Decades Multimedia Project

Introduction:  The purpose of this project and others like it is to have students:

·         actively involved in using the internet to gather information about a specific topic related to a unit that you are teaching,

·         acquire good techniques in searching the internet,

·         develop the ability to work cooperatively in small groups,

·         become more aware of the vast amount of information available on the web,

·         become comfortable in preparing and presenting a multimedia project utilizing presentation software and,

·         have some fun!

 

Task:  Working in teams of four, brainstorm ways for your team members to conduct in-depth research and gather pictorial/multimedia information about a particular decade in the United States.  Once you have gathered this pictorial/multimedia history of your time period, you should prepare an informative, creative and stimulating presentation for the class using PowerPoint for the presentation.  Your presentation should be something like you might see in the new Constitution Center in Philadelphia.  That is, a presentation in which pictures, quotes, audio, video, and brief explanatory notes flash across the screen as they present a powerful, visual expression of your decade.  As you review and discuss the information you have found, weave answers to the following questions somewhere into your presentation if appropriate.

·         Does there appear to be the theme running through your decade and if so what is it?

·         Are there a few very significant positive or negative events which have influenced events in decades beyond the one you have selected?

·         Are there major, conflicting  differences between the decade your researched and the one in which you live?

·         What event in your decade do you think will have the most lasting influence on society and why?

In your search, you might want to give attention to some or all of the following:

·         Pictures of key political figures

·         Examples of fads

·         Speeches or direct quotes from influential people

·         Clothing fashions

·         Audio or words of a hit song

·         Popular entertainment / entertainers of the time

·         Popular sports figures / happenings

·         Significant scientists or inventors

·         Paintings or art from the time

·         Significant books

·         Significant scientific or humanitarian advancements

·         Descriptions of the time period by philosophers, writers, historians, politicians &/or scientists

·         Important businesses or industries

·         Wars or military conflicts occurring during the decade

Listed below are the decades for this project - if more than one group wants the same decade, we'll draw straws to decide.

·         The Teens

·         The 20's

·         The 30's

·         The 40's

·         The 50's

·         The 60's

·         The 70's

·         The 80's

·         The 90's


* Thanks to the Spartanburg, S.C. County School District #3 for the idea and information about this project.

GOOD LUCK! - Syllabus