Great Depression
Unit Plan
th
5 Grade
Jessica Pluta
ESOC 7420
Unit: Great Depression
Big ideas: Change, Empathy
Standards
SS5H5 The student will explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the
lives of millions of Americans.
a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt,
the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens.
b. Analyze the main features of the New Deal; include the significance of the
Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the
Tennessee Valley Authority.
c. Discuss important cultural elements of the 1930s; include Duke Ellington,
Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens.
Knowledge:
 People: President Hoover, President Roosevelt, Duke Ellington, Margaret
Mitchell, Jesse Owens
 Events: Stock Market Crash, Dust Bowl, Elections
 Contributions: New Deal, Soup Kitchens, WPA, CCC, TVA
Skills: Describing, identifying, map skills, research, identifying significance..
Understandings:
 When the Great Depression happened and how long it lasted.
 Causes of the Great Depression.
 Stock Market Crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression, but did not
cause it alone.
 Different people experienced the Great Depression in different ways.
 The New Deal was a way that the government tried to take care of the American
people when they were struggling.
 Americans still contributed many things culturally, despite the economic crisis.
Lesson 1: Introduction
What was the Great Depression?
Learning Goals:
 What the Great Depression?
 When did the Great Depression
begin and how long did it last?
 Work with and discuss primary
sources
 Introduce our historical fiction
novel for the unit.
Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how the
Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
Background Information:
The class has just ended a unit on the turn of the century, and has discussed the
Roaring 20’s. Students know that the spirits of the United States were very
optimistic during the 1920’s, and Americans began making big purchases such as
cars and household appliances.
Materials:





Smart Board
Images of the Great Depression
Power Point
“Brother Can you Spare a Dime” song
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
Description of Lesson:
We will begin our study of the Great Depression with a Chalk Talk discussion. I
will put two images (see below) on the board, one at a time, and students will
take turns recording their reactions to the images on the whiteboard. I will ask
that the students initially do so silently, unless they need my assistance with
spelling a word. I will play “Brother can you Spare a Dime” in the background.
After they have had enough time to record their responses on the board,
students will discuss their reactions to the images with the others at their tables.
I will offer questions to guide their thinking?
 How do these images make you feel?
 How do you think the people in these images feel?
 What do you think living conditions were like during the 1930’s based on
these images?
 Do you think you would like to live in the 1930’s?
We will then come back together as a group to discuss these images, and their
observations. My goal for this portion of the lesson is to establish empathy in my
students, and help them better understand what life was like in the 1930’s.
I will then show them a Power Point presentation highlighting some key
vocabulary and general concepts.
 Depression
 Economy
 Unemployment
 Herbert Hoover
Assessment:
 Chalk Talk Discussion
Differentiation:
 Using images allows struggling
readers the opportunity to
work with primary documents.
 Shared Reading: The students
will be reading a historical
fiction novel throughout the
entire unit. I will read the first
chapter aloud to them and they
will follow along with their own
copies of the book. Shared
reading is a good way to begin a
novel study, because it provides
a very low risk way of
introducing the book. As I am
reading, I will be demonstrating
fluency for all readers in the
classroom.
Chalk Talk Images
http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blygd45.htm
http://my.telegraph.co.uk/tripodgirl/
Lesson 2
Causes of the Great Depression
Lesson Goals
 Discuss causes of the Great
Depression
 Understand that there were
many causes for the economic
problems of the 1930’s.
 Understand that the Stock
Market Crash marked the
beginning of the Great
Depression, but did not cause it
alone.
Materials:





Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how the
Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of
1929, Herbert Hoover
BrainPOP video: “Great Depression Causes”
Paper
Markers/colored pencils/crayons
Pencil
Smart Board
Description of Lesson:
We will begin by watching the BrainPOP video as a whole class. I really like this
video because it recognizes many causes that lead to the Great Depression, as
opposed to an oversimplification of the impact of the Stock Market Crash of
1929. We will then look at the description of the Stock Market Crash on the
website http://www.mce.k12tn.net/1920/crash.htm.
This site provides a short, age appropriate description of Black Friday. It provides
pictures for many difficult words in the text.
Following the video I will divide the class into small groups of mixed ability, each
group will elect a spokesperson. I will then ask the class a series of questions that
they will discuss and record their answers. After they have had a chance to
discuss the answers with their small groups, we will return to whole group and
discuss the video together. The spokesperson from each group will share their
answers.
 What are some of the things people lost during the Great Depression?
 On October 29, 1929 the Stock Market Crashed. Today we call this day
“Black Tuesday.” Why do you think this event earned this name?
 What was the “Roaring 20’s”?


What happens when there is more supply (goods made in factories) than
demand (people who want to buy these goods)?
What is a drought and why is it bad for farmers?
As a class we will determine three causes for the Great Depression during our
discussion
 The drought caused the crops to fail, so farmers couldn’t make a living.
 The stock market crashed
 American companies were making more goods than people wanted.
Assessment:
 Draw and label a picture of one
of the causes of the Great
Depression.
Differentiation:
 Small group discussions tend to
be much less intimidating than
whole group discussions.
 Students are divided into
heterogeneous small groups.
 Spokesperson will volunteer to
speak on behalf of his/her
discussion group in front of the
whole class. With this, students
are not asked to answer
questions on the spot, but are
able to consult with their small
group first.
Lesson 3 (2 days)
People of the Great Depression
Part 1: Urban Population
Lesson Goals:
 Students will understand that
different people experienced
the Great Depression in
different ways.
 Learn about life in urban areas
 Discuss relevant vocabulary:
unemployment, soup kitchen,
bread line, hoovervilles
Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how the
Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of
1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin
Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup
kitchens.
Materials:

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold




Primary Documents
YouTube video
Secondary Document
Smart Board
Description of Lesson:
I will introduce this lesson with a read-aloud of Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. This
is a story about a young girl living in New York City during the 1930’s. The main
character must be very imaginative and creative for fun because her family
doesn’t have much money.
Centers Groups A&B:
 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn635rYnvJI
Interview from a woman who lived during the Depression. She
discusses the ways people tried to save money in the 1930’s.
 Primary Documents (see below)

“City Life During the Great Depression”
http://middle.usm.k12.wi.us/faculty/taft/unit7/citylife.htm
**This Center will meet with me**
Centers Groups B&C:
 Video: : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn635rYnvJI
Interview from a woman who lived during the Depression. She
discusses the ways people tried to save money in the 1930’s.
 Primary Documents (see below)
**This center will meet with me**
Assessment:
 None.
Differentiation:
 The class will be divided into
small groups based on reading
ability.
 The strong reading
group/groups will read a
passage “City Life During the
Great Depression.” This group
will meet with me and we will
discuss the passage and read
parts of it together.
 The struggling readers will meet
with me during the primary
sources center. In this center, I
will give them the same
information as the strong
readers saw in the passage.
Documents
Black Tuesday
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm
Year
Number of Unemployed (without jobs)
1929
1,500,000
1930
4,400,000
1933
12,800,000
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/1920/crash.htm
http://dyn.politico.com/
http://techbuddha.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/the-long-it-security-industry-winter/nobody_knows_you/
Unemployed men looking for jobs
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm
Children waiting in soup kitchen line
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm
Men in line at soup kitchen
http://libn.com/blog/2009/01/15/december-wholesale-prices-fall-19-percent/
People in bread line
http://www.ssa.gov/history/acoffee.html
http://arizona.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/bushvilles-the-new-hoovervilles.html
Hooverville on the outskirts of a city.
City Life During the Great Depression
“During the Depression, life was very difficult for farmers, but it wasn’t much better in
the cities, where fourteen million people lived in crowded, unheated, unsanitary
tenements. In a letter to Harry Hopkins, the director of the Civil Works Administration,
Martha Gellhorn described the unemployed workers and their families:
“This picture is so grim that whatever words I use will seem hysterical and exaggerated.
And I find them all in the same shape - fear, fear driving them into a state of semicollapse cracking nerves; and an overpowering terror of the future.... They can't pay
rent and are evicted. They are watching their children grow thinner and thinner; fearing
the cold for children who have neither coats nor shoes; wondering about coal.”
As the Depression deepened, cities attracted beaten people from all parts of the
country. Farmers whose livelihoods had been foreclosed packed up their families and
moved into the cities. Hoboes and other itinerants sought shelter in cities during harsh
winters. City dwellers themselves were not immune to the rails of the nation. Thousands
of unemployed residents who could not pay their rent or mortgages were evicted into
the world of public assistance and bread lines. At the peak of the Depression, seventeen
thousand families were put out on the street each month. Although residents were
given priority over newcomers for local aid, there were too many other residents
standing in the same lines waiting for a check or a bowl of soup. Municipal resources
were overwhelmed quickly, and city agencies resorted to thinning relief payments to
below the cost of living and watering down the soup to help more people over a longer
time.
Many cities just ran out of money and were even forced to pay city employees in scrip (a
temporary voucher, redeemable for food and other products). At the height of the
Depression Chicago had half a million unemployed, and in New York the jobless figure
topped a million. With so many taxpayers both jobless and homeless, American cities
lost a major source of income. Relief budgets meant to last a year were spent in several
months.
At President Hoover's beckoning, charities had stepped in to help ease the burden on
municipal resources. Hoover was a firm believer in volunteerism. Feeling that each
community was responsible for aiding people in distress, Hoover created programs that
bolstered morale and encouraged charity. But the charities were themselves in trouble
because they depended on contributions from a public who could not give any more. In
many cities philanthropic groups of businessmen mounted relief drives, but the funds
collected dwindled quickly as conditions worsened.
In 1930 the International Apple Shippers Association was faced with an oversupply of
fruit and came up with a unique solution to a national problem: to clear out their
warehouses and give the unemployed a way to make a little money, they sold apples on
credit. The ploy worked. Months later a shivering apple vendor could be found standing
over a fruit crate on the corner of every major American city. By the end of November
there were six thousand people selling apples in New York alone. The trend spread, and
suddenly there were pitchmen of all persuasions standing alongside the apple sellers,
handling everything from patent medicines to gaudy neckties. There were even chalk
artists who drew figures of women on the sidewalks for passersby to appreciate with a
few coins. Many cities soon passed ordinances, however, which banned the street
vendors as a nuisance to the public.
Crowded living conditions were not uncommon in the working-class home. Extended
families were formed who shared the same space, food costs, rent, and even bed- ding:
the "hotbed- was a living arrangement in which night workers slept during the day and
day workers used the same beds at night. Furnishings in working-class apartments were
sparse. There were a few chairs, tables, and boxes that served as dressers. There was
rarely any carpeting, and not all homes had hot water. In older buildings heat was pro-
vided through coal grates, which forced ten- ants to scour the neighborhood for coal or
other fuel. Many people planted subsistence gardens in vacant lots or rooftops to feed
themselves when grocery money was really scarce. Twenty thousand of these gardens
were reported in Gary, Indiana, alone.
When they could no longer pay the rent and were evicted from their apartments, city
dwellers used scraps of lumber and cardboard boxes to build shacks that they could live
in. These new shantytowns on the edges of the cities were called Hoovervilles, for
President Herbert Hoover, since many blamed him for causing the depression. In public
parks, homeless men slept on benches, covering their bodies with "Hoover blankets," or
newspapers. "Hoover hogs" were jackrabbits or gophers caught and cooked to replace
the traditional Sunday ham. "Hoover villas" were public latrines used for overnight
stays. "Hoover flags" were empty pockets turned inside out. Probably unfairly,
Americans made the president accountable for their situation, and he became the fall
guy-the focus of the abuse.
Hoovervilles had no electricity or running water but were usually built near rivers or
fireplugs. They were not supported by the city or government in any way, so moving
into such an encampment required no registration or security deposit. Prospective
residents simply looked around and picked a spot. City dumps, construction sites, and
trash bins pro- vided materials for constructing shelters. The gutted husks of old cars
made acceptable homes, as did stacks of fruit boxes and worn tires. If a shelter was built
well enough, a resident could sell it. There was always turnover, since people
continually came and went. A good pre-built home could easily be worth as much as
$50. Despite zoning violations and health hazards, many Hoovervilles were allowed to
exist. Some cities even lent tracts of public land for the cultivation of small gardens. Not
everybody was tolerant, however. Many Hoovervilles were raided and burned down by
sheriffs and vigilante groups.
By 1933 millions of Americans (we'll never really know how many) were desperate. Out
of work and with his family depending on him, the breadwinner, the patriarch, the
father/husband bore the brunt of the despair. When he couldn't provide for his family,
he felt ashamed and humiliated. Many of these men abandoned their families and
became what one has called "a generation of wanderers," vagabonds, or hobos. Unable
to find work and seeing that each job they applied for had hundreds of seekers, these
shabby, disillusioned men wandered aimlessly without funds, begging, picking over
refuse in city dumps, and finally getting up the courage to stand and be seen publicly - in
a bread line for free food. To accommodate these shamed, idle, and malnourished
legions, charities, missions, and churches began programs to feed them.
Resembling "a gray, black human snake," bread lines often formed as early as 4 a.m. on
cold wintry days when men lined up six across to wait as long as two to three hours
before they could sit down inside a soup kitchen and partake of the meager fare
offered. (In January 1931, 82 bread lines in New York City served 85,000 "meals" daily!)
Men who experienced the waiting in line recall the personal shame of asking for a
handout, unable to care for oneself or to provide for others. Most men found it difficult
to look into the eyes of other men in line, who, if asked, had similar stories to tell.
What was it like to be in a 1933 soup kitchen (the term is used synonymously with bread
line, although there is a slight difference)? Piecing together recollections, it seemed to
resemble an experience at summer camp, with obvious distinctions. First, the men
might be "asked" to listen to a sermon for 10-20 minutes before being served any food.
Once the speech was over, the men got back in a shorter line and, cafeteria style, were
served a cup or bowl of soup or stew. They then sat down at community tables where
hunks of stale bread awaited them (but never soda crackers, writes historian William
Manchester) on large plates. Sometimes coffee was served. Most men described the
soup as tasteless, thin, watery, lukewarm, and rarely with any vegetables. Some recall
never being offered a second bowl or having bread to accompany the soup. Others,
though a smaller number, remember second helpings, bread, cheese sandwiches, and
oatmeal. After several minutes, some authority figure from the mission or church came
up to the men who had been eating and asked them to leave, to make room for the
others still outside. At this point the departing men went over to another bread line to
begin their wait for another meal. This process would be repeated until the third day
when familiar "chronic deadbeats" were evicted from the long lines.
Humiliating as it was to wait and get into a soup kitchen in 1931, it was nearly a
universal experience for urban people of all classes, or at least it was a metaphor for
what most Americans were caught up in during the "hard times" of the early 1930s Now
you will re-create this experience with your classmates. Play your role to the hilt and, as
you do, feel some empathy for an earlier generation's struggle to survive, cope, and
hang on to some dignity in the winter of 1933, amidst personal calamity no doubt
unique in our history.”
Lesson 4 (2 days)
People of the Great Depression
Part 2: Rural Population
Lesson Goals
 Students will understand that
different people experienced the
Great Depression in different
ways.
 Understand the meaning of the
Dust Bowl and implications.
Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how
the Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of
1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin
Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup
kitchens.
Materials:

Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at
Weedpatch Camp by Jerry Stanley
 The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the
Great American Dust Bowl Timothy Egan
 Timeline of the Dust Bowl
 Computers
 Smart Board
Description of Lesson:
I will begin by sharing some images from the Dust Bowl and reading aloud a
personal account from the dust bowl from The Worst Hard Times. I actually used
this book in an undergrad history course and found it really interesting and
informative. I think kids will benefit from hearing some of the details such as
feeling gritty dust between your teeth each day, or waking up to a layer of dust
on your pillow surrounding your head each morning.
Small group activity
 Students will read the first chapter and look through pictures from
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch
Camp by Jerry Stanley and record at least five new (and important)
facts as a group.
 Read Kids Discover magazine: Great Depression article “The Dust
Bowl” and view “Time Line of the Dust Bowl 1931-1939.” record at
least 5 new facts.
http://library.sussex.tec.nj.us/dacunto/Picturing%20the%20Unfamiliar/timeline.ht
m

Listen to personal audio accounts from the dust bowl. Record 5 new
facts. “Dust Bowl Tale”
http://library.sussex.tec.nj.us/dacunto/Picturing%20the%20Unfamiliar/audio.htm
After completing their readings, students will all record their observations on
chart paper. We will go through all of the charts as a whole group, and then take
notes as a class.
Assessment:
 Students will record their
observations on chart paper.
Differentiation:
 Small group activities cater
to different reading levels.
http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/dustbowl/big/dustbowlfollett.jpg
http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/dustbowl/big/usda18.jp
Lesson 5 (3 days)
Bringing it all together
Lesson Goals
 Understand that people in
urban and rural areas
experienced the Great
Depression differently.
 Map skills
Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how the
Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
Materials:




BrainPOP video “The Great Depression”
Smart Board
Maps
Writer’s Notebook
Description of Lesson:
The purpose of this lesson is to bring together what we studied in rural and
urban areas. We will look at a map and discuss patterns of drought and
unemployment.
http://home.centurytel.net/mr-h/dustbowl/resources.html
http://www.mybudget360.com/state-unemployment-data-7-states-now-with-historical-highunemployment-rate-michigan-228-percent-unemployment-rate-u-6-with-official-governmentdata/
We will also watch the BrainPOP video “The Great Depression” which highlights
life in both urban and rural regions of the US during the 1930’s.
Assessment:
 Writing Workshop: Students
will write a personal narrative
from the perspective of either a
child living in a city or on a
farm. Students will go through
the entire writing process; this
project should take about a
week.
Differentiation:
 Students have the option of
either writing a personal
narrative in the form of a story,
a diary entry, or a postcard.
Lesson 6
President Roosevelt
Lesson Goals
 Understand who President
Roosevelt was.
Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how the
Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of
1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin
Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup
kitchens.
Materials:




Scavenger hunt sticky notes
Power Point
BrainPOP video: Franklin D. Roosevelt
3x5 index card
Description of Lesson:
I will hide 20 facts (written on sticky notes) about President Roosevelt around
the room. Students will go on a scavenger hunt throughout the classroom to
locate each of these facts. When they have found all of them, students must
arrange facts in numerical order on a space on the wall.
I will then go through all of the facts orally with an accompanying power point
presentation.
After learning through our scavenger hunt we will watch the BrainPOP video
“Franklin D. Roosevelt”
Assessment:
 Students will write a few things
that they learned about FDR on
an index card.
Differentiation:
 Information on FDR will be
presented orally (I read the
facts from the scavenger hunt)
and will also be presented on
the power point presentation.
Lesson 7 (3 days)
The New Deal
Lesson Goals
 Know what the New Deal is and
understand it’s importance.
 New Vocabulary: New Deal,
CCC, WPA, TVA, alphabet
agencies.
Georgia Performance Standards:
SS5H5 The student will explain how
the Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
b. Analyze the main features of the
New Deal; include the significance of
the Civilian Conservation Corps, the
Works Progress Administration, and
the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Materials:
 Computers
 BrainPOP video “The New Deal”
 Library books about the New
Deal
 Poster board
 Paper
 Markers
 Sticky notes for note taking
Background information:
Students have prior experience
researching on their own and taking
notes based off of their research.
Description of Lesson:
To begin, we will make a KWL chart about the state of the country during the
1930’s and the New Deal. From our previous lessons, the students should
already know that people where struggling to keep their jobs, homes, and food
on the table. We should also know that FDR wanted to restore faith in the
American government through fireside chats and the creation of the New Deal.
Next I will give a mini-lesson using an online passage called the New Deal.
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/1920/deal.htm
I like this website because it offers information about the New Deal in kid
friendly language, and provides images for many challenging words.
We will then watch the BrainPOP video “The New Deal”
Both of these sources highlight the three New Deal agencies that students will be
researching for their project.
Students will be divided into three groups of mixed ability. Each group will have
at least 2 strong readers to assist the rest of the group with research. The groups
will draw from a hat to determine whether they need to research the CCC, WPA,
or TVA. They will use computers and library books for their research.
Sources provided for students:
 Books from the school library
 http://www.mce.k12tn.net/1920/deal.htm
 CCC video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChbQI-k5-QQ
 WPA video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq5UiGdje8U
 TVA video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idCwqXju7w0
 General: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/new_deal.htm
 General:
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/tp/new_deal_pro
grams.htm
 CCC: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1586.html
 WPA: http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/wpa/wpa_info.html
 TVA: http://www.tva.gov/abouttva/history.htm
 TVA: http://newdeal.feri.org/tva/index.htm
Assessment:
 Student will make a poster or a
brochure advertising the CCC,
WPA, or TVA.
 I will provide a model for each
assessment choice in order to
demonstrate the quality and
information that I expect.
Differentiation:
 Students will work in small
groups for the New Deal
project. Each group should
contain an equal balance of
strong readers and struggling
readers.
 Sources provided include
images, videos, and text so
that they are accessible to all.
Lesson 8
Arts and Culture
Lesson Goals
Georgia Performance Standards:
 Understand cultural
contributions of 1930’s America SS5H5 The student will explain how the
Great Depression and New Deal
affected the lives of millions of
Americans.
c. Discuss important cultural elements
of the 1930s; include Duke Ellington,
Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens.
Materials:


Rent Party Jazz by William Miller
“Don’t Mean a Thing if you ain’t got that Swing” Duke Ellington
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg

Description of Lesson:
I will begin with a read-aloud from Rent Party Jazz by William Miller and we will
discuss how art can make people feel better during hard times.
We will then watch a video of Duke Ellington playing “Don’t Mean a Thing if you
ain’t got that Swing” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg
We will also discuss the contributions of Jesse Owens and Margaret Mitchell in
power point.
http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Jessie%20Owens.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind
Assessment:
 Students will imagine that they
will have dinner with either
Duke Ellington, Margaret
Mitchell or Jesse Owens. They
Differentiation:
 Students have the opportunity
to choose which cultural figure
they would like to meet and
interview.
must consider at least five
questions that they would ask
their person.
Literature Connections
Throughout this unit, students will also be reading a historical fiction novel called
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck. This is the story of a fifteen-year-old girl who had
to move from Chicago to a poor 1930’s farm town. I will read the first chapter aloud to
the class while they follow along silently in their own books. This novel works very well
with this social studies unit because it takes place during the end of the Great
Depression and mentions several key facts that we are discussing throughout this unit.
For instance, the main character’s brother, Joe works for Civilian Conservation Corps,
and the book details struggling farm life.
Reading Groups.
The class will be divided into three reading groups based on ability. Audio books will be
provided for the group of struggling readers.
The class will read the novel in a number of ways. There will be times when I read the
book out loud while the class follows along quietly; other times they will read with a
partner; and finally, they will read independently (or with audio books).