Curated OER
Depression Era Art: The Federal Arts Project
Students research Depression-era art and WPA arts programs. They discuss the purposes of representational art, list topics that would make good representational art today, and produce a work of art representing a current theme.
EngageNY
Bud, Not Buddy: Launching the Novel and Understanding Its Context
The first lesson plan in a unit that uses Christopher Paul Curtis' award-winning depression-era novel, Bud, Not Buddy, as the anchor text establishes the routines that will be used throughout the unit.
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...
Curated OER
Depression Era Art
Students choose Depression era art to print out from the Internet. They write paragraphs about how the artists interpreted facts about the Depression in their art. The paragraphs and prints can become a student art critic book.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Rap a Tap Tap (Dillon)
Explore the dancing prodigy and Depression-era African-American icon Bill Robinson as scholars learn new vocabulary words in context. As you read Leo Dillon's Rap a Tap Tap they listen for six new words: clatter, greet, passion, pause,...
Curated OER
Life During the Great Depression An Oral History Project
Although our connections to those who personally witnessed the Holocaust are dwindling, this lesson focuses on conducting an interview and getting some primary source material. There is a list of resources your high schoolers can...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama Farm Life in the Great Depression
The Great Depression not only impacted city folk and factory workers, it also had a profound effect on farmers. Young historians examine primary source materials that document the struggles of Alabama farmers during this time and then...
Curated OER
Face to Face with the Great Depression
Young scholars develop an analytical perspective of how historians record, preserve, and interpret data. In this US history lesson students read and interpret personal accounts of the Great Depression. They discuss how interpretation...
Reed Novel Studies
One-Eyed Cat: Novel Study
The Great Depression was a devastating period in American history that lasted for an entire decade. Using an enlightening novel study, scholars uncover additional facts about the era. They also write quatrain poems focusing on themes...
EngageNY
Interpreting Figurative Language and Answering Selected Response Questions (Chapter 4)
To prepare for an assessment of how well individuals are progressing with their ability to identify and analyze figurative language and its effect on tone and meaning, pairs work through Chapter Four of Christopher Paul Curtis'...
Curated OER
Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
West Jefferson High School
The Novel — Honor
For classes tackling To Kill a Mockingbird, this lesson plan sets readers up for discussions or essay writing with questions and prompts. The prompts encourage individuals to explore beyond the novel itself, looking at photographs from...
Curated OER
Time Traveler Blues: The Great Depression
Students research the Great Depression Era and its effect on the world. They create a multimedia presentation over the Great Depression from many angles.
Curated OER
Whose History Is It Anyway? Patterns in History
Read and examine primary source material in order to analyze, synthesize, and debate information about the Great Depression. Critical analysts research various source materials related to the Great Depression. They work in teams to...
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
Journal of Time: A Historical Perspective
Analyze the setting behind the Great Depression in California with Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Middle schoolers assess the protagonist during her coming-of-age moments, while migrant workers manage the hardships of the era. Each...
Curated OER
Oral History: Park City Museum
Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students view examples of Depression era images and relate them to chapters from Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this Maya Angelou lesson, students discuss chapters 8 and 9 from the text and define setting. Students...
Curated OER
Hard Times, Soft Sell
Students analyze art to determine themes for the Great Depression Era. In this Great Depression lesson, students identify themes for the era and research evidence for the themes to present to the class. Students interview family members...
Curated OER
Bud Not Buddy Pre-Reading Activity
Before you embark on reading Bud Not Buddy with your class, have them imagine they are in Bud's shoes. They must prioritize which of 13 items listed on a printable worksheet they would take with them to survive as a Depression-Era...
Curated OER
Enduring Legacies of the New Deal
Students investigate U.S. history by listening to an economics lecture. In this U.S. government instructional activity, students research the "New Deal" which happened after the Great Depression. Students identify movies, books and music...
Curated OER
Dust Bowl Depression
Students examine the Dust Bowl and the impact it made on farm families. In this U. S. history lesson, students role play a writer searching for a family that moved during the Great Depression. Students uncover what prompted families to...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and Now: The Migrant Worker Experience
Students identify the concerns of people caught in desperate times during the Great Depression. They make connections between The Grapes of Wrath and historical images from the Great Depression. Students make connections between the...
National First Ladies' Library
Eleanor Roosevelt: Economics, Discovery and Daily Life
Examine the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the role of Eleanor Roosevelt during the era. Pupils take an inventory of their home for wants and needs, and conduct online research on The Great Depression. They then convert...