Title: The Great Depression through Primary Sources
Grade Level: 9-12
Subject/Content: U.S. History
Summary of Lesson: Students will use primary sources to learn about the Great
Depression
Focus Question: How did the Great Depression affect people's daily lives? How did
individuals and the government respond to the crisis?
Resource: U.S. History in Context
Procedures:
Steps/Activities by the Teacher:
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Provide students with background information on the Great Depression. Explain that
this event had far-reaching ramifications for the United States.
Divide students into groups of three or four. These groups will conduct research and
collaborate to write five statements about the Great Depression based on their
research.
Allow students time to access U.S. History in Context. Direct them to the Great
Depression topic page.
Students will locate a number of resources and then use them to write five
statements about the Great Depression.
Provide time for groups to present their statements to the class. As groups present,
the other students should use the statements created by their peers to formulate
additional questions about the Great Depression.
Once all the presentations are complete, have the students share their questions in a
class discussion. Allow students to try to answer each other's questions and provide
answers when needed.
Steps/Activities by Student(s):
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In the groups assigned by your teacher, access the U.S. History in Context database.
Locate the Great Depression topic page.
Examine at least ten pictures using the Images link.
Read at least three primary sources on the topic.
As you examine these images and primary sources, think about how people's daily
lives were affected by the Great Depression.
Using the images and primary sources your group has gathered, write five
statements about the Great Depression. Your group will then present these
statements to the class.
As other groups present their statements, use these statements to help you
formulate additional questions about the Great Depression.
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In a class discussion, listen to the questions that other groups have come up with.
Use your research to try to answer your peers' questions.
Outcome: Students will get a basic overview of life and issues during the Great Depression.
Related Activities:
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English
Students may be asked to use their primary sources to compose a diary entry from
the perspective of a person living during the Great Depression.
Learning Expectation: Students will use their research skills to find articles about the
Great Depression. They will then analyze these sources to produce statements about how
the Great Depression affected people and the nation and formulate additional questions
about the topic.
Standards Alignment
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words (Anchor Standard).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational
texts independently and proficiently (Anchor Standard).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two)
for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences (Anchor Standard).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different
mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details
are emphasized in each account (9-10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.9: Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary
significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four
Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they address related
themes and concepts (9-10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.10: By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literacy
nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed
at the high end of the range (9).
By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of
the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently (10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two)
for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences (9-10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in
several primary and secondary sources (9-10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10: By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend
history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and
proficiently (9-10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words)
in order to address a question or solve a problem (11-12).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9: Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary
and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies
among sources (11-12).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.10: By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend
history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and
proficiently (11-12).
Standard Source: Common Core State Standards Initiative (2010)