Great Depression Unit
th
Grade Level: 5 Grade
By: Mirishka
Kimbrough
Overview of the Great Depression Unit:
This Great Depression thematic unit contains information about the Great Depression. In
these units, the students will understand the importance of the Great Depression, and the
similarities that tie in with our era. The main idea for teaching this unit is to give the students an
idea of how the Great Depression had a great effect on the United States. With the aid of
extensive research, and a helpful trade book, the students will have a better understanding of the
Great Depression, and the similarities and differences it contains. Students will hear an actual
account of the ones that were growing up during the Great Depression.
Key Concepts:
Student Objectives:
Students will be able to understand the importance of the Great Depression
Students will become familiar with the music style of the Great Depression
Students will be able to explain the similarities and differences that surround the prices of Great
Depression vs the prices of 2014
Social Studies: will understand the causes and effects of the Great Depression
English/Language: gives a wonderful illustration for the student to see how individuals lived
during the Great Depression
Science: will understand how the Dust Bowl was a natural and manmade disaster
Music: will understand that the music during the Great Depression, played a huge role during
that era
Math: will understand that the costs of items during the Great Depression were significantly
different compared to the cost of today’s items
Goals
Missouri Show me Standards
Content Standards
Social Studies 1: principles expressed in the documents shaping constitutional democracy in the United
States
Social Studies 6: relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions
Social Studies 7: the use of tools of social science inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps, documents)
Communication Arts 1: speaking and writing Standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation,
spelling, capitalization)
Communication Arts 2: reading and evaluating fiction, poetry and drama
Communication Arts 4: writing formally (such as reports, narratives, essays) and informally (such as
outlines, notes)
Communication Arts 5: comprehending and evaluating the content and artistic aspects of oral and visual
presentations (such as story-telling, debates, lectures, multi-media productions)
Science 1: properties and principles of matter and energy
Science 4: changes in ecosystems and interactions of organisms with their environment
Science 7: processes of scientific inquiry (such as formulating and testing hypotheses)
Science 8: impact of science, technology and human activity on resources and the environment
Fine Arts 3: the vocabulary to explain perceptions about and evaluations of works in dance, music,
theater and visual arts
Fine Arts 5: visual and performing arts in historical and cultural contexts
Mathematics 1: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; other number sense, including
numeration and estimation and the application of these operations and concepts in the workplace and
other situations
Mathematics 6: discrete mathematics (such as graph theory, counting techniques, matrices)
Performance Standards
Goal 1.4: use technological tools and other resources to locate, select, and organize information
Common Core Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL5.2: Determine a theme from the story, drama, or poem from details in the text,
including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem
reflects upon a topic; summarize the text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL5.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL5.7: Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone,
or beauty of a text (e.g. graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5OA.B.3: generate two numerical patterns using two given rules. Identify
apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding
terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane.
GLE
5. Knowledge of major elements of geographical study and analysis (such as location, place, movement
and regions) and their relationships to changes in society and the environment.