Mail order catalog for Ealry 20^th Century Buildings of Louisiana.

H-1A-M1 describing the chronological relationships and patters
H-1A-M4 analyzing historical data using primary and secondary sources
H-1A-M14 describing the impact of industrialization in the United States.
H-1B-M15 describing the significant economic, political, social, and cultural changes that have occurred in the United States during the 20^th century

The learner will produce a mail order advertisement to showcase the features/chracteristics, technology, and history of a 20^th century building of Louisiana.

Explain to the students that in the early 20^th century, many homes were purchased by mail order. In this lesson, the class will produce a mail order catalog to showcase the features, characteristics, technology, and history of 20^th century homes of Louisiana. At the beginning of this lesson, the students were exposed to a variety of early 20^th century homes. These are the homes they will research and investigate for their catalog.

Establish the Scenario:

• You (the student) are a sales representative at a major construction company at the turn of the century.
• Your customers are people who are migrating to Louisiana from various parts of the world. Some are rich and some are poor. They are not sure what style of home is suitable for them in this area of the world. They are also unsure of the latest technological advances of the early 20^th century.
• You are to create an advertisement page for a mail order catalog to help the newcomers to Louisiana pick the right kind of home to suit their needs. You will need to conduct research to find out about a particular style of the early twentieth century and the latest advances in technology. The objective is to appeal to your audiences and sell your building by focusing on unique characteristics and historical significance of the style and by capitalizing on the events and latest technology of the time. Your advertisement should explain how recent events have changed the "old" way structures were built, and explain how the features of the home are suitable for the needs of the buyers (within your group be sure to appeal to lower, middle, and upper income buyers).
• You will work in your original group (from the first activity). Each group will create a section of the catalog based on their style home (if they had Colonial Revival, each student in that group will create/design a page to advertise one of the Colonial Revival homes from simple to extravagant).
• Using a publishing program or the template (word, pdf, publisher) provided, design your advertisement for the catalog.

After the task and the outcome of the lesson have been established, assign each group a special section of the catalog – i.e. one group will be in charge of the cover, table of contents, product advertising (this should be fun with all the new gadgets out at the turn of the century), and credits.

Provide students with the appropriate copies of the content, technology and suburb information. Explain to the students that these documents contain information about the homes in Louisiana during the early 20^th century. This material should be reflected in the advertisement. The objective is to appeal to your audience and sell your home by capitalizing on the events and latest technology of the time. They should also point out the characteristics and special features of their home.

Provide students with the rubric (word, pdf) to assess their catalog page and discuss what should be included.

After all the advertisements have been designed and printed, compile them in a catalog format and print a final copy. To extend the lesson, have students determine the cost of the homes, then provide them with a budget and location in Louisiana. They will have to determine which home would best suit their needs and why.

Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file
Microsoft word file
Microsoft Publisher file

Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file
Microsoft Word file

Printable Version