Kalen+Whitehead-1920

Classworks 2: Narrative of a year in history.

The year 1920:

Dear brother, I miss you dearly. As I sit here and look out my window, the snow falling, the cars moving slowly by, I think about everything that has happened this year. I know I left you guys, but I had to move away. I had to get away from the rural life. I needed the city, I needed progression. Unfortunately, I think everyone else in the countryside had the same idea. It is so crowded here. Maybe I’ll come home soon. Or maybe we can move to Europe together, I’ve heard you can actually drink there. This stupid prohibition is going to kill me, man. Can you believe women can vote now. I never saw that one coming, but maybe it will balance this country out. We needed something big like that to happen. Have you heard about professional football? I actually tried to attend the American Professional Football Conference, an event led by the famous, Jim Thorpe. I was so close to shaking the guy’s hand. The New York Yankees also announced their purchase of Babe Ruth, man I would have killed to attend a Yankees game this year. I bet he is going to become the best baseball player in all of history. I learned all of this was happening by this new thing called, radio broadcasting. Have you heard about that yet? It started in Philadelphia this year. How do you feel about this new president? Mr. William G. Harding. Crazy man was elected by a landslide, I mean it was such a joke that people probably won’t remember who Harding ran against. I am not sure how much I like him though. It’s only been a few months since he has reigned over this country. Jazz has become essential to my day though. You probably haven’t experienced too much of that though. This genre is so new and fresh, and I just cannot get enough of it. I can’t enjoy my jazz the way I really want to though. Man, do I miss the taste of whiskey hitting the back of my throat after a long work week. I read in the paper the other day that the Senate refused to ratify the Versailles Treaty. I don’t really know what they are thinking, but I am sure glad I am not in charge of decisions like that. I mean this might end up being one of the most significant years in history. Can you believe a black man, I think his name is Marcus Garvey, was able to host a convention for black people in the middle of New York city? Everything is changing, and I do believe it is for the better. How is down south? I’ve heard the cotton economy is booming, that it might even be the largest crop to be grown in yet. I hope you are making some money off it. I know you southerners need it. Anyways, I’ve gotta get to work. The factory jobs are no joke, but man I’m tellin’ you I’m gonna make it. Give mom a kiss for me.

Love, your brother


 * Scaffolding for a Middle School classroom: ** If I were to use this project in a middle school classroom it would have to be broken down quite a bit from the way we did it. I would assign each student a year. Over the course of a few days they would have time to research the year they were assigned. I would then have them report back to a small group setting and share what they found about their year. Then once they had shared the events they had found, I would have them create the narrative just like the one we created. This would be an in class assignment, so that they could use myself as a resource. Each student would then have the opportunity to share their narratives with the class and we would create a timeline of the different years around the classroom.