Interactive
PBS

Pbs: The Dust Bowl

For Students 9th - 10th
You are about to embark on an experience that will show you what life was like on the southern Great Plains during the Dust Bowl. On your journey, you will learn about the changing market and weather conditions and be asked to make...
Activity
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Riding the Rails: Timeline of the Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
This timeline of the Depression begins in October of 1929 and highlights significant statistics or events, sometimes month by month, through November of 1940 when Roosevelt is re-elected for his third term. From bank collapses to dust...
Primary
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: A Photo Essay on the Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
Series of annotated photographs that document the realities of Depression-era America.
Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Learning Page: Primary Source Set Dust Bowl Migration

For Students 9th - 10th
Set of primary documents, photos, audio and sheet music having to do with the movement of homeless families during the Great Depression. Teaching guide included.
Activity
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: About the Dust Bowl

For Students 9th - 10th
Thorough discussion of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s with accompanying map, photos, and timeline that describe it in detail.
Activity
Ibis Communications

Eyewitness to History: America in the 1930s: Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
This history of the Great Depression looks at its effect on American citizens, including the changes to women's societal roles. Includes photographs.
Handout
HyperHistory Online

Hyperhistory.com: Timelines of the Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
Peruse this timeline of the Great Depression and gather information about this era in United States History. Short, interesting paragraphs summarize U.S. and world events with an emphasis on economic issues.
Primary
PBS

The First Measured Century: Measurements and Myths of the Great Depression

For Students 9th - 10th
This fascinating transcript from a PBS special about numbers in the 20th century focuses on people and how they were affected by the Great Depression in terms of employment, agriculture, and even marriage rates. Be sure to click on the...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Grapes of Wrath: Voices From the Great Depression

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By examining primary sources, including songs, newspapers, interviews, and photographs of migrant farm workers in California during the Great Depression, students create a scrapbook from the point of view of a migrant worker, providing...
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: The Dust Bowl

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover the causes, effects, the Black Blizzards, and the response to the Dust Bowl.
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: Book Files: Out of the Dust

For Students 9th - 10th
"Out of the Dust", a Newbery Award Winning, poetic book by Karen Hesse. The heroine, Billie Joe, faces issues of forgiveness and healing during the Dust Bowl. The story is set in Oklahoma, during the Great Depression. Make a smart choice...
Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Voices of the Dust Bowl: Scrapbook

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore this online scrapbook filled with articles and ephemera relating to the 1930s migrant farm issue in California.
Website
Wessels Living History Farm

Living History Farm: Farming in the 1930s: Fsa Photographers

For Students 9th - 10th
What a fabulous resource documenting the lives of farmers across the country during the Great Depression. Talented photographers, working for the Farm Security Administration, were sent out to take pictures, which were then published in...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

For Students 9th - 10th
The Joad family leaves Oklahoma in search of work after their farm is destroyed by the Dust Bowl. They arrive in California only to find that fair jobs, food, and sympathy are scarce. Selected (9) reading passages (grades 8-11) to pair...
Website
Other

Woody Guthrie: The People's Troubador

For Students 9th - 10th
The story of Woody Guthrie, the folk musician who wrote the score for the 1930s and the Great Depression.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Farmers' Plight

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the plight of American farmers in the Great Depression. Franklin Roosevelt instituted several programs to help the rural population, the most important of which was the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Find out whom this act...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song

For Students 9th - 10th
An archive Woody Guthrie's correspondence from 1940-50. Could provide insight into Woody's music. Contains a great biographical sketch and timeline. Also, a search aid for additional materials at the Library of Congress about him.
Website
Other

Kingwood Library: American Cultural History: 1930 1939

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent website offering information about life in the 1930s. Learn about art, literature, books, literature, fashion, people, music, education, and radio of the era of the Depression and the New Deal.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Farmer and the Depression [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
One of the first laws passed in Franklin Roosevelt's first hundred days was the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Read about how it helped farmers in crisis. and how it was the forerunner of the federal farm program in existence today. [pdf]
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Picture Review of the 1930's

For Teachers 6th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart can be used to introduce or review the major aspects of the 1930's, including the Stock Market Crash, Hoover's presidency, the Bonus Army, the Dust Bowl, FDR and his New Deal Programs.
Unit Plan
Department of Defense

Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 7: Facing Challenges at Home and Abroad

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive learning module examines the role of economic fluctuations in creating new demands on the government to design reforms and how the United States became a dominant military, political, cultural, and economic force in the...
Unit Plan
Department of Defense

Do Dea: Art Appreciation: Unit 7: Photography

For Students 9th - 10th
In this seventh and final unit of a course on Art Appreciation, students learn about photography and significant photographers. This is followed by a discussion of television and film. Students will learn terminology used, technical...
Website
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Woody Guthrie and the Grapes of Wrath

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan provides ideas for exploring Woodie Guthrie's music while reading John Steinbeck's book The Grapes of Wrath.
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: The New Deal

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses Franklin D. Roosevelt's First and Second New Deals and the different programs that got people back to work and put food on their tables. Looks at the successes and failures of these programs and the criticisms leveled at...