What's in a name? Periodization and labels for the 1920s (classwork)

Essential Question: Is the decade of the 1920s deserving of its own historical time period?

Process:
1. students should have their assigned chapter work done with lists of events, trends, ideas and historical figures associated with the 1920s that Allen uses to support his claim (for the chapter)
2. Using a word cloud generator, like Wordle.net, (use internet explorer) students create their own world cloud using the terms and ideas

• students should decide which words are most significant to Allen's claim and make those words bigger in their Wordle. They do this by entering the word more times. Those words that appear the most will be the largest, those which appear the least will be the smallest. 
• Their Wordle should visually demonstrate the generalization they will make in the activity below. 
• Students should save and send Mr. Beller (dbeller2@wcpss.net) their wordle 

3. Students then organize and categorize the terms and ideas from their Wordles into 3-6 categories. \

• They must use every word on their Wordle. Words and ideas from their Wordles may be used in more than one category. 
• Students must give each of their categories a label. For example, categories may include, "fads and trends", or "the new woman" or "technology.". 

4. In order to fully understand the era of the 1920s and how the decade may or may not constitute a distinct historical time period, students will formulate their own generalizations about the era.

• Students use information from their Wordle and categories to create 3-4 generalizations about the 1920s 
• For example, they may write "the 1920s was only new and modern for the middle and upper class" 
• to test their generalization, students must generate a list of evidence both for and against their generalization. 
• After developing the generalizations, the group sends a delegate to the board to write their generalizations. 

5. Students must then use the words and ideas from the Wordle to support and refute the generalizations in a full-class discussion. The visualization of the terms they found most important for their generalization in their Wordle must also be defended (building historical evidence that can be used in support or refute an argument) 

TOTD:  Is the decade of the 1920s deserving of its own historical time period? Provide at least 2 pieces of evidence to support your claim and explain why.