Learning for Justice
The Color of Law: Creating Racially Segregated Communities
It is pointed, powerful, and painful! The first of three lessons about laws and practices that support inequality looks at how government policies created and reinforced segregated communities. Young social scientists read excerpts from...
K20 LEARN
Of Mice and Men in the Great Depression: Background and Setting
What were living conditions like in the United States during The Great Depression, and how do those conditions compare with today? That's the question young scholars consider as they prepare to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men....
Center for History Education
African Americans and the Democratic Party
Why did African American voters switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic party during the Depression Era? That is the question young historians attempt to answer as they study primary source documents from the period. The focus...
Center for History Education
The Federal Theatre Project: Analyzing Conflict Among Relief, Art, and Politics in 1930s America
In the effort to soothe the suffering of the Great Depression, New Deal programs funded a variety of approaches - including a theater project that proved controversial! Using documents such as oral histories, as well as photographs of...
Center for History Education
Dust Bowl Story
Images of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression are haunting in the suffering they show. Young historians use photographs—both iconic and lesser known—to tell about the human experience during this time. A series of photographs, as...
Smithsonian Institution
Hidden Histories: Mexican Repatriation During the 1930s
Mexican Repatriation: the forgotten deportation of American citizens. The resource focuses on the deportation of Mexican American citizens during the Great Depression. Young historians read documents, complete a free-write, and fill out...
Digital Public Library of America
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...
Digital Public Library of America
The Poetry of Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's work reflects her passion for life, civil rights, and justice for all. A collection of 12 primary sources provide scholars with insight into this amazing woman. The set includes photographs, articles, recordings of...
DocsTeach
Where Was the New Deal?
Young historians delve into the origin of federal social programs to understand the impact of the New Deal. An informative activity explores some of the New Deal programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corp, using historical...
DocsTeach
The School Lunch Program and the Federal Government
The school lunch program is rooted in the struggles of the Great Depression and is still assisting families today. Academics research documents and images relating to the creation of the school lunch program. Scholars use a worksheet to...
DocsTeach
The New Deal: Revolution or Reform?
Scholars weigh in on FDR's New Deal policies in an in-depth activity. The resource uses historical documents to explore whether the New Deal polices were reformatory or revolutionary. Learners review documents, rate them using a scale,...
DocsTeach
Court Packing vs. Reorganizing: The Supreme Court in the New Deal
Travel back in time to understand the effects of FDR's New Deal on the Supreme Court. Academics analyze historical documents to understand FDR's attempts to pack the Supreme Court and the opposition he faced. The activity includes a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
American Utopia: The Architecture and History of the Suburb
Let's build a dream house! By examining promotional materials and photographs of early suburban developments, scholars consider what led to the development of this particular American dream. The resource includes case studies of three...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Unemployment and the Future of Jobs in America
Unemployment: The job of the future. The resource, designed for high school scholars, explains unemployment rates, recessions, and job trends that are impacting employment in the United States. Academics explore potential careers of the...
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...
Stanford University
Migrant Mother Significance
What was life like for Migrant Mothers during the Great Depression? High school scholars complete a short assessment relating to primary sources.The assessment tests academics' ability to analyze primary sources by correctly identifying...
Federal Reserve Bank
Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression
There are so many ways to use a potato: bake it, fry it, or barter it. The lesson explains the concepts of bartering, money, and goods and services with a story that takes place during the Great Depression. Academics complete group...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Effect of the Great Depression on Children and Education
What was it like to be a kid growing up during the Great Depression? Academics study primary sources to analyze the effect of school closures on children during the Great Depression. They then participate in group discussions and writing...
Orlando Shakes
To Kill a Mockingbird: Study Guide
Who was Harper Lee, and what led her to write one of the most celebrated novels of all time? Scholars learn about the author of To Kill a Mockingbird and read a summary of a dramatic production of the novel. They also discover the...
Reed Novel Studies
Stella By Starlight: Novel Study
Who were the Ku Klux Klan, and what role did they play in the United States during the Great Depression? Using the Stella by Starlight novel study, scholars research the organization and answer questions relating to Sharon M. Draper's...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
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...
Perfection Learning
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
A revolutionary work of literature requires a revolutionary assessment project. A series of activities on Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings includes discussion questions, a plot synopsis, and a selection of both short and...
Learning to Give
The Beginning of the Storm
Introduce readers to Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with a lesson that sets the context for the novel. Class members research the bigotry in Mississippi during the Great Depression and identify examples in the story of how...