Plainfield East students' studies sparks Roaring Twenties party
A cast of 1920s characters drank punch, ate snacks and mingled to the sounds of big band music in Plainfield East High School's auditorium.
It was a scene right out of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic, "The Great Gatsby" – just as the PEHS sophomore English honors teachers had intended.
PEHS English teachers Laura Shoplas, Fatima Chishti, Meredith Petri and their students threw a "Great Gatsby" party in the auditorium on April 6, 2010.
Throughout the day, all sophomore Honors English students filled the space to discover factual information about historical figures from the Roaring Twenties.
The party was the students' corresponding assignment to the completion of their study of the famous novel. Each student was required to select an historic figure from the 1920s, research the person, dress up as him or her and give historical background and explain the person's importance to the decade.
The students also learned in their Social Studies classes about World War I and the Great Depression to better understand the significance of the time period.
At the party, the sophomore English students dressed up like the person they researched. As they mingled, they interviewed other students and learned about major childhood events and adult accomplishments about, and from the other historic figures.
The students completed 10 interviews at the party. The historical figures ranged from Charles Lindbergh and CoCo Chanel to Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth and Al Capone, and they attracted quite a crowd.
Bonnie McBeth Learning Center preschool students who attend preschool on East's campus, students in the SCORE (Secondary, Community, Occupational, & Real-life Education) program, and PEHS Choir Director Aubrey Dunham and some of her treble choir students also visited the party.
Dunham taught the students how to dance the Charleston along to the live jazz music performed by the PEHS jazz band throughout the day.