Pathfinder:  American Decades

Step 1: Define your task: Look at the assignment/essential question. Scan the Time/Life Our American Century books to choose a decade.

Step 2: What materials might be useful for the project?   Books, Decades Encyclopedias, Online Encyclopedias..

Step 3: Find the material.

Books:  A number of books have been placed on the cart.  Look at the table of contents.  Some of the books are arranged chronologically.  Others have chronologies somewhere in the book.  Some books are arranged by topic.

Decades Encyclopedias:  American Decades is a great place to start. There is one book for each decade of the 1900s. There are sections on government, the arts, science, fashion, and more.

Suggestions for using  Subscription Research Databases:

• Grolier’s online encyclopedias:
  • Select Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.
  • Click on the Timelines button on the left.
  • Scroll down until you see 1900-1950 or 1950- and click on one of the topics.
  • Find your decade
  • Encyclopedia articles about this time period are listed by date. 
  • The online encyclopedia is an excellent source of pictures
•   Gale’s Student Resource Center:  
  • Type the decade of interest into the search box in the following format: 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, etc.  Most of the entries shown are from the online version of DISCovering U.S. History or American Decades.  Choose entries that might answer the assigned questions.
  • Be sure to look under Multimedia for great pictures. For more pictures, enter a more specific search.
• EBSCO. Great source of pictures. Click on Student Research Center. Click on "Photo." Perform a specific search.

 

ebooks:

• American Decades
• American Decades Primary Resources
• Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America
• UXL American Decades

Websites:  The following website is a good sources of photographs:

 The American Memory at the Library of Congress :   http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html A great source of photos, audio clips, and more.

Picturing the Century: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/picturing_the_century/ From the National Archives. A great source of pictures.

Teaching with Documents: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/ Documents from the National Archives. Include some important historical documets in your presentation.

 

Step 4: Use the material. Read it and take notes.  CITE YOUR SOURCES!!!

Step 5: Synthesize the information: Prepare and present  story board.  Fill out citation sheets.

Step 6: Evaluate: Does the paper you wrote answer the essential question? Have you met the requirements for the assignment?