Aimee Holcombe
A Comparison with Children in Modern Times
Rationale:
Individual students will get excited about exploration in history as they discover how
the Great Depression era affected the lives of children their own age. Students will
embark on this assigned task of finding out how things have changed for young people
since the days of the Depression. Each student will gather information that allows
comparisons between the two periods in history, which will help to see the relationship
between, past and present.
Objectives:
At the close of this lesson, the students will be able to answer the following
thoughtful questions correctly:
1. Since the Depression, have government agencies taken on a greatly expanded role
as, in Professor Cohen's words, a "protector of youth and guarantor of opportunity
for the sons and daughters of lower-income Americans"? [Citation]
2. Are the problems faced by young people today similar to those mentioned so
often in the letters to Mrs. Roosevelt?
Georgia QCCs:
LA6.74/ Produces various types of writing (personal, academic, business, and
vocational
7.70
LA 7.67 Produces paragraphs and compositions for a variety of purposes (exposition,
description, narration, and persuasion).
SS 8.32 Describes events and conditions that affected Georgia's economy during the
early 20th century emphasizing… Great Depression
LA 5.31 Draws conclusions, makes predictions, compares/contrasts, and makes
generalizations.
National Standards:
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Language Arts # 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in
many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions of the human
experience.
Language Arts # 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and
use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with
different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Social Studies #3: …programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of people, places, and environments.

Social Studies # 10: …programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of the ideals, principals, and practices of citizenship in a democratic
republic.
Estimated time:
Two 50-minute class periods
Procedures:
*This lesson serves as a follow-up to a discussion of the letters to Mrs. Roosevelt, and
a study of the New Deal agencies that brought aid to young people during the
Depression. It focuses on two questions posed by the Dear Mrs. Roosevelt feature
material:
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
Since the Depression, have government agencies taken on a greatly expanded
role as, in Professor Cohen's words, a "protector of youth and guarantor of
opportunity for the sons and daughters of lower-income Americans"?
[Citation]
Are the problems faced by young people today similar to those mentioned so
often in the letters to Mrs. Roosevelt?
Therefore, it will be important to begin the lesson by reading some of Mrs. Roosevelt’s
letters and discussing who she is and why she would have received such letters as an
anticipatory set.
1. Have each student read a letter to Mrs. Roosevelt and list the problems the young
writer mentioned in the letter on a piece of notebook paper. (Brainstorming)
2. Put the students into small cooperative learning groups.
3. Each student briefly tells of the focus of his/ her letter to the other students in the
group (reciprocal teaching). The groups combine their individual lists from reading
the letters into one group-brainstorming list. Label this column “1930s.” (This list
should go down the left side of the paper in a column. Have students fold the paper in
½ first.)
4. In the groups, create a brainstorming list of problems that young people face today on
the right side of the paper. Label this column “2000s.”
5. As a group, look at both of the lists of problems them and now, and have students
draw lines from left to right where items correspond.
6. Class discussion and share time of brainstorming lists. Ask students to compare the
lists and note the similarities and differences between the problems faced by 1930s
and 2000s youth. Teacher should be sure to bring out the key elements of both
decades during this time, such as nutrition, supply, economy…etc.
7. Each student in the group then uses their own artistic abilities to create a Vinn
Diagram poster that organizes the group’s lists, making sure to clearly represent the
likes and differences between life for young people in the two eras.
8. Ask students Questions:
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Which side is longer?
Do students think that young people of the 2000s face greater challenges than
young people of the 1930s?
Based on their research, do students think today's young people have a better
chance of receiving help for their problems that their 30s counterparts?
Does it seem likely that the government's expanded role in our lives today is a
legacy of President Roosevelt's New Deal Programs?
What modern services do you know of are available to the poor and
disadvantaged in today’s society?
9. Ask students to choose one of the letters written to Mrs. Roosevelt, perhaps one that
seemed particularly convincing to them. Invite them to write a response letter from a
modern point of view, making suggestions on how they might get assistance from
today's social programs. The letter should be at least one full page in length. (The
letter needs to follow the formal guidelines for composing a business letter.)
Evaluation:
Students should turn in assignments from the lesson and be graded as follows:
Product
Brainstorming lists
Vinn Diagram Poster
Point Value
(Out of 100
Total)
15
25
Response to Questions
Letter
25
35
Breakdown
7.5 pts. for each decade
5= colorful; 5= neat and organized; IF
there are at least 5 items in each of the
following sections, then 5= for 1930s,
5= 2000s; 5= “same” section in middle
5 pts. for each question (5 questions)
5= rough draft; 5= final copy; 10=
correct letter format; 10= grammar and
spelling; 5= length and content
Lesson Idea and some content courtesy of:
http://newdeal.feri.org/classrm/clasdmr3.htm