In-Class Activities: 1930s Mime

09/15/08 • -1 min

The 1930s and Arts Education

During one class session, students chose cards with simple headings related to artistic expression of the 1930s (e.g., mural painters, photojournalists, sculpture artists). After selecting the cards and choosing group members with similar interests, they turned over their cards to learn their assignments.

Below is a video of a group given the following instruction:

Actors

Create a mime act that tells the story of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The performance must last at least one minute and you will perform it in front of the class. The performance must involve all group members.

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In-Class Activities: New Deal Song

Singers and Songwriters

Write lyrics using the tune for “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The song must tell about one of the 1930s New Deal agencies and must contain at least two verses. You will sing the song with your group to the class.

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Classroom Scrapbooking

Using scrapbooking as an instructional technique for reinforcing content learning is gaining popularity with teachers. A method presented by Heidi Willard suggested having students dedicate one scrapbook page to each major content topic. On the front of the page, students include pictures of themselves participating in a hands-on activity relating to the topic (they use classroom cameras for this purpose) and they draw on the page or add pictures and text to demonstrate an understanding of the topic. On the back of the page, students write a one-page overview describing what they know about the topic. Students collect all their scrapbook pages into a single notebook that could serve as a classroom portfolio.

Click here for presentation notes by Heidi Willard on the topic of classroom scrapbooking. It was delivered during the National Council for Social Studies Annual Conference