Canadian History Since World War I

Units 1 & 2 1920s/30s Assignment – The Boom and Bust Review Magazine

The decades of the 1920s and 1930s were anything but dull. During this 20 year span Canada experienced economic slowdown after the Great War and then the greatest economic boom to that point in its history which was followed by the worst decade in Canada’s economic history. This period also saw rapid developments in technology, fashion, and entertainment. For women, these years marked the beginning of the road to equality in politics and in the workplace and a struggle to keep the family together during economic depression. For some Canadians racism and inequality were the realities of the day. Internationally, Canada gained a new sense of independence that grew out of the First World War and began a relationship with the United States which continues today.

Therefore, the task of each student will be to create a magazine called “The Boom and Bust Review” which is reflective of the themes mentioned above. 

Each student must complete the following steps for this assignment:

1. Using the various lessons in this unit as a guideline, write a 200 word article to be included in the final  “Boom and Bust Review” magazine on each of the following topics from the 1920s and 1930s (i.e. 7 separate articles):

1. the Canadian economy (both “boom” and “bust”)
2. new technology
3. the changing lives of women in the1920s and 1930s
4. The Best of Times? Racism, Inequality, Immigration
5. culture, sports, fashion or fads
6. Canada’s independence from Britain and a closer relationship with the United States
7. Stories from across Canada (a narrative of life for the average Canadian during these twenty years)

2. Create two “advertisements” (one for each decade) of typical products that are

    reflective of their respective decade (i.e. the ads should show a relationship to the

    themes in the articles).

3. Once you have created each of the components remember to carefully plan, prepare,

    and edit everything that will be a part of the final magazine.

    Although each student must include all of the same topics in their magazine the style

    and format of the magazine is still up to the individual student.

    Be creative. For example, create a unique front page that is reflective of life in    

    Canada in the 1920s/30s and add photos and illustrations to accompany each article.

    Think of clever and unique headlines for each article.

    While individual components of the magazine are being specifically evaluated there is

    also evaluation for style, organization and effort of the final product. (i.e. more time

    and effort on your part will probably translate into a better mark)

4. Submit the final magazine with all of the relevant activities and advertisements

     included knowing you’ve done your best.

Evaluation

The entire assignment will be evaluated out of 40 based on the following breakdown:

Articles

Accuracy of content, facts

(do you know your stuff)

(7 articles x 5 marks ÷ 3.5 = )                                             /10 Knowledge/Understanding  

Use of processing skills & creative

and critical thinking processes

(how you are interpreting, analysing,

synthesizing, and evaluating the information

and applying concepts of historical thinking)

(7 articles x 5 marks ÷ 3.5 = )                                             /10 Thinking 

Advertisements

Application and transfer of concepts

to new context

(how your knowledge led you to create

something new, i.e. the advertisement)

(2 ads x 5 marks =)                                                            /10 Application

Overall Magazine

Choice of article visuals, magazine cover                          /5 Communication

Organization, style, effort

Spelling, grammar, editing                                                      /5 Communication