S+Lawson,+Michael

** E-mail: ** michael.l.lawson@maine.edu
 * Teacher:** Mr. Lawson
 * Office:**312 Roberts
 * Office Phone:** (207)-551-5896
 * Office Hours:** 6a.m.-7a.m. 2:30p.m.-3:30p.m.

=Summary of Unit:=

The 1920s were years that changed the United States forever. Although covering a whole decade can easily mean being sidetracked by many small details, my students will focus of three major themes. These themes include, a) the unveiling of celebrities due to the realization of entertainment as a big business. Students will understand that the celebrities of the 1920s changed every aspect of social living and entertainment. b) pre-1920 living and wars encouraged the drastic change in the way people looked and talked. Students will connect WWI as a factor that contributed to this drastic change in culture. c) the United States government makes decisions that directly affect our economy. Students will understand that each president leaves a legacy, favoring a certain category of business is terrible for the economy. Students will be given ample opportunity to explore every aspect in the way that they feel the most comfortbale, while staying in the guidelines of my curriculum. =Establish Goals= Maine Learning Results: Social Studies- E History E1. Historical Knowledge, concepts, themes and patterns. "1920s Prosperity and Problems" Grades: 9-Diploma Students understand major eras, major themes and historic influences in the United States and World History including the roots of democratic philosophy, ideals and institutions in the World.

= = =Students will understand that= //•history helps us make decisions about the present and future. •government policy largely affects how a country functions. •the 1920s was one of the most influential decades of the last century.//

= = =Essential Questions= //•Why were the 1920s so influential? •How did specific industries (both legal and illegal) drive the prosperity of the 1920s? •Why are presidents so important, how did the presidents of the 1920s influence what took place during the time?//

= = =Students will know= //•__influential people and events__: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin, Inflation, stock market crash of 1929, epicurean mindset, Flappers, Rudolph Valentino, Fashions, Calvin Coolidge, dance competitions. •__terminology__: the bee's knees, bimbo, cat's meow, fall guy, goofy, it, necking. •__sequence and time line__: end of WWI, epicurean lifestyle, flappers, pole sitting, stock market crash, Roosevelt in office, The New Deal.//

= = =Students will be able to= •describe similarities between the 1920s and today. •tell a story of individuals of the 1920s. •decide what kinds pf policies are useful. •compare and contrast policy from the 1920s and today. •role-play as influential figures from the time. •recognize what elements are still around from the 1920s.

**Performance Task Overview** It's the 1920's and the most exciting decade in recent history is about to kickoff with an explosion of fabulous parties and cool new lingo. There are celebrities everywhere, on the baseball field, on screen, or even flying over us in their planes. As an up and coming journalist for the //New York Times// you must choose a celebrity that you think is worth of the title "Dame or Daddy of the 1920's". You must pull out all the stops to not only write an article covering the actions of your media figure during the decade, but also get an interview with them. Record your interview as a podcast in Garage Band so it can be heard in class. After you compile all of your resources you, and your colleagues will read your article, and present your interview through a podcast to the board members of the //New York Times// to see which Dame and Daddy get chosen for the front page of next weeks issue.

=Expectations= As a teacher I expect certain things out of my students, especially in my classroom. I also expect you, as my students to hold me accountable for your education. Expect me to teach you. Just as I will expect you to try and learn. If we both hold ourselves accountable for one another we can create a great symbiotic relationship that will lead to an exciting and productive year.

__Attendance__- Being on time to class is something that I value. If you are not on time to class and have no excuse that tells me that you don't care about my class. I will always be on time for the class that I am teaching because I find it important to use my class time to the fullest. However, you will be allowed to be late to my class twice before any disciplinary actions are taken. Any late arrivals after the third one will result in further disciplinary actions.

Assignments- All assignments are to be expected in on time. Late work will be docked a letter grade, per day, until the work is handed in or until that grade reaches a 59. This work will then not be accepted, however it can still be used in any projects or assignments later in the year.

Plagiarism- First and foremost, plagiarism will not be tolerated in my classroom. Nor will it be tolerated in any other class you take, or even as a professional. You must understand that you must be creative enough to write your own words, or at least to give credit to any other author quoted or used. If I suspect plagiarism I will ask to meet with you after class and discuss what can be done to avoid receiving a zero on that particular assignment. The student will be allowed to re-write the assignment and receive a passing grade on it. If there is plagiarism after this meeting and in the revised draft the student will get a zero on that assignment and be asked to stay after and review all rules associated with plagiarism.

Respect- R.E.S.P.E.C.T. here is what it means to me. Respect will always be top priority in my class. I expect that students will respect one another and promote a fair and safe learning environment for one another. The golden rule still rings true in my classroom. "Treat other the way you want to be treated." This is true for myself and everyone in my classroom. I will tolerate no name calling or put-downs.

=Benchmarks= Student's grade will be based upon how many points out of 1000 that they earn during the duration of my class.
 * Total Possible Points**- //**1000**//

__**Wikispace**__ **(100 Points)-** Students will take the notes from class, organizers, and the information given in the assigned reading and create an online database that provides me an abstract of the information they are getting. Students will show that they have read the material, and also followed along in class. This benchmark will give me a great idea of which students need additional help in class. It will also encourage them to be following along while in class.


 * __Comic Life__ (100 Points)-** Students will get training on how to work comic life. After going through the initail introduction and gaining the base knowledge on how to work the program students will be introduced to a 1920s style of newspaper. After looking at the news paper students will be asked to choose a specific event from the 1920s and create a newspaper, while mimicing the style of a 1920s paper. Students will present their newspaper article in class and be graded by a rubirc.


 * __Blogs__ (150 Points)-** Students will keep a running blog throughout the lesson that allows for me to keep up on things that they thought were interesting or difficult. Students can also write their opinions on anything went over in class or even assessments that they liked or disliked.


 * __Quizzes__ (75 Points)-** Partners will answer weekly quiz questions on a class wiki. Points will come from participation, effort, and thought process, not getting the questions right or wrong. The quizzes will be graded that night and be given feedback. Students will be able to ask clarifying questions at the beginning of the next class. I will also go over the questions at the beginning of class.


 * __iMovie__** (**125 Points)-** Small groups will develop a movie that encompasses a specific trend of the 1920's. An example of this would be the flapper movement, or maybe dance competitions. While in groups the students will choose thier celebrity and create an outline of what they generally want thier project to end up as. The students will first be introduced to the basic elements of iMovie so that they will easily be able to complete the assignment. The movie will be graded by a rubric that we will go over, and agree on when we start the unit.

__**Podcast/****Article**__(**200 Points)-** Students will make a podcast that is comprised of an interview from a specific 1920's celebrity. The student will then write an article describing why their celebrity should be the celebrity of the 1920's. The judges (classroom) will then vote on which celebrity seems the most deserving of the title and will award the journalist (creator) a raise. (3 extra points).

__**Tests**__ __**(**__**100 Points)**- Test will be given at the end of the unit and will be differentiated. There will be a mid-term project and a cumulative final at the end of the year. Each test will be comprised of mostly multiple choice questions with the standard four choices. The tests will consist of no more than twenty five questions. The tests will focus more on main themes that are prevelent and connect both reading, discussion, and lecture.

=Grading Scale= **A** (93 -100), **A-** (90 - 92), **B+** (87 - 89), **B** (83 - 86), **B-** (80 - 82), **C+**(77 - 79), **C** (73-76),
 * __Take Home Responses__** **(150 Points)**- Students will be given questions to think about in class and bring to class a written response on how they feel about the question, what their answer is, and anything else they learned while studying or writing the response. Students will break into very small groups (2-3) and peer review the questions and answers. After a couple minutes to review the students will be given one question each to read aloud. After everyone shares thier given question I will ask for any further questions in order to clarify any untouched information that the students may still be curious of.
 * C-** (70 - 72), **D+**(67 - 69), **D** (63 - 66), **D-** (60 - 62), **F** (0 - 59)