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The Great American Economic Project Background: After learning about the economic circle of life and business cycle, you can conclude that the American economy strengthen and weakens regularly. It just so happens that there are three periods in the 20th/21st centuries when the economy is prosperous and three period when it is recessive.

Prosperous: 1920s, 1950s, 1990s

Recessive: 1930s, 1970s-1980s, 2010s

Task: The purpose of this project is not to examine what caused these economic changes, because the business cycle can already explain it. The purpose of this project is to examine what happens to the American lifestyle during times of prosperity vs. recession.

Each person will be given a piece of American culture to research. They will also be given to time periods: one prosperous, one recessive.

After researching each, you will contribute pieces to an American Culture wikispace created for the class. You will have to contribute two paragraphs to each site (one for prosperity, one for recession) with pictures.

Then every individual will also have to create a product of the time period (You will need one for each time period, so two altogether) that answers this question:

How does this piece of the American lifestyle represent a time of economic recession/ prosperity?

Examples could be: newspaper, cartoon, clip, interview, newscasts, song, movie, dance, etc. Get Creative!

Elements of culture to be researched:

Music/ dance, movies/ t.v., art/ written expression, dress/fads, family life/housing, sports/ activities (leisure), jobs/ salaries, inventions/ firsts, controversies/crises, politics/reform,

Final Product: Movie Day! After the class has finished the website and their products, the final project will be the creation of six different movies that incorporate all the aspects researched on the decade. Five students in each group will be assigned the time period and have to write a creative script to make the American lifestyle come alive! The requirements for the movie… It must be at least 4 minutes in length. It must incorporate all ten aspects somehow. Every person in the group must have contributed to the script. Every person in the group must be shown in the film. Everything else if up to you! You can use props, costumes, music, film clips, etc. Just have fun! The objective of the films is to show the class, how the American lifestyle changes between economic prosperity vs. recession. After completion of the films, we will have a movie day. The students can bring in snacks and drinks and we will watch all the films. Grading: Contribution to website: 15 points X 2 Individual Product: 15 points X 2 Contribution to movie (final product): 30 points Group Grade for movie: 10 points Total: 100 points Time Table: September 14th- 17th: Research and completion of website and individual products (Due Mon. 20th) September 20th: Film preparation, script writing September 21st-23rd: Filming and editing September 24th: Movie Day!