The Library of Congress | |
Figuring Somepin 'Bout the Great Depression
Amy McElroy and Chris Pietsch |
Objectives |
Students will:
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Time Required | 7-10 class days, about half in the computer lab, and half in a regular classroom setting; time out of class to complete the scrapbook. |
Recommended Grade Level | 10 – 11 (may be adapted for other grades learning about the Great Depression) |
Curriculum Fit | Ideal for a team-taught American Studies course, but may
adapted to a history or English class on the Great Depression in general, or more specifically on The Grapes of Wrath and the Great Depression. |
Standards | McREL 4th Edition Standards & Benchmarks Historical Understanding Language Arts US History |
Resources |
American Memory Other Electronic and Print Resources
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Materials |
How to Analyze a News Article |
Lesson One: Analyzing a Photograph (1-2 class periods) Using FSA/OWI Photographs, 1935-1945, students search, select, and analyze a photograph of a migrant farm worker. |
Lesson Two: Gathering Voices (3 class periods) Using the novel The Grapes of Wrath and Voices from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941, students collect migrants' quotations, illustrating different aspects of their colloquial language. |
Lesson Three: Analyzing Issues (2 class periods) Students interpret articles and editorials from newspapers to gain understanding of political issues of the Great Depression relevant to migrant farm workers. |
Lesson Four: Putting It All Together (2 class periods) Students compile a scrapbook of photographs, quotations, and notes, representing the perspective of a migrant farm worker selected in Lesson One. |
Evaluation
Students' scrapbooks must contain examples of the colloquial speech of Depression-era migrant farm workers and evidence of the issues which they faced. See the Scrapbook Evaluation Rubric. Extension
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Last updated 09/26/2002 |