Curated OER
American Immigration Past and Present
Students simulate a Commission hearing in which the class attempt to arrive at an immigration policy; individual essays by each student; and, if time permits, individual or group projects based on some aspect of America's immigration...
Curated OER
Americans Spending at Record Rates
In this Americans spending at record rates worksheet, 8th graders read or listen to an article, discuss money topics, answer 8 true or false, match 10 synonyms, and 10 phrases, fill in 16 blanks, answer 6 short answer questions, discuss,...
Curated OER
The American Home Front During WWII
Students analyze World War Two era government propaganda, biographies, and historical data in order to better understand the effects on Americans at home. In this American Home Front During World War Two lesson plan, students compare...
Federal Reserve Bank
Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Times of Crisis
Following the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, why did fiscal policymakers increase government spending and reduce taxes? Discover the motivation behind these actions and learn about the separate functions of monetary and...
Curated OER
The Mass Media and Politics
What effect do the prevalence of televisions in homes have on the American political stage? Challenge your students to consider this idea with these ten questions, both true/false and multiple choice. You could use this activity as a...
Curated OER
Streamlines and Breadlines
Students explore the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students research selected websites and analyze primary sources to conduct inquiries regarding the depression, northern migration, and urbanization. Students author...
Curated OER
Family Life During the Great Depression
Students practice the skill of photo analysis. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze photographs from the era and write fictitious diary entries based on the images.
Curated OER
The Roar of the Twenties; The Crash of the Thirties
Eighth graders, after assuming identities of prominent figures from the 1920's and looking at slides and data from the era, relate, in diary form, the cultural, economic and political changes that happened in America between 1920 and 1939.
Curated OER
Against The Tide: Three Who Made It!
Young scholars examine the lives of three people from New Haven, Connecticut who have careers in law, politics and entertainment. In groups or individually, they read excerpts of information about the three people and what contributions...
Curated OER
Louis Armstrong
In this reading comprehension worksheet students read a biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Students answer 6 questions.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Effect of the Great Depression on Children
How did the Great Depression affect children? Sometimes studying the Great Depression means only studying about how it affected adults, however, relating the experiences of children and peers their age to themselves may make the...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Changes in Transportation over Time
Planes, trains, and automobiles. How many ways to travel are there? Scholars learn about modes of transportation in the past and how they have changed over time. Budding historians view a timeline, participate in group discussion, and...
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
The dry Oklahoma landscape in America's Dust Bowl sent many farmers in search of the promised land. A teacher's guide to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath discusses the characters' desire for a better home along with other themes and...
Center for History Education
Debating Social Security: Understanding and Evaluating the Social Security Act of 1935
With throngs of Americans out of work and hungry, Franklin D. Roosevelt made the bold move to establish a social safety net with programs such as Social Security. The move was—and still is—controversial. Using documents from the 1930s,...
Curated OER
Runaways Past and Present
Tenth graders use video and the Internet to compare runaway teenagers of the 1930s with runaways today. The lesson uses the integration of technology in order to build skills and conduct research.
Curated OER
What Caused the Great Depression?
Analyze the many causes of major political, economic, and social developments during the 1920s and 1930s, with emphasis on the Great Depression. Read photographs from the 1920's and the 1930's, then write a brief explanation of what you...
Curated OER
"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation
Students explore development of jazz music in the 1930s by forming imaginary jazz bands which tour several cities in Depression-era America. Jazz band members create imaginary identities for themselves, develop publicity for their tour,...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: Visions of Dust Bowl History Lesson Overview
Students complete activities with the book Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In this literature lesson, students read this story and view the Dust Bowl history from the eyes of a child. They discover the Great Depression and life in the...
Curated OER
Creating a Shared Culture
Students simulate working on an assembly line in a shared culture. In this consumerism lesson, students participate in a lecture and note-taking session before working on a simulated assembly line. They work in a timed situation to...
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in the American south during the depression era as they read Harper Lee's To Kill a...
Curated OER
Roosevelt's New Deal
Tenth graders examine what President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal was, examine the New Deal programs, and realize how the New Deal still affects American lifes today. They search the Internet for information about these topics in this...
Curated OER
Dark Days on the Prairie
Fourth graders research the location and causes of the Dust Bowl in 1935. In support, they interpret photos from that period in Oklahoma history, They also compare/contrast the American Dust Bowl to the dust storms that occurred in...
Curated OER
The New Deal
In this 1930s American history worksheet, students study the New Deal as they write 10 vocabulary terms that match 10 definitions, rewrite 4 false statements as true statements, and explain 2 historical themes regarding this time period...
Stanford University
Migrant Mother Photograph
A picture often has hidden stories to tell. Looking at the iconic Migrant Mother photography by Dorothy Lange, individuals examine the human toll of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression at large. Other documents, including a statement...