You're On the Air
The 1920's was a
time filled with changes in American society. Fashion, music,
literature, sports, economics, and politics, were changing at a rapid
pace. In this project we will explore those changes and use the
Internet of the 1920's (the radio) to tell the story to Northfield
Your task will be to create a radio broadcast that your team can produce by researching websites on the decade. You will broadcast will be on the air on the last day of 1929 and will contain elements from throughout the decade.
In this project
you will be working together with a group. Each group will contribute
to the project's outcome by providing one segment of the broadcast. You
will break into subgroups to explore the information necessary to put
together a specific segment.
Each group is responsible for for producing a
five-minute radio broadcast that is filled with content that is
historically accurate. In addition, the broadcast should be produced in
a manner consistent with radio shows of the 1920's (i.e. music, sound
effects, announcers, language (slang), call letters, tone of voice)
Phase 1 - Background:
The site listed will be helpful for
everyone as you explore what radio meant to the people living in 1920's
America. Before researching your segment, read the article 'Radio in
Phase 2 - Research
Segment 1: National news and Economics
Use the Internet information linked below to create Segment 1 - National news and Economics:
1. Who are the notable politicians of the time? Who got elected and
when? What is the mood of the country about government and politicians?
Choose an event or political figure (make it American!) to feature.
What was happening in business? What was happening to people's money?
How did it impact their lives? Choose one event or trend to report.
Segment 2: Criminals and Sports
Use the websites below to create Segment 2 - Criminals and Sports news:
1. What were some of the famous crime stories of the 1920's? Choose one to report on.
Who were the notable sports figures of the 1920's? What made them
heroes? Were sports an important part of society in the 1920's? Choose
one sport to report on or one sports figure to feature.
Segment 3: Fashion, Music & Literature
Use the websites featured below to create Segment 3 - Fashion, Music & Literature:
1. What was fashion like in the 1920's? What were women, men, and
children of the time wearing? How was it different from what came
before it? Choose one or two items to focus your segment on.
the music of the time changing or staying the same? Who was performing
it? What was new in literature? Who was writing it?
Segment 4: Commercial
Use the websites listed below to create Segment 4 - Commercial and Interview:
1. What products were popular and in need of advertisements in the
1920's? What makes these products special and useful for 1920's
Americans. Choose one and write a commercial.
Phase 3 - Putting it All Together
You must now complete the broadcast as a group. Each
of you will create a first draft and an edited final draft of a segment
to be used during the final radio broadcast. You will need decide how
the segments will be introduced and how they will transition from one
to the next. You will need to discuss how your group will put the
broadcast together as well as how you can ensure it is interesting to
both the live and radio audiences. Each story should only be about a 1
to 1.5 minutes long, so that in all, your broadcast is no longer than
Grading and Timeline
Broadcast Criteria (25pts):
20's style broadcast
Script Criteria (25pts):
Fulfills segment requirement(s) - topic, length, content
Construction- appropriate language for the time
*Adapted from Cheryl Bussert of Forest Park Il, schools - The Roaring 1920's Webquest.