Fighting The Corsetless Evil': Shaping Corsets
And Culture, 1900-1930.” Journal of Social History. Winter 1999.
Web.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
The Great Gatsby.
New York: Collier,
1986.
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The basic format for a book entry is below. Note punctuation and indentation.
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book in Italics. Place of Publication:
Publisher, year of publication (most recent year or year of edition you are using).
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
The Great Gatsby.
New York: Collier, 1986.
For information about how to format sources other than books (CD-ROM, online
databases, encyclopedias, websites, etc.), go to:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/ and follow the relevant links.
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You may also use EasyBib.com or BibMe.com. These links are all available on the
Writing Center website.
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