American people and the 'boom' in the 1920s
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can evaluate the impact of the 'boom years' on prosperity in the USA.
Key learning points
- Many people benefitted from the 'boom years'.
- The benefits were not evenly shared out.
- There was regional variation in benefits from the 'boom years'.
- An individual's background influenced an experience of the 'boom years'.
Keywords
Prosperity - prosperity is a situation in which someone is successful, usually by earning a lot of money
Boom years - 'boom years' are a period of time when businesses are doing well and wages are rising
Discrimination - unfair treatment of someone because of their gender, race, sexual orientation, age, disability or religion is described as discrimination
Common misconception
Minority groups only experienced hardship as a result of discrimination.
Some groups such as African Americans experienced economic hardship because of broader structural changes - especially the decline of American agriculture which hurt the South where most African Americans lived.
Teacher tip
After completing Task B, students could be asked to compare the experiences of different groups (i.e. workers, women, movie stars, African Americans etc) by ranking them on a prosperity spectrum from most to least gain during the 1920s. This would work well as a paired task requiring justifications.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Write the missing word. A was a young woman who followed new fashion trends and acted independently.
Q2.What happened to female employment between 1920 and 1929?
Q3.Write the missing word. The elected group of politicians who make laws for the USA are referred to as ...
Q4.What did the 19th Amendment do in 1920?
Q5.Which examples show that some women gained greater social freedoms during the 1920s?
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword with its correct definition.
period when businesses are doing well and wages are rising
unfair treatment of someone because of their sex, race or religion
when someone is successful, usually by earning a lot of money
Q2.How much did average wages rise by in the USA during the 1920s?
Q3.Write the missing word. stars were able to become very wealthy from their films.
Q4.Which of the following reasons encouraged many African Americans to leave the South during the 1920s?
Q5.Which of the following statements about 1920s America are accurate?
Q6.Which example best demonstrates that many Americans could afford more consumer goods between 1920 and 1929?
To help you plan your 11 history lesson on: American people and the 'boom' in the 1920s, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 history lesson on: American people and the 'boom' in the 1920s, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 history lessons from the America 1920–1973, Opportunity and inequality unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.