Time Capsules of the Roaring Twenties
United States History
EQ – How did the United States experience economic growth and social change in the decade after WWI?
Task – Students will work with a partner to develop a Time Capsule in the form of a PowerPoint
presentation. Students will examine the political, economic, social, and cultural issues of the 1920s,
analyzing the cause of these issues as well as the effect of these issues on our nation. Specifically, students
will determine what elements of the 1920s caused the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Requirements – The PowerPoint must include at least 30 slides (but no more than 40) and must cover the
topics, concepts and issues found below. The PowerPoint must include images and bullet points of
information, and each slide should have no more than five lines of text and a total of 30 words. Your
PowerPoint may also include political cartoons, newspaper clippings, videos, and music. At the bottom of
every slide a web address of the site where information or images are obtained must be included.
Grading Rubric:
1 – Accuracy of historical information (35 points)
2 – A minimum of 30 slides, but no more than 40 (10 points)
3 – Representation of each concept listed below (10 points)
4 – Appropriate use of images and text, including citations (10 points)
5 – Neatness, originality, and creativity (10 points)
This project will total 75 points
Contents of the Time Capsule – The following concepts should be included in each Time Capsule:
Political Issues
Red Scare / Palmer Raids
Trial of Sacco & Vanzetti
President Warren G. Harding
“Return to Normalcy”
The Ohio Gang
Teapot Dome Scandal
President Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Dawes Plan
Economic Issues
Henry Ford & the Model T
Assembly lines
Effect of the Automobile
Consumer Revolution
Buying on Margin
Economic Policies of Harding,
Coolidge, & Hoover
Social Issues
Influenza epidemic (1918-1919)
Fundamentalism v. Modernism
The Scopes “Monkey” Trial
Ku Klux Klan
Eighteenth Amendment – Prohibition
Speakeasies – Bootleggers – Al Capone
Cultural Issues
The Charleston
Movies – Charlie Chaplin – The Jazz Singer
Radio – KDKA Pittsburgh
American Heroes – Babe Ruth –
Charles Lindbergh
Flappers
The “Lost Generation” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
– Ernest Hemingway
Marcus Garvey
The Harlem Renaissance – The Jazz Age
Helpful Hints: Use your textbook to research the information (p. 515 – 567) and use the internet
to find images and additional information, if needed. Each concept above does not have to
represent only one slide. If possible, save your work using a flash drive.
Honors Writing Assignment – 1920s Project
Select the three people, events, or concepts from your research during this project that best
represent the decade of the 1920s. In making your selections, your choices should best represent
the major political, economic, social, and cultural challenges of this time period. Most
importantly, you must defend your selections with specific and relevant factual information.
Write a two-to-three page essay (12 point font, standard formatting) which states the three
concepts you chose and describes why each concept best represents the decade of the 1920s.
This paper will be due the same day as your PowerPoint project and is worth 50 points.
Honors Writing Assignment – 1920s Project
Select the three people, events, or concepts from your research during this project that best
represent the decade of the 1920s. In making your selections, your choices should best represent
the major political, economic, social, and cultural challenges of this time period. Most
importantly, you must defend your selections with specific and relevant factual information.
Write a two-to-three page essay (12 point font, standard formatting) which states the three
concepts you chose and describes why each concept best represents the decade of the 1920s.
This paper will be due the same day as your PowerPoint project and is worth 50 points.
Honors Writing Assignment – 1920s Project
Select the three people, events, or concepts from your research during this project that best
represent the decade of the 1920s. In making your selections, your choices should best represent
the major political, economic, social, and cultural challenges of this time period. Most
importantly, you must defend your selections with specific and relevant factual information.
Write a two-to-three page essay (12 point font, standard formatting) which states the three
concepts you chose and describes why each concept best represents the decade of the 1920s.
This paper will be due the same day as your PowerPoint project and is worth 50 points.