Set up several stations in the classroom featuring copies of letters written by children to Eleanor Roosevelt during the Great Depression (link to letters provided in resources section below). Students should rotate among the stations and read each letter. After visiting each station, students should participate in a small group or class discussion about the impact of the Great Depression on children and families. Students should discuss how the lives of these children were similar or different from their own. Following the discussion, students will write the transcript for an interview with Eleanor Roosevelt in which she asks the student about the similarities and differences between life in the 1930s and modern day life. Questions might include ideas such as "How is life at school different than it was when my husband was President?" or "How might your birthday wish list be different from a child growing up during the Great Depression?" Students’ responses will demonstrate their understanding of life during the Great Depression.
Modifications:
Assign peer partners
Use graphic organizers for discussions (see links) http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster_web3.pdf
Complete a Venn diagram comparing the Great Depression policies of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. The comparison should include: Hoover’s initial reaction to the stock market crash (demanding that workers’ wages remain the same and increasing public works projects) and his hands-off policy toward the economy as the Depression worsened, Roosevelt’s first hundred days in office and the major reforms that were passed by Congress during this time, his New Deal work programs, passage of a national minimum wage and the Social Security Act, and price incentives.
Modifications:
Have students use a Venn with lines to write on (see link) http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf
Complete the diagram as a whole group or teacher-led small group
Refer to visual images from the Great Depression found in textbooks, tradebooks, etc.
SS5H5a, b
Constructed Response
Research the work projects of the CCC, WPA, and TVA. Students should find an example of a New Deal works project completed by one of these groups, explain what the project did, and where the project occurred. Create a class map of the United States showing locations where work projects occurred and include a caption near each location explaining the works project.
Modifications:
Provide access to information sources on a variety of reading levels
Provide a research guide (see Mod attachment 1)
Assign peer partners
Refer to visual images found in textbooks, library books, etc.
SS5H5b
MS11-12
Dialogue and Discussion
Constructed Response
Individuals, Groups, Institutions: The student will understand that the actions of individuals, groups, and/or institutions affect society through intended and unintended consequences. K-5 EU: The student will understand that what people, groups, and institutions say and do can help or harm others whether they mean to or not. How did individuals such as Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, Babe Ruth, Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens influence American culture? How did individuals such as Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh change the face of American transportation? How did Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt handle the problems facing Americans during the Great Depression?
explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of Americans (GPS) (5SS_G2008-50)
Core Materials:
Growth of a Nation by Scott Foresman Exploring Where & Why - Our Country's History (Nystrom) Map and Globe Skills kit
Indicators of Achievement: 50a - discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, Union growth, Hoovervilles, and soup kitchens, 50b - analyze the main features of the new Deal including the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, Social Security Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, 50c - discuss important cultural elements of the 1930's; include Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, Jesse Owens and the Federal Arts Projects
Test Correlations: - CRCT --> 5 - Social Studies: [History] History refers to examining United States history from the Civil War to the present.
Modifications:
Assign peer partners
Use graphic organizers for discussions (see links)
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster_web3.pdf
Modifications:
Have students use a Venn with lines to write on (see link) http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf
Complete the diagram as a whole group or teacher-led small group
Refer to visual images from the Great Depression found in textbooks, tradebooks, etc.
Modifications:
Provide access to information sources on a variety of reading levels
Provide a research guide (see Mod attachment 1)
Assign peer partners
Refer to visual images found in textbooks, library books, etc.
MS11-12
Constructed Response
The student will understand that the actions of individuals, groups, and/or institutions affect society through intended and unintended consequences. K-5 EU: The student will understand that what people, groups, and institutions say and do can help or harm others whether they mean to or not.
How did individuals such as Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, Babe Ruth, Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens influence American culture?
How did individuals such as Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh change the face of American transportation?
How did Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt handle the problems facing Americans during the Great Depression?
- http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/index.htm
- Features letters written by children to Eleanor- http://www.indianchild.com/the_great_depression.htm
Great site for history information5
Subject:
Social Studies
Topic:
G - The Great Depression
AKS:
explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of Americans (GPS) (5SS_G2008-50)
Core Materials:
Exploring Where & Why - Our Country's History (Nystrom)
Map and Globe Skills kit
Indicators of Achievement:
50a - discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, Union growth, Hoovervilles, and soup kitchens, 50b - analyze the main features of the new Deal including the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, Social Security Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, 50c - discuss important cultural elements of the 1930's; include Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, Jesse Owens and the Federal Arts Projects
Test Correlations:
- CRCT --> 5 - Social Studies: [History] History refers to examining United States history from the Civil War to the present.