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But with the slow menace of a glacier, depression came on. No one had any measure of its progress; no one had any plan for stopping it. Everyone tried to get out of its way.~ Frances Perkins (1880-1965) US educator, government official, People at Work, Sec.IV, 1934.

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. ~ Franklin Roosevelt

If I'd gotten the job I wanted at Montgomery Ward, I suppose I would never have left Illinois. I've often wondered at how lives are shaped by what seem like small and inconsequential events, how an apparently random turn in the road can lead you a long way from where you intended to go and a long way from wherever you expected to go. For me, the first of these turns occurred in the summer of 1932, in the abyss of the Depression. ~Ronald Reagan, An American Life

Use these lesson plans (created by educators for educators) to explore the Early America with your students in your classroom:

Figuring Somepin 'Bout the Great Depression - (Grades 9-12) Students create a scrapbook from the point of view of a migrant worker.

What is an American? - (Grades 8-12) Students look at Depression era life histories to view the changing lifestyle of the average American.

To Kill a Mockingbird - (Grades 7-12) Students are guided on a journey through the Depression Era South in the 1930s.

Great Depression and the 1990s, The - (Grades 7-11) Students gain a better understanding of why the government takes care of its people and how welfare programs started.

Immigration/Migration - (Grade 11) Students compare the immigration/migration experiences of their families to those of people living through the Great Depression.

Enhancing a Poetry Unit - (Grades 7-9) Students create poetry based on the language found in Depression Era oral histories.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - (Grade 10) Students investigate people who experienced the Great Depression and received relief from the New Deal.

Visions in the Dust - (Grades 5-8) Students gain an understanding of Dust Bowl history through the eyes of a child, using Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust.

Grandparent/Elder Project - (Grades 7-12) Students use primary sources and an interview with grandparent or significant elder, to provide a human face for life in the twentieth century. Lesson III focuses on Gees Bend, Alabama during the Great Depression.

Living History Project - (Grades 6-8) Students create an archival collection of oral histories, telling the stories of individuals in their community. Students will become acquainted with New Deal programs and the experiences of Depression-era Americans.

Is there a title (or two) that you always read to (or with) your students when teaching about Early America? Are there invaluable reference books that you use when working with this theme? Staff from The Library of Congress have generously donated favorite titles for the Great Depression theme. We hope you will contribute your favorite titles to our growing bibliography!

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Create your own collaborative lesson plans using material related to this month's theme assembled from The Learning Page Collection Connections:

America from the Great Depression to World War II: Color Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945" - (Summary and Teaching Resources)

America from the Great Depression to World War II: Black and White Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945" - (Summary and Teaching Resources)

Washington as It Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) In 1932, Horydczak photographed veterans of World War I who demonstrated in Washington in hopes of receiving financial assistance from the government.

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) This collection contains 2900 biographical interviews obtained during the Depression years of 1936-1940.

Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project 1936-1938 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) This collection contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves collected as part of the Federal Writers

Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, 1933-Present - (Summary and Teaching Resources) Search this collection using the term "Civilian Conservation Corps" to locate examples of projects undertaken between 1933 and 1942.

California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties. Collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell - (Summary and Teaching Resources) This New Deal project contains more than 35 hours of recorded folk music.

Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections, 1937-1942 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) Completed as part of the Florida Works Project Administration program, this collection documents the music, history and culture of Florida.

New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939, The - (Summary and Teaching Resources) The Federal Theatre Project was one of five arts-related projects established during the first term of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt under the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) Explore the time period leading up to the Great Depression.

By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) Works in this collection represent many programs from President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Voices from the Dust Bowl: the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) This collection documents the everyday life of residents of Farm Security Administration migrant work camps in central California in 1940 and 1941.

These terms may be useful when searching for items related to this theme in the American Memory collections.