Decade: 1920-1929
Read about American life during the Roaring Twenties. Listen to jazz music, learn how to dance the Charleston and view pictures of the fashions during this era. Topics include Prohibition, gangsters, flappers, the Teapot Dome scandal, women’s suffrage, the 19th Amendment, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Red Scare. Find out what common products were invented during this era and read biographies on famous people, including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Louis Armstrong, Babe Ruth, and more. Includes interactive timelines and a link to an eThemes Resource on “The Great Gatsby.”
Grades
- 4,
- 5,
- 6,
- 7,
- 8,
- 9,
- 10,
- 11,
- 12
Links
-
The Costume Gallery
This site has lots of illustrations showing the fashions of the 1920s. Click on the images for more information about the clothes.
-
Greatest Films of the 1920s
This site introduces the major and minor film studios during this decade and provides a synopsis for some of the best films. NOTE: Site has advertising.
-
Agricultural Changes in the 1920s
This is a lesson for older students in which they assume the role of a farmer and have to decide where to move.
-
Teachers First
This site has links to some of the most famous painters of 1925. View their work and read a little about them.
-
PBS: Jazz
This is the PBS site for Ken Burn's film on Jazz. Play a melody on the virtual piano. Learn about famous jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, plus listen to audio files of their music. The "Jazz in Time" section includes a link to the Roaring Twenties. Click on "Classroom" at the bottom of the main page for lesson ideas.
-
Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929
This Library of Congress site includes a wealth of information about the Coolidge administration. Other topics include African Americans and Consumerism, and Poverty in the 1920s. Click on "Introduction" to begin. The reading level is for older students, but the site also contains many historic photographs.
-
Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920
This Library of Congress site has lots of information, images, and audio and movie files about entertainment in America from 1870-1920. Click on "Collection Connections" near the bottom for suggestions on how to use this site in the classroom.
-
Kansas City: Paris of the Plains
Learn about Kansas City during the Jazz Age. Follow the links to read about the political, musical, and cultural aspects of this city during the 1920s.
-
National Archives and Records Administration
Learn about women's suffrage and the 19th Amendment that gives women the right to vote. Includes primary documents under the heading "The Documents."
-
The Nineteenth Amendment
Read more about the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Click on "Ratification Map" to see the order in which the states ratified this amendment. The reading level is for older students.
-
ThinkQuest: Harlem Renaissance
Discover the poets, writers, painters, and other African American artists who were part of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s.
-
Charleston Dance
This two-page PDF file provides a diagram and written instructions for how to do the Charleston, a popular 1920s dance move.
-
Test Screening of "Steamboat Willie"
Read a short article about how sound and animation were put together in Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie."
-
PBS: Public Enemy #1
Read about famous gangsters during the 1920s and 1930s. Click on "Special Features" to solve a crime or to watch videos from that era. The "Teacher's Guide" has suggested classroom activities.
-
Inventions 1900 to 1990
This is a timeline listing more inventions from the 1900s, including the 1920s. Includes the iron lung, frozen food, and robots.
-
PBS: Charles Lindbergh
Read articles about Charles Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic. Click on "Maps" to take an interactive journey of the trip. There is also a teacher's guide. Click on "The Film and More" for primary sources.
-
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart's life is documented on this site. Read about this female aviator's flights and her disappearance.
-
FactMonster: 1920-1929 World History
This site for younger students explains the major events of the 1920s. Click on the highlighted words to learn more. NOTE: This site has pop-up ads.
Education Standards
