Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars use Using specific examples, compare and contrast how President Hoover and President Roosevelt responded to the Great Depression through relief, recovery and reform. They evaluate whether their attempts were successful.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How the Great Depression Affected California and C¿¿sar E. Ch¿¿vez

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the effect of the Great Depression on California. After reading a summary, they discover how the depression and Dust Bowl led to the immigration of great numbers of farm workers into California. They also...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dirty Thirties: The Dust Bowl

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the events and reactions surrounding the Dust Bowl crisis during the 1930's. They discuss how the events of the Great Depression affected America's democracy and how it transformed America.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life During the Great Depression

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore life during the Great Depression and how Americans responded to the problem. Using information discussed, 11th graders complete a flow chart activity depicting the Dust Bowl. After watching clips of movies...
Lesson Plan
Digital Public Library of America

Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to a Unit on the 1930's Depression in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view and discuss photographic images of the Dust Bowl by Dorothea Lange. They discuss who Dorothea Lange was and why she took the pictures, the conservational factors that contributed to the Dust Bowl and migrant workers and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roll the Union On: the National Labor Relations Act and the Rise of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the many different programs Roosevelt created as a result of the Great Depression. They research the National Labor Relations Act and explore what working conditions were like during that time.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impact of the Dust Bowl as Shown Through Photography

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine and discuss photographs and paintings of the Dust Bowl era. They write a journal entry describing what it would be like if they stepped into one of the photographs, and create a Powerpoint presentation on the Dust...
PPT
Curated OER

Of Mice and Men and The Great Depression

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Provide a context for Of Mice and Men with a presentation that includes biographical information about John Steinbeck, as well information about the Great Depression and the drought of the early 1930s. The photos of Dorothea Lange,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Effects of The Great Depression

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders discuss the unemployment trends of the 1920s-1930's. They look at it faces of the citizens that lived in the time period. Students work with visual clues to investigate about the living conditions during the Great...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Facets of life in the 1930s presented in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders research various aspects of The Great Depression. They select a topic related to this information. Students gather five sources on their topic and select the most important information. They present information using a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impact of the Great Depression on Texas

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine and discuss photographs taken during the Great Depression and the impact of the Great Depression on the U.S. They write research reports and create a mural depicting the lives of rural and urban families in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Childhood View of the Great Depression in Arkansas

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the causes for the Great Depression of 1929 and see the effects of the depression, the Great Flood, and the drought in Arkansas through the eyes of a child.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing a Nation

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the Dust Bowl in American History.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders read a transcript on the Dust Bowl.  Students analyze a video on the Dust Bowl. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unemployment During the Great Depression

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Young scholars examine unemployment during the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students watch "The Great Depression: A Job at Ford." Young scholars then discuss how unemployment was described in the video and write...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression: An Oral History

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the hardships experienced during the Great Depression through an oral history interview with person who lived through the event. Students transcribe their interviews and discover the contributions oral history can make...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the relief, recovery, and reform legislation to combat the Great Depression. In this New Deal instructional activity, 8th graders investigate New Deal programs as well as images from the depression era. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Family Life During the Great Depression

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students practice the skill of photo analysis. In this Great Depression instructional activity, students analyze photographs from the era and write fictitious diary entries based on the images. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hard Times, Soft Sell

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Technology and the Great Depression

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners examine how technology affected the Great Depression era. They view a video, conduct Internet research, and write articles for a class technology magazine.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dust Bowl Exodus: How Drought and the Depression Took Their Toll

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the migration of refugees. In this California history instructional activity, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the details of how the Dust Bowl and Great Depression led to a California...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wealth Tax of 1935 and the Victory Tax of 1942

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Young scholars explain that during the Great Depression and World War II, the Roosevelt administration implemented new, broader, and more progressive taxes in order to cover the costs of the New Deal programs and the war.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Worksheet: The Great Depression

For Students 9th - 12th
In this Great Depression learning exercise, students respond to 8 short answer questions about the migration during the era, Hoovervilles, and the impact of movies.