Your name
Unit chosen (topic)
Dates of implementation
Grade/level
What are the learning
objectives?
- Enduring
understandings
- Essential questions
-Content
-Skills (e.g.
collaboration,
creativity, reading
strategies, etc.)
Kristin Telles
The Great Depression
January 25-March 10, 2010 (omitting one week of February vacation, two
snow days, and several days spend on Reading Comprehension skills in
connection with Black History Month and the Harlem Renaissance).
8th
Enduring Understandings
A variety of forces can cause recessions or depressions.
Many Americans, living in both rural and urban areas, were affected by
the Depression. There are similarities and differences in their
experience.
The gov’t has to make decisions about how to handle economic
downturns and other domestic issues.
Essential Questions:
1.) What factors can cause an economic depression?
2.) How does the Great Depression impact the lives of rural and urban
Americans?
3.) What are a government’s responsibilities to its people in need?
Content:
-Students will be able to trace causes of the Great Depression (including
tariffs, the Dust Bowl, WWI, margin buying and the stock market crash)
-Students will be able to explain the role of various New Deal agencies
during the Great Depression.
-Students will evaluate the “success” of the New Deal.
-Students will draw comparisons between the Great Depression and the
current Recession.
Skills: reading comprehension, primary source analysis, collaboration,
comparison and contrast, cause and effect
What standards
(including content and
skills) will be
addressed?
Reference either the CT
State Social Studies
Framework or cite
standards from your
1.1-Demonstrate an understanding of significant events and themes in
US history.
1.2.10 Analyze the connections among local, state, and national
historical events
1.10.22 Show the relationship between supply and demand and the
prices of goods and services in a market economy
curriculum document.
What selection(s) for
primary sources have
you chosen and why?
2.2 Interpret information from a variety of primary and secondary
sources, including electronic media
2.3 create various forms of written work to demonstrate an
understanding of history and social studies issues
1.) Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt—These letters are from children the
same ages as my students. This will help my students to make
connections to the impacts of the Great Depression.
2.) Photographs of urban and rural America during the Great
Depression—these photos will help my visual learners
understand the sweeping impacts of the Great Depression.
3.) A list of prices during the Great Depression—the prices helped
kids to understand the relative value of money during the Great
Depression.
4.) Two political cartoons published during the Great Depression—
my students have worked with political cartoons in the previous
unit. My visual learners are learning to both predict and connect
through the analysis of political cartoons.
5.) Music—“The Charleston” and “Brother Can You Spare a Dime”—
these two songs help set the tone for the two decades of study—
the 1920s and 1930s. The also appeal to the “musical/rhythmical”
intelligence.
How will your students
demonstrate critical
thinking in this unit?
How will you
differentiate instruction
and what data will you
use to make those
decisions? (e.g. Preassessment information)
Students will:
1.) analyze political cartoons
2.) analyze primary source photos
3.) analyze letters written to Eleanor Roosevelt
4.) argue persuasively for or against the success of the New Deal
5.) create a rap, mini-drama, or advertisement for one of the New
Deal agencies.
6.) find similarities and differences between Great Depression the
current recession
-I will choose level-appropriate letters/texts for groups of students
based upon their reading ability, as determined by their CMT scores
and/or STAR reading tests.
-For the New Deal Agency mini-project, students will be placed in
groups based upon specified interest in product format. The New Deal
agency project will have a variety of product options.
What formative and
summative assessments
will you use to tell
whether learning
objectives have been
met?
Describe any
culminating project or
paper.
Pretest (traditional)
Formative-performance on a worksheet making connections between a
poem re: the dust bowl and the Great Depression.
Formative- Quiz on the causes of the Great Depression (including a
sensory image reflecting an American’s experience during the Great
Depression).
Formative- Presentation on New Deal Agencies
How will students know
the criteria for different
levels of performance?
Summative Assessment—Students will formulate and defend an opinion
regarding whether or not the New Deal was a “good deal” for America..
This will be written in the format of a persuasive letter.
Summative Assessment—Multiple Choice and Short-Answer test
(traditional).
-I will provide students with rubrics to help them know the criteria for
different levels of performance
Part II: Teaching (Parts II, III, and IV are due 3/24/2010)
Learning Objectives
1.) What factors can
cause an economic
depression?
Lessons
Playing of the “Charleston” and “Brother
Can you Spare a Dime” as an introduction
to the unit. Students compared the songs in
a T-Chart and made predictions about the
two decades.
Assessments
2.) Students analyzed a graph re: car
manufacturing between 1920-1929 and
answered questions about changes in the
economy during the 1920s.
Skills: Reading
Comprehension
Students used connecting skills while
reading a section from the textbook about
the 1920s.
HW: Students determined whether
they would or would not have
liked to live in the 1920s using
three details from the reading to
support their answers.
1.) What factors can
cause an economic
depression?
Students read about margin buying and
the use of credit in the 1920s then
computed various earnings and losses in a
“margin buying math” exercise.
Bellwork: Students computed
possible earnings and losses in
“margin buying math” and
explained both why margin buying
could be a great deal for
consumers and how margin-buying
could cause problems for
1.) What factors can
cause an economic
depression?
2.) How does the
Great Depression
impact the lives of
rural and urban
Americans?
2.) How does the
Great Depression
impact the lives of
rural and urban
Americans?
Skills: Primary
Source Analysis
2.) How does the
Great Depression
impact the lives of
rural and urban
Americans?
3.) What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
Skills: Reading
Comprehension
Primary Source
Analysis
Students highlighted causes and effects of
the Great Depression on the mimeo board.
Students recorded information in a
CauseEffect graphic organizer.
consumers.
After a discussion of supply and demand,
students read along as I read aloud “The
Path of Our Sorrows”—a poem about the
role of WWI demand in fueling
overspending and abuse of the land in the
years preceding the dustbowl.
Classwork: Students responded to
questions regarding the poem,
“The Path of Our Sorrow” from
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.
Questions included:
1.) Identifying causes and effects
of the dust bowl
2.) Identifying how WWI impacted
the supply and demand for wheat
in the U.S.
Students did a gallery walk around the classroom
examining photographs from the great
depression. For each photograph students had to
identify details in the photo, predict what was
happening in the photo, and establish whether the
event in the photo was taking place in a rural or
urban setting.
Students in groups determined by their reading
levels, examined various letters written to
Eleanor Roosevelt by children during the Great
Depression. For each letter students (in groups)
needed to make text-to-text or text-to-self
connections in a dual-entry journal.
On another day students completed a dual-entry
journal regarding a letter to Eleanor from an
African American teenager from Connecticut.
HW: Students responded to
questions about the causes of the
Great Depression.
HW: Students completed Frayer
Models on “Supply” and
Demand,”
HW: Students completed a Frayer
model on “rural” and “urban”
Classwork: Dual-entry journal
entries.
HW-Students had to read about the
NYA and evaluate whether or not
Mrs. Roosevelt’s response to these
letters (the NYA-- not
personalized responses) was
adequate. Students in certain
sections had more guided question
stems with sentence starters on
their homework prompts.
Bellwork: Students made a Venn
Diagram comparing Rural and
Urban Americans experiences
during the Great Depression.
1.) What factors can
cause an economic
depression?
Quiz: Causes of the Great
Depression, Similarities and
differences between rural and
urban Americans.
2.) How does the
Great Depression
impact the lives of
rural and urban
Americans?
3.) What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
Students read both their textbooks and two mini
biographies chronicling Herbert Hoover’s
response and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response to
the Great Depression.
HW: Students created a Venn
Diagram on Hoover and
Roosevelt’s approaches to the
Great Depression.
Skills: Reading
Comprehension
Students identified the “Main Idea” of
articles about Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert
Hoover, and Langston Hughes and found
supporting details to support their
opinions.
Students reviewed the preamble and did a quick
think-pair-share to identify which component of
the preamble might be used to justify the
government getting involved in the economy in
order to help out Americans in need.
Students in pairs, partners, or groups of up to
four each researched, prepared, and presented a
project on one of the New Deal Agencies.
Students were divided into groups based on two
criteria. They were first sorted based upon
expressed interest in product format. They were
then divided, as best possible, based upon
reading ability. Students then completed an
“Alphabet Soup” graphic organizer to help them
organize information about the various New Deal
agencies.
CW: Main Idea identification and
support worksheet.
Students read an article on “Social Security” for
homework.
HW: Students completed a cloze
passage and made text-to-text
connections with the article.
**HW was differentiated by the
“section level” of my class.
Sections were determined by CMT
reading scores.
3.) What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
3.)What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
Students will be
able to explain the
role of various New
Deal agencies
during the Great
Depression.
3.)What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
Students will be
able to explain the
role of various New
Deal agencies
during the Great
Depression.
Classwork/Homework: Students
created either an “act-it-out,” rap,
poster/advertisement, or diary
entry detailing the importance of
an assigned New Deal agency.
Each group then presented their
information to the class.
Skills: Reading
Comprehension
2.) How does the
Great Depression
impact the lives of
rural and urban
Americans.
Students read “Roots” from Out of the Dust.
While reading students made text-to-text
connections between the poem, the Great
Depression, and the New Deal agencies that they
were studying. I also read the poem aloud.
CW: Student responses to
questions/connections about the
poem Out of the Dust.
Students analyzed two political cartoons for
homework (on different days). The next day(s) I
projected the image on the Mimeo board and
students paired and shared their responses to the
homework questions from the night before.
CW: Students included
information from the political
cartoon on a Pro/Con chart
regarding whether or not the New
Deal was a success.
3.)What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
3.) What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
Skills: Political
Cartoon Analysis
3.) What are a
government’s
responsibilities to
its people in need?
-Students will be
able to explain the
role of various New
Deal agencies
during the Great
Depression.
Students read individually, in groups, and as a
Essay: Was the New Deal a
class, several articles about the New Deal. From Success? This was graded using a
each article students were to sort information into Persuasive Rubric.
two categories on a T-chart based on whether the
article supported the idea that the New Deal was
a success or was not a success. Students then
used a persuasive pillar and sentence starters to
help them frame and write a persuasive essay on
whether or not the New Deal was a success.
-Students will
evaluate the
“success” of the
New Deal.
Skills: Persuasive
Essay writing
Students will draw
comparisons
between the Great
Depression and the
current Recession.
Mini lecture comparing the “Great Depression”
and the “Great Recession”
Quick Write: Students identified
similarities and differences
between the Great Depression and
evaluated that statement, “The
Great Recession” is actually a new
Depression using details from the
PowerPoint to support their
analysis.
Part III: Assessing
After reviewing
Overall, students were quite successful at meeting my objectives.
the student work,
comment on how The overall class average in a “mid-level” class improved from 29% on the
well the students pretest to 77% on the post-test. Student A, a “high performing” student,
met the learning earned a 90% A- on his exam, Student B, a “low-performing” student, earned
objectives.
a 59%. The quiz average was 76% overall. Student A earned a 94%A, Student
B earned a 72% C-.
Pick a high
performing
student and
focus on what
you think helped Enduring Understandings: A variety of forces can cause recessions or
depressions. Many Americans, living in both rural and urban areas,
him/her to be
were affected by the Depression. There are similarities and differences
successful.
in their experience.
Pick a low
performing
-Student performance on quizzes indicated that students were proficient at
student and
explaining many of the financial woes of the 1920s including overuse of
analyze where
credit, bank closures, and the surplus crops that plagued farmers.
they struggled.
- The exercise with evaluating the role of “supply and demand” and the
causes of the Dust Bowl via the poem, “The Path of Our Sorrow” had mixed
success. Many students adeptly identified causes and effects and supply and
demand within the poem as demonstrated through the responses they gave
when questioned verbally. However, due at least in part to poor questioning
strategies on my part, many students “incorrectly” answered my questions on
the worksheet. I will certainly revise this exercise for next year. One part of
that will include creating a graphic organizer/chart for them to use while
recording causes and effects within the poem. I will also modify the way that
we identified causes and effects in the article on the causes of the Great
Depression so as to ensure that students understand that “effects” can also be
“causes” of other “effects.”
Enduring Understandings: Many Americans, living in both rural and
urban areas, were affected by the Depression. There are similarities and
differences in their experience.
-Students found great success with reading comprehension strategies during
the “Letters to Eleanor” activities during the middle of the Unit. Student A
made the following text-to-text connection, “She was laid off from work at 18
so her younger sister was now working… I wonder when child labor laws
went into effect.” Student B was also successful, though she tended to ask
questions or pose confusions rather than make solid text-to-text connections.
In one of her more successful entries in the dual-entry journal she quoted the
author, “I would like to go [to college] this fall, in September, so I wish you
would let me hear form you.” Her “confusion/ connection” was as follows: “I
don’t understand why Ms. Roosevelt can’t help her a little by at least
contacting the NYA for her and telling them about her need.”
The gov’t has to make decisions about how to handle economic
downturns and other domestic issues.
-Student projects on the various New Deal agencies, for the most part,
demonstrated students’ competency with one agency. I found that students
who wrote journal entries, performed “act –it-outs” or created posters
seemed to perform more highly than those who chose to “rap.” This data
could be skewed due to the low percentage of students who chose to rap
rather than demonstrate proficiency in one of the other formats. However, I
think that because students placed so much emphasis on their “beat” that
they de-emphasized the most crucial part of the assignment. This was not the
case for all raps, however. Some, like the rap below, were both informative
and fun to listen to:
The Civilian Conservation Corps
The CCC
It was created by my man
Franklin D.
It was created in 1933
The government began work relief programs
Like working on dams
The CCC hires
young men to fight forest fires.
For the first time the government offered financial support
But the people didn’t want it they wanted to work.
The people was stressin’ in the Great Depression
‘Cuz the had no jobs or got lil’ pay
but, hey work relief was on its way.
-Student A created a detailed poster about the TVA. While I was not overly
impressed by the neatness of his poster, the words and graphics on his poster
did clearly demonstrate that he had a strong grasp on the TVA’s basic
function and intended result.
- Student B created an acceptable poster. With the help of a partner, Student B
was able to create a neat, visually appealing poster that correctly indicated
that FERA gave money to the states to give to the needy in a manner
determined by the state. However, based on my conversations with her
during the poster-preparing process and her presentation to the class, she
had a surface level understanding of FERA and could not provide more than
one example of a way that FERA might help out.
-For the most part, students did an excellent job of using information about
the several New Deal agencies, statistics about unemployment rates and the
costs of the New Deal program to help them argue effectively either in favor
or, or against, the New Deal as a “success.” One of most common errors in
the essay writing process was simply listing support for one’s argument
rather than establishing three major arguments and supporting each of those
arguments with details. A second major error included creating three
arguments but then not thoroughly explaining how each piece of evidence
really helped to support that argument. These were more errors in student’s
writing skills than in their proficiency with evaluating whether or not the New
Deal was a success.
-Student A’s performance on the essay was less successful than his work on
other assessments during the unit. The information that he provided was
factual. However, he did not choose a single side and support only that one
side with evidence throughout the paper. This is likely at least partially
attributed to the fact that he was absent for part of the essay-planning process
and did not seek out extra help on this endeavor.
-On the essay assignment, Student B wrote an essay that clearly supported
her argument that the New Deal was a success. She had three main arguments
and clear organization. Unfortunately, she did not elaborate on her evidence
so as to demonstrate that she had a strong grasp on the content.
-I think that the major differences in performance between student A and
student B can be attributed to their reading levels. Student A is a strong
reader whereas Student B is considerably weaker. I think that Student B
struggled, in part, with the pretest and exam because the readability of the
test itself needed improvement. It was for this very reason that I assigned
Student B a stronger reading partner for the poster project.
Part IV: Reflection –
Write a reflective commentary on the implementation of the unit outline. What did you learn
from the assessments you implemented? What aspects of your planning, teaching, or assessment
might you change the next time you do this unit to improve students’ learning?
I intend to decrease the difficulty of the wording on my pre-and post- assessments before I teach
this unit again in the future. I also might modify some of the “distracter” answers so as not to
unduly confuse students—I found this to be an issue on two questions including one that
discussed the challenges faced by farmers during the 1920s. When re-teaching I think that I will
spend a bit more time ensuring that students understand the “roaring twenties” part of the unit. I
might also do additional visual activities (like photo analysis) to help students get a better vision
of the 1920s before the Great Depression set in—students had difficulty with two questions on the
“roaring twenties” on the exam.
The photo analysis activity of the Great Depression, while interesting, did not seem to have much
weight. I think that it needs to be tailored so as to require more analysis on the part of the
students. Alternatively, it could be used with 1920 photos interspersed as more of a brief preview activity.
The essay proved to be quite challenging for many of my students. However, I do think that the
essay demonstrated student’s proficiency with the unit material. Few students presented
arguments that were grossly distorted or historically inaccurate. Most of the problems in this
essay came from student’s struggles with the writing process. This was the first major Social
Studies based persuasive essay of the year for my students so they were really stretching
themselves to complete this assignment. With guidance, students were successful in sorting
information into the “pro” and “con” categories and forming an opinion on the topic that was
supported by facts. Next year I will ensure that they have more background experience in essay
writing before this point in the year.
I think that next year I will try to ensure that I have more resources at lower reading levels in all of
the sections that I teach. I will also try to do some more small group reading instruction on key
pieces of reading material to ensure that struggling readers, like Student B, have enough
opportunities to master the material. This might require that I cut out some of the elements that I
included this year in order to hone-down the focus on my unit.
The letters to Eleanor primary source document evaluation was quite successful. As these letters
were available in a wide-variety of reading levels, these provided an excellent tool for
differentiating and challenging my different readers. I will certainly use these again next year.