Radio

WJHS Media Center Pathfinder

Task Definition

Information
Seeking
Strategies

Location
and
Access

Use of Information

Synthesis

Evaluation

The "Big6™" is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz.
For more information, visit: www.big6.com

Task Definition

Part One

You are assuming the role of a radio newscaster.

1. Pick one topic.

2. Each Person must write a script (for his/her topic)that is 2 minutes long.

3. The script must focus on events between 1920 and 1929. You cannot mention anything that occurred beyond those dates.

Music/Intro Group 1: George Gershwin, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie	Trends/Fads/Writers Group 2: F.Scott Fitzgerald, Dance Marathons/Flag Pole Sitting/Goldfish Swallowing, Speakeasies/Bootleggers, Amy Semple McPherson, Sinclair Lewis, Ernest Hemingway
Harlem Renaissance Group 3: Langson Hughes, Bessie Smith, Marcus Garvey, Zora Neal Hurston, Claude McKay, Paul Robeson	Commercial "Break" Group 4: Model T Ford, Fashion/Clothing, New Home Appliances, Drugstore/Soda Fountain, Bank (Installment, Buy on Credit), Beauty Salon/Makeup
News Flash Group 5: Charles Lindbergh, Al Capone, Scopes Trial, Immigration/Quota Acts, Economic Forecast (Strikes, Labor), Unemployment as of 9/29), Great Migration (African Americans moving to the cities).	Sports & Entertainment Group 6: Babe Ruth, Magazines (Life/Time),Jazz Singer/Al Jolson, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Gertrude Ederle

Format:

You are assuming the role of a radio newscaster.

1. Each group member should pick one topic from the group lists.

2. Each person is responsible for writing his/her own two minute script on the topic he/she chooses, based on the research completed in the media center/computer lab.

3. Script must focus on events between 1920 and 1929. Cannot mention anything beyond.

4. Your script must include at least one quote from “someone” either involved in or witness to the event. You may either use an actual quote from your research that fits your story or you may create a fictionalized quote that supports your research. You could even use another member of the group to “read” the quote as the eyewitness. (No, this does NOT count towards his/her two minutes!!!)

5. Your script should sound authentic to the 1920’s. BE CREATIVE!!! Use “slang” and phrasing appropriate for the time period.

6. After you complete your script, your group needs to meet to plan the presentation aspect of your “radio broadcast.” You should sit down and create a schedule for your show – be sure to decide what order the stories will be presented and how you will transition from one to the other.

7. All groups will be presenting on Tuesday, January 4, 2005.
BE PREPARED!!!!!!!!

Research Capture Sheet

Group Presentation Schedule

Part Two

The 1920s was the decade when radio became a large part of many Americans’ lives. To better understand Part 1 of your project--writing and performing a radio script of a news article on a topic from the 1920s--you will conduct background research to write a 5-paragraph Extended Constructed Response (ECR) to the following prompt:

What sort of impact did the invention of radio as a medium of communication have on life in the United States in the early 20th century (1900-1930)?

Use the following guidelines in writing your ECR:

Paragraph 1--Introduction: Describe radio’s beginnings, from its invention to the first broadcasts of news and commercial programming in the United States, and provide your point of view in a topic sentence--was radio to have a positive or negative effect on American life?

Paragraph 2--Body: Discuss the business side of radio--who started the first commerical radio stations and networks? Where were they? How did the station owners and networks make their money? What effects did radio advertising have on American consumers?

Paragraph 3--Body: Provide an overview of the types of news and entertainment programming that were popular in 1920s radio, including specific examples of important shows, performers, and personalities.

Paragraph 4--Body: Explain radio’s effects in creating a "shared national experience," uniting the American people (through entertainment, news, and advertising) in a way they had never been before.

Paragraph 5--Conclusion: Briefly summarize the changes that radio brought to American life, and reinforce your point of view on whether these changes were largely positive or largely negative.

In addition, your ECR should include a bibliography (see the Media Center webpage for citation formats) of at least three different sources of information. You may wish to consult pages 465-66 of your textbook for background information; if you do, add your textbook to your bibliography, but you must also include three other sources as well.

Remember to follow the "Layer Cake" model when writing your ECR: Include a topic sentence explaining your point of view in your first paragraph, then link concrete details (supporting facts) back to your topic sentence with commentary.

Your BCR will be graded using the standard MCPS social studies rubric.

Information Seeking Strategies

Find information in encyclopedias, biographies, newspapers, personal interviews, and the Internet, the Library Media Center and other libraries.