The Library of Congress
America Dreams
Students of various ages
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Students

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Task Process
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Comedian
comedian

You find the irony in the American Dream. Write a standup comic script or create a politcal cartoon or cartoon strip that expresses irony or the humorous side of the American Dream.

Be sure your group has completed the Getting Ready Activities on searching and document analysis.

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Group Tasks  
Each team member is responsible for a management task. Team Manager
Research Manager
Production Manager
Archive Manager
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Assessment Questions

How will your project be assessed? Identify which of these questions you will use to guide your inquiry:

What is the American Dream?
How has the American Dream changed over time?
How do diverse cultures view the American Dream?
How have significant historical events affected the American Dream?
How will new opportunities of the 21st century challenge the American Dream?
What makes being a comedian an effective medium for exploring the American Dream?
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Action Plan

Create an action plan and and determine your timeline for completing the project. Include the following information in your Action Plan:

  1. Choose your team management responsibilities and decide each manager's specific responsibilities.
  2. How much time do you have?
  3. What deadlines do you need to meet?
  4. What materials do you need?
  5. How do you plan to manage the materials?
What is your focus for inquiry? Identify your research topic or theme. What questions will focus your research? List a series of genuine questions you intend to answer by your research. What additional information do you need to answer these questions?

How will you know you've found what you are looking for? List the type of resources you intend to look for to answer your research questions. What primary resources from American Memory will you search for?

How do you know that the examples you've found are valid? Once you have located a few examples of primary sources, what is your criteria for selecting these as evidence? Use the document analysis worksheet. (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

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Tips for Searching the Collections

There are many ways to search the American Memory collections. The Learning Page is a good place to start. You may find it helpful to read and practice "Finding Items in American Memory" to learn how to narrow your search idea. Learn to work with keywords and work within a specific collection of resources. Here are a few helpful hints to get you started:

Search the collections by type and read the search tips chart

Use the search tips list

Each collection has a unique set of keywords. Find collections that may be helpful by using the "plain English" themes in the Learning Page Pathfinders.

Within each collection, browse the indexes of authors, subjects, and titles.

Use the Collection Connections section of the Learning Page to find out more about a specific collection or to see a list of collections with related topics.

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Resources

 

Specific Collections that may be of help:

Federal Theatre Project ~ Multiformat ~ 1935-1939
Title: The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939

Life Histories, Federal Writers' Project ~ Manuscripts ~ 1936-1940
Title: American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940

Upper Midwest ~ Books ~ ca. 1820-1910
Title: Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910

Variety Stage ~ Multiformat ~ 1870-1920
Title: The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920

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Last updated 12/19/2002