Unit Title: The Great Depression and New Deal

Subject Area: U.S. History

Grade Level: 11th

Lesson Title: Depression Era Youth: Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words
Standards:
Utah State Core U.S. History 2
Standard 6: Students will understand how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the United States
Objective 1
Investigate the impact of the Great Depression on the United States.
a Analyze the major causes of the Great Depression.
b Examine the social effects of the Great Depression.
Objective 2
Analyze the long-term effects of the New Deal on the United States.
a Explore the purposes and effectiveness of the New Deal; e.g., presidency, economics, politics.
b Investigate the shift of power from state to federal government.
Objectives:
-Students will be able to distinguish the difference between an observation and an inference.
-Students will be able to examine the Great Depression and New Deal and synthesize how it affected the
lives of people, specifically young people, in the United States.
-Students will be able to infer long term effects of the New Deal programs
-Students will be able to record information on a graphic organizer about the Great Depression/New Deal
provided through the film, visual lecture, and images.
-Students will be able to create a scrapbook from the perspective of a youth during the Depression.
Technology Used/ Materials:
-Copies of photographs from Rondal Partridge, NYA photographer
http://newdeal.feri.org/classrm/partrid.htm
-Film: Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move during the Great Depression.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pIblZmwvGww
-Projector for Slideshow used with mini lecture
-Online timeline of Depression
http://www.softschools.com/timelines/great_depression/timeline_13/
-Graphic organizer, T-chart
- Web resources for primary sources from the period
Key Terms: Depression, relief, recovery, reform, infrastructure, surplus commodities, Civilian Corps
(CCC) New Deal, observation, inference, unemployment, supply, demand, Black Tuesday (stock market
crash), credit, debt, distribution of income, buying on margin, Federal Welfare State, Oklahoma Dust
Bowl, Elanor Roosevelt, Hoovervilles, FDR, Hoover

DAY ONE:
-Starter/Discussion: ~ 20 minutes
"Use what you have learned about WWI and the "Roaring Twenties" to speculate what lead to the Great
Depression, list at least one possible cause"
Give students about 10 minutes to write and pair up with a partner to discuss their answers
As a class come back and ask for some of their answers, supplement with main points below when
needed.
Review some main points of WWI and the 20's :
-War is expensive, meaning people are spending money and making money
-The United States loaned a lot of money to European Allies who were decimated after the war
(federal bank)

-The Roaring 20's were a good time, people were home from war enjoying life; this means they
are spending ALOT of money (banks have to give out loans because not everyone has the money they
want to spend)
-Lecture: ~ 30 min
Following the starter, students will be provided with a graphic organizer in flow chart format. The
lecture will be based around a similar one on the white board which will be filled in as we go through the
lecture using key terms and pictures to help make connections (for example the Stock Market Crash will
have a picture of an arrow going down and crashing into the ground). As we go through the lecture, I will
cue students when to add important vocabulary terms into their personal vocab journal kept throughout
units. On the top of the graphic organizer there will be a space for students to list the causes as we use
the topic of the starter as a point to begin our discussion. This will follow with the outline of a few
important events from the stock market crash through the end of the Depression.
-Activity: 5 minutes to explain, ~ 15 min group work, ~15 minute present
Begin activity by passing out T-Chart graphic organizer with labels on top, "Observation" and
"Inference". Define what the two words mean, have students write below the word, ask for some
examples. Use one photo to model the process as a group. Split students up into groups of 3-4 and
provide each group with a set of photos; Aircraft School, Hanging Around, Recreation, Labor Camp,
Potato Fields, On Relief, Hitchhiking, Trainyard, Farm Work, High School, Public Forum. Students will
work together to come up with at least 4 things for each column and then groups will present their photos
and findings to the class. Students should be writing one thing learned from each group presentation
along with the title of their focus. After the presentations students will circle at least 3 they found
interesting to get them to start thinking of a focus for their project.

DAY TWO:
-Starter/Discussion: ~15 min
During hard times, what role should the government play in helping people?
Allow students about half the time to think and write, and the other half to share with a partner.
-Introduce Assessment: ~10 min
After viewing the presentations explain the final scrapbook assignment, students will be asked to
create a 4 page scrapbook from the perspective of a depression-era youth. This will include at least one
excerpt from a written primary source that relates to their experience, two journal entries that follow the
prompts listed below, and 4 primary source images rom the time period with captions
Present the prompts for the scrapbook journals that will again be given before viewing the film.
Where did you live, rural or urban area?
How old are you?
Were you able to go to school?
If not what did you do?
Who is in your family?
What was the most difficult part of your life?
What did you do for fun?
-How did one or a few of the New Deal programs effect your life?
Expectations:
You need a minimum of 2 written sections or journal entries. These are:

5 sentences or more long

Include specific history facts or descriptions of real events / conditions.

 You need a minimum of 4 photos that match the content of your journal entries. The photos must:

Be real photos from the Depression era. Links will be provided on work day.

Have a label or a caption. This can be made up to reflect the content of your journal. But it might
include some of the real information from the photo.
You need at least 1 excerpt from a written primary source, a quote or short paragraph tied to your
experiences, Links provided in computer lab.
-Video: ~1.25 hours plus 20 minutes for pausing and discussion of key terms (Will only finish
about an hour, allow 30 minutes the following day.)
Prior to viewing the film, review the question prompts that students should be answering in their notes to
help with their scrapbook project
Play film, " Riding the Rails" and pause to point out important vocabulary students should be focusing on
for their projects.
*Stock Market Crash
* Unemployment
*Hoover (Lack of federal control)
*Dust Bowl
* CCC

DAY THREE:
-Video: ~ 30 minutes to finish and discuss
-Brainstorming for project: ~20 minutes
Provide students with a graphic organizer that will help them to get their ideas together as well as a
rubric, allow discussion with peers, proper use of cell phones for research, and access to textbook.
Require students to complete before the end of class as an exit ticket.
-Lecture:~15 minutes
Lecture that goes over the aspects of the New Deal, students will have already heard about these
throughout the film so it will be mostly a review, students should be taking notes on the back of the
graphic organizer from the first lecture and used as a study sheet for the exam.
-Brainstorming for project: ~20 minutes
This will now be silent time for students to complete their graphic organizer to be used for the scrapbook
project, I will visually check students off before they leave class in order to receive participation points for
the day.

DAY FOUR:
-Research Day: ~10 minutes to review expectations for assignment, 70 minutes in the computer
lab
I will provide students with either a website that I have created with links to find primary sources
to print out for their project, or a list of links in the classroom before heading to the lab. Students should
have brought the graphic organizers they created to class to focus their research.
Students will be given this day to research, the scrapbook will be due the day after the exam which will be
in 2 class periods.

DAY FIVE:
st

-Review Game: ~ 35 minutes (10 min to show students how to access because 1 time using)

I will create a personal class quiz to review topics that will be on the test the following class
period using Kahoot! , Which is an online interactive quiz game where students respond using their cell
phones and can gain points with each correct answer.
-Exam: ~ 60 min
Exam will have matching terms, multiple choice, and short answer responses focused on the
causes of the Great Depression, key players in government policy, New Deal programs and their long
term effects. If students finish early they will be prompted to quietly work on their scrapbook projects if
needed, they will be turned in the following period.
Modification/Adaptions:
-Explicit vocabulary instruction and use of "word journal" unique to each student
-Collaborative activity with mixed English proficiency level groups
-Use of pictures and short captions to convey content information
-Modeling and use of graphic organizer, t-chart as well as timeline chart
-During the film, pause when key words or ideas are presented to clarify
-Explicit skill instruction on "observation" and "inference" through use of modeling and examples
-Meaningful connection to lesson by using young people during period, students can relate to their lives
Assessment Strategies for ELLs:
-The graphic organizer timeline will be turned in and used as an assessment, for ELLs they must at least
fill out one key term per event in each box
-When presenting their group findings for the T-Chart, students can provide a verbal response instead of
having to write on board (another group member could write)
-Can use more mages and shorter responses if needed on scrapbook.
Assessments: Graphic organizer timeline from lecture
Group presentations/notes for Photo observations
Graphic Organizer brainstorm sheet for project
Final Scrapbook project
Exam