Task
It is Autumn, 1929. The 1920’s was a decade of great change in American society. You are a reporter for the NDP Press, and your editor-in-chief, (Mr. Perry), has formed a group to begin work on the “Decade in Review” issue of the magazine that will be released in late December, 1929. The committee is divided into five groups: current events, business, entertainment, sports, and advertising. Each reporter must submit two articles which will be published in the magazine, and each reporter will design the layout for his or her article.
Process
STEP ONE: Groups
Your editor-in-chief has broken you into five groups for the five different sections of the magazine. Each group must decide how they will cover the stories that belong to their sections. Within your group, the following stories must be covered. The group of reporters must decide who will tackle each story. As hard-nosed journalists, you must seek out interviews with participants and remain completely unbiased. Report only the facts!
Newsreporters: Your stories to cover include:
! The Sacco-Vanzetti Case
! The 18th Amendment: Prohibition
! The Scopes Trial
! The Teapot Dome Scandal
! St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and Al Capone
! The 19th Amendment: Woman’s Suffrage
! The Return of the Ku Klux Klan
! Charles Lindbergh Crosses the Atlantic
! An interview with Amelia Earhart
! An interview with Bessie Coleman
Business Analysts: Your stories to cover include:
! Henry Ford’s Assembly Line
! NBC: National Broadcasting Company
! CBS: Columbia Broadcasting System
Entertainment Reporters: Your stories to cover include:
! The Jazz Singer, a movie review
! An interview with Mary Pickford or Charlie Chaplin
! The Harlem Renaissance
o A review of Langston Hughes’ poetry or a short story bya Harlem Renaissance Writer
! An interview with Louis Armstrong
! An interview with Duke Ellington
! A review of Emperor Jones, starring Paul Robeson
! The Carter Family: First Family of Country Music
Sports Reporters: Your stories to cover include:
! An interview with Babe Ruth
! Jack Dempsey’s boxing match with Gene Tunney
! An interview with Bobby Jones (may also be a biographical sketch)
! An interview with Red Grange (may also be a biographical sketch)
! The Black Sox Trial
Advertising Department: Create an extended advertisement for:
! The book A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
! The book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
! An advertisement for the Amos and Andy Radio Show
! The Cotton Club
! The Model-T
! Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Catalog
STEP TWO: Research
Now, it’s time to get started on your research! Below are links that you may use to help write your stories.
Sacco and Vanzetti
! Sacco-Vanzetti Case
! The Sacco-Vanzetti Controversy
! The F.B.I.: Sacco-Vanzetti
! Overview of the Case (with references)
! Report of the Lowell Committee
The Eighteenth Amendment
! The Eighteenth Amendment
! Temperance and Prohibition
! The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Doc.’s
The Scopes Trial
! The Scopes Monkey Trial
! Tennessee v. John Scopes
! Scopes Monkey Trial –(another site)
! American Experience: Monkey Trial
! CourtTV On-line: Monkey Trial
The Teapot Dome Scandal
! Teapot Dome Scandal
! Senate Investigates the Teapot Dome
! History Central.com
The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre
! Haunted Chicago
! The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (an essay)
! The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (an article)
! Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The 19th Amendment: Women’s Suffrage
! The 19th Amendment
! Women’s Fight For the Vote
! Articles from the New York Times
! Susan B. Anthony Center (with links)
! The U.S. Senate
The Ku Klux Klan
! A Hundred Years of Terror
! Digital History
! Encyclopedia.com
! History Central.com
! Lynchings in America
! American Experience: Scottsboro
Charles Lindbergh
! Charles Augustus Lindbergh Home Page
! The American Experience: Lindbergh
! Lucky Lindy Links
! CourtTV: The Lindbergh Kidnapping
! Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site
Amelia Earhart
! The Official Amelia Earhart Site
! Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum
! America’s Library
! George Palmer Putnam Collection of A.E. Papers
! U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
Bessie Coleman
! Bessie Coleman Site
! The American Experience
! U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
! Women in Aviation Resource Center
! Handbook of Texas Online
Henry Ford and the Assembly Line
! The Life of Henry Ford
! People and Discoveries
! Ford Motor Company
! Quotations Page
! Henry Ford Heritage Association
NBC: National Broadcasting Company and CBS: Columbia Broadcasting System
! NBC.com
! CBS.com
! CBS Network History
! Max Jordan – NBC’s Forgotten Pioneer
! Library of Congress: Recorded Sound Reference Center
! Broadcast History Timeline
! OldRadio.com
! Broadcasting History Resources
The Jazz Singer
! Filmsite.org
! Plot Summary/Synopsis
! The Jazz Singer
! Rottentomatoes.com
! Al Jolson – The Jazz Singer
Mary Pickford
! The Mary Pickford Foundation
! Mary Pickford Site
! The American Experience
! Mary Pickford Theater
! Mary Pickford Quotes
Charlie Chaplin
! CharlieChaplin.com
! The Time 100
! PBS: American Masters
! Charlie Chaplin Archive
! Charlie Chaplin Museum
The Harlem Renaissance
! Harlem Renaissance
! Harlem Renaissance Bibliography
! Langston Hughes
! Library of Congress: Langston Hughes
! America’s Library
! PBS: Langston Hughes
! Langston Hughes Criticism
Louis Armstrong
! Redhotjazz.com
! Satchmo.net
! Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy
! Time 100
! LouisArmstrong.net
Duke Ellington
! Duke Ellington: The Official Website
! Redhotjazz.com
! Duke Ellington: 100 Years
! Duke Ellington’s Washington
! PBS: JAZZ
Emperor Jones and Paul Robeson
! Green Cine
! American Masters
! Paul Robeson Biography
! The Emperor Jones (oneill.com)
! Emperor Jones: Summary and Essays
The Carter Family
! The Carter Family Memorial Music Center
! SouthernMusic.net
! The Carter Family Fold
! Country Music Hall of Fame
! The American Experience: Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
! Songs of the Carter Family
Babe Ruth
! BabeRuth.com
! National Baseball Hall of Fame
! Babe Ruth Museum
! Babe Ruth Quotes
! Babe Ruth Statistics
Jack Dempsey
! The Official Site
! Jack Dempsey Museum
! ESPN Classic
! Jack Dempsey Quotes
! The Authentic History Center
Bobby Jones
! BobbyJones.com
! ESPN Classic
! Harvard Magazine.com
! Bobby Jones Quotes
! Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius
Red Grange
! College Football News
! White House Kids
! Pro-Football Hall of Fame
! Red Grange Quotes
! College Football Hall of Fame
The Black Sox Trial
! Chicago Black Sox
! The Chicago Black Sox Trial
! 1919 Black Sox Scandal
! JURIST – Legal Intelligence
! The Sporting News
Ernest Hemingway and A Farewell to Arms
! Summary and Commentary
! Summaries and Essays
! ErnestHemingway.com
! Timeless Hemingway
! Ernest Hemingway Foundation
! The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
! The Great Gatsby Website
! Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Novels
! F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary Home Page
! F. Scott Fitzgerald Society Home Page
! F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography
! Quotes
Amos and Andy
! The Originial Amos n’ Andy Web Page
! Radio Lovers
! Radio Hall of Fame
! Meet Amos n’ Andy
! Old Time Radio Days
The Cotton Club
! The Cotton Club, New York
! Jass.com: Cotton Club Revues
! PBS: JAZZ
! The Cotton Club (Info. on the movie)
The Model T
! Showroom of Automotive History
! Time 100: Henry Ford
! Model T Ford Automotive Heritage Complex
! Muscle Car Club
! History of the Ford Motor Company
Sears and Roebuck
! Sears Homepage
! Sears Intro
! Sears Archives Homepage
! Houghton Mifflin
STEP THREE: Write!
The interviews have been conducted, and the research has been gathered. Now it is time to write your first draft. Use Microsoft Word for all articles. You must have the following format for your article:
· 12 Point Georgia font.
· 1 inch margins.
· Pictures.
· Columns.
· Your title and byline (only) for a heading
Your first step is to write the first drafts. In class, we will conduct a peer-editing session and you may also meet with your editor-in-chief if you wish. Check with the editor-in-chief for the deadline date. You will receive a list of “editing points” in class.
Next you will write a revised rough draft. You should meet with a different peer editor to read over it. Use the same list of “editing points” that you used when editing your first rough draft. Check with the editor-in-chief for the deadline date.
Now, it’s time for the final deadline! Your editor-in-chief will let you know when your article is due. Everyone needs to get articles into one person so a magazine can be made.
NOTE: Your articles should include at least one relevant photograph that will catch your readers’ attention.
STEP FOUR: Publishing
One person in the group needs to be responsible for taking all the articles written and putting it into a creative, published magazine.
Evaluation
Evaluation
Each article will be graded using the following rubric and checklist.
Writing Rubric
| Writing Component |
5: Excellent! |
4: Very Good |
3: Average |
2: Poor |
0: No article submitted |
Multiplier | Total |
| Historical Accuracy |
All information presented is historically accurate. | There is no more than one minor historical error. | There is no more than onecrucial historical error. |
There is no evidence of comprehension of the topic. | No article submitted. | X 5 | (25 pts. possible) |
| Thoroughness of Content |
Specific, illustrative content demonstrates the development of sophisticated ideas. | Sufficiently developed content with adequate elaboration. | Limited content with inadequate elaboration and explanation. | Superficial and/or Minimal content. |
No article submitted. | X3 | (15 pts. possible) |
| Focus | Sharp, distinct controlling point made about a single topic with evident awareness of the task. | Apparent point made about a single topic with sufficient awareness of task. | No apparent point but evidence of a specific topic. | Minimal evidence of a topic. | No article submitted. | X3 | (15 pts. possible) |
| Organization | Sophisticated arrangement of content with evident and/or subtle transitions. | Functional arrangement of content that sustains a logical order with some evidence of transitions. | Confused or inconsistent arrangement of content with or without attempts at transition. | Minimal control of content arrangement. | No article submitted. | X3 | (15 pts. possible) |
| Grammar, Mechanical Conventions, and Style |
Evident control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage and sentence formation as well as precise, illustrative use of sentences and words. | Sufficient control of grammar, mechanics, usage and sentence formation as well as a generic use and variety of sentences and words. |
Limited control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage, and sentence formation as well as limited word choice and control of sentence structure. | Minimal control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage and sentence formation as well as poor word choice and control of sentence structure. | No article submitted. | X2 | (10 pts. possible) |
Format Checklist
| Does the article have... | Yes | No | Points Awarded |
| 1 inch margins on all sides? |
5 points | 0 points | |
| 3 column format? |
5 points | 0 points | |
| pictures/graphics? |
5 points | 0 points | |
| 12 point Georgia font? |
5 points | 0 points | |
| Total: |
Grand Total:
___/100
Conclusion
It’s off to the presses!Congratulations on meeting the deadline for this special issue of the NDP Press. With the magazine turned in and the articles written, I hope you learned something about the decade we call the Roaring 20s.