Introduction
Objective: Students will be able to... research and analyze data related government prohibition of alcohol and war on drugs, debating the merits and faults of these documents, synthesizing a case for justifying why prohibition was either a success or failure in the 20's and if it would be a success or a failure today with the war on drugs.
professional vocabulary: Synthesize, Analyze, Justify
Common Core Standard:
Level 4, 11-12.RH.2
"Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole."
Level 4, 11-12.WHST.2.b,
"Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate" for writing evidence based argument supporting or rejecting prohibition of marajauana.
Grade 11-12
Bloom levels covered: Remember, Understanding, Analysis, Application, Evaluate, Create
Language function: Justify
Task
Student Friendly:
It is January 1928. The 18th amendment has been in place for eight years. You and three others have been asked to participate in a local newspaper editorial about the effectiveness of Prohibition. You and the other members of your group will write opinion editorials about the effect that Prohibition has had on your life. Furthermore, you will express whether you believe it is a good or bad piece of legislation and why. Keep in mind that you have been selected because of your personal and unique perspective on Prohibition. In your group you will find:
1. A member of the Christian Women's Temperance Union
2. A citizen concerned about the implications of organized crime in urban areas
3. A working man who was not able to vote on the 18th amendment because he was overseas fighting in WWI, and participates in the speakeasy underground
4. A police officer who is unable to effectively enforce the 18th amendment because of government corruption
Option 1
Write articles (approximately 500 words in length) informed by your personal point of view about Prohibition and the impact it has had on you. Questions to consider:
- Do you agree with the reasons for enacting Prohibition? Why, or why not?
- Has Prohibition been effective? Why, or why not?
- Should it be repealed? Why, or why not?
Your final product, submitted by the group, will be organized as if it were the front page of a newspaper published in January 1928 (this project will be done in Microsoft Word). It should include all four articles, a headline, a date, pictures, and captions. Use your creativity, and place yourself back in the roaring twenties
Option 2: prohibition era you are going to convince the nation why marijuana should or should not be legalized in The United States today. Your argument should include both historical evidence related to the prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s. You should also use your evidence from the era to further your argument for or against marijuana legalization. Your findings will be used in congress in favor or against a new marijuana bill and your article will be published in the New York Times.
Option 3
Take ideas from the perspectives you have studied and produce 2 political cartoons or posters that defend either Prohibition of Alcohol or Against Prohibition of Alcohol.