We spent this first semester immersed in the history of the "Roaring 20's" and the effect it had on the Great Depression to come in the 1930's. Students learned about prohibition, organized crime and gangsters (Bonnie and Clyde crashed the party!), and the flappers who were women beginning to seek new ways of expressing themselves. We learned about how most adults smoked because they did not know smoking caused cancer at that time and would not know that for decades to come. We learned about the dangers of living for the moment and the hardships it creates. We also learned the Charleston and the Foxtrot. We watched performances by famous vaudeville actors such as "Laurel and Hardy" who "CAME" to the party and are in the video. We learned firsthand that the gambling that so many did during that time period SELDOM paid off --most students learned that playing the games! We learned that it is fun to dress up with our parents and teachers for one evening, pretending to enter a time machine and experience a time in America's history. The dancing made us hot and thirsty --many liters of SPRITE and ROOT BEER helped! Even the "RAID" from our local police officer was fun (I think the kids were expecting that one!). We had a blast!
This party was part of our first semester look at the "Roaring Twenties!" The motto for this decade was, "NEVER TAKE ANYONE OR ANYTHING FOR GRANTED. NOTICE - APPRECIATE!"
Students learned the conditions that led to the Roaring Twenties, the history of that time, and how it would eventually affect the next decade and the Great Depression.
The party was SO, SO much fun and allowed us to imagine we, too, were flappers and gangsters. Despite the costumes, the dancing, and the "pretending" of the night, this semester we learned how many in this time period thought only of themselves and made decisions that took those around them for granted. We learned that in most places (like where we live), the Roaring Twenties looked very different.
Our "Roaring Twenties" Speakeasy consisted of: passwords, peep holes, poker chips, parents dressed as gangsters and flappers, bottles of root beer, fancy tables, games, dancing, dancing, dancing, a floor show, a dance marathon, dancing, dancing, dancing, Laurel and Hardy, Bonnie and Clyde, dancing, dancing, dancing, the Great Gangster Parade, laughter, fun --even a Raid!...a night together with kids, teachers, & parents as a G.T. family --a night of memories.
| slang_of_the_1920s.pdf |
