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English Busselman

A Depression Era Newspaper


Assignment Value: 200 pts Throughout the remainder of semester 1, we will be working in small teams to recreate a newspaper reflecting some of the major national and regional issues faced during the Great Depression of the 1930's. This period of time, reflected in the two works of literature we will be studying, Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. This newspaper will require a good deal of teamwork, research and creativity and in order to meet your publication deadline, procrastination can not be an option. The newspaper will need to be completed and submitted on ________________. Goal: Students will create a Great Depression era newspaper as a group project. Each group member will write a series of news stories and create advertisements or cartoons on political issues of the time. For extra credit, students can be responsible for creating additional newspaper sections not otherwise required of the assignment. General Guidelines: This newspaper will assume a national readership, and should reflect some of the more common traits of a newspaper including layout, text sizes, image use, and period appropriate content (i.e. language, images, ideas). There should be 3-5 people in each group. Each member of the group will be responsible for fulfilling all writing assignments. In addition to the writing/journalism roles you will also be responsible for participating in editing one another's writing and contributing to the design and layout of the newspaper. Your group needs to choose a headline too. Writing Assignments: Each student will be responsible for the following. 1. NATIONAL NEWS - An expository, research based, story (475 550 words). 2. LOCAL NEWS - A character study/personal interest story (200 250 words). 3. OPINION - An editorial of (400 500 words) 4. ADS and OPINIONS - 2 Advertisements or Political Cartoons Extra Credit: Optional sections possible for newspaper. (Must be 150-200 words) 1. Sports 2. Business 3. Fashion or Style 4. Entertainment Grading Criteria: 1. 95 percent (190 points) of the grade is considered independently for each student's work on and during the project. 2. The various assignments will receive independent grades and point values that accumulate toward total assignment value (see assignment specifics). 3. The group will receive 5 percent (10 points) of the grade in common, reflecting the overall creativity, quality and appearance of the paper. A unit ending peer evaluation of group members will also be considered in the construction of this grade.

English Busselman

NATIONAL NEWS: 475 550 words (70 points)


The national news story is a research based expository piece that describes and explains some important event, act or feature of the 1930's. These topics will need to be researched. Summarize and paraphrase the information you find do not copy word for word. Write the story in the present tense (as though you are there during its happening). You are writing to explain or inform and should not sound biased or partial. Group members can not choose to report on the same topics, which include: a. poverty and employment b. race relations and racism c. migrant farm work and/or hobos d. the New Deal and President Roosevelt e. the Dust Bowl and drought f. the stock market and the crash of 1929

LOCAL NEWS: 200 250 words (40 points)


For this story you will take inspiration from one of the characters of To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. Take this character out of the direct context of their novels and insert them into an event from actual history. How would they view the event if they were a witness? How might they participate in it? This story should show your understanding of the character you choose and the historical situation you put them in. These characters should remain true to their literature roots and so should our history.

EDITORIAL: 400 500 words (50 points)


An editorial is a common feature of the opinion section of your typical newspaper. It is a letter or article addressed to the readers of the newspaper and offers a perspective/opinion on a topic of current interest/relevance. These editorials are designed to be persuasive, and are often controversial in their topics. The themes available for editorials include, but are not limited too: a. racism and segregation b. gender bias (women's traditional roles) c. friendship d. loneliness and isolation e. the American Dream f. hopes and fears g. nostalgia h. greed and poverty

2 ADS or POLITICAL CARTOONS (15 points each)


These persuasive pieces are to reflect period appropriate products, services and ideas. These must be original creations with real-life inspirations. (don't advertise Coke create a new cola with a new name). Political cartoons need to clearly comment and offer an opinion about some societal, political or cultural phenomenon. Color is not necessary as it was a costly feature in news print during the great depression and many papers did without. Ads can be placed throughout a paper, but political cartoons are opinions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. General Newspaper Needs A name for the newspaper Headlines for paper and each individual article Section heading (opinion, sports, business) Appropriate columns and layout features Images and pictures accompanying stories

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