The Great Depression

Abstract: 

This project integrates History and English.  Throughout it students will be asked to relate to the material in a way that makes it important to their individual lives and experiences.  In the history portion of the unit the students will deal with the hard reality of the Great Depression and its effects on the nation as a whole in a grand scale.  In the English portion of the unit the scope used to view the history will be narrowed, allowing students to look into individual lives on a single family scale.  This will allow the events of the depression to become more real, giving it a humanist perspective and feel.  In the end, the combination of History and English will get the students to experience the unit with more of a hands-on approach, allowing for more detailed analysis and discussion.  The combination of the two disciplines will also help students understand the Great Depression as a whole, rather than isolated facts and narratives.      

Names and Majors of the Team Members:

• Alex Pulido: History Eduction

• Robert Baird: History Education

• Nicholas Waleszonia: English Education

• Emily Nelson: Special Education

Subjects Integrated:

• History: The causes and effects of the Great Depression.

• English: Reading of Literature and creation of writing that is directly related to the Great Depression.

Objectives (History):

• After completing the first lesson the students will have an understanding of the events leading up to the Great Depression and the causes of the Great Depression
  

• After completing the unit the students will be able to critically analyze a political/historical cartoon.
  

• After completing the second lesson the students will have gained an understanding of the Great Stock Market Crash and Hoover’s response to the crash as well as to the growing national crisis.
  

• After completing the third lesson the students will grasp the conditions during the Depression and the results and effects of the election of 1932.
  

• After completing the fourth lesson the students will have an understanding of the events and programs that helped the country recover from the Depression, especially Roosevelt’s New Deal and World War II.
  

• The Illinois State Standards that were used for this unit were 15.E.4a, 14.F.4a, 16.b.4, 16.C.4b,
  

• 16.b>5b, and 18.A.5.

Objectives (English):

• Students will be able to analyze the individual issues that the Great Depression raised in relation to family life. (2.A.4b) 
  

• Students will create an original piece of writing or drama that deals with important humanist issues of the Great Depression. (2.B.3b)
  

• Students will empathize with a viewpoint from a person who experienced the lifestyle created by the Great Depression.
  

• Students will justify their viewpoints and interpretations of the Great Depression to a group of their peers. (3.B.4.C) 
  

• Students will apply the viewpoint of audience into the construction of their projects.(3.B.5) 

Resources Needed:

• History- For the history portion of the unit the teacher will need the textbook for the class as well as the handouts (worksheets and outlines).  We will also require the political cartoons and photographs from the Great Depression.
  

• English- For the English portion of the unit the teacher will need a class set of printouts of the first eight chapters of A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk by Robert J. Hastings.  Also, enough construction paper and drawing utensils will be needed for the integrated drawing activity.  Finally, a computer lab that has enough computers for every student must be available.   

Rationale:

            This unit is important for students, because the Great Depression is a historic and momentous event in the history of the United States.  The Depression affected almost every American in some manner.  The Great Depression also changed the way that people looked at life.  Living in the United States was no longer a joyful experience, filled with opportunity and adventure as it was during the Roaring 20’s.  Life was full of hardships and many families had nowhere to turn for help.  The Great Depression truly was a depressing time. 

            Through the integration of History and English/Literature the students are given a broader view of the period.  By combining the two subjects the students have to analyze the Great Depression from a historical standpoint as well as from a cultural standpoint.  By using the information that is gained from the history portion of the unit, the students are better able to understand the literature aspects of the incorporated unit. 

Unit Description:       

History:

• In order for the students to realize how the Great Depression was such a staggering event, the prosperity and feel of the country during the “Roaring Twenties” must be noted.  This lesson will be linked with the previous weeks of American History.  We will first hand out a skeleton outline of the entire unit to the students in which they can fill out along the course of the unit.  A short time will be spent on discussing the economic situation and some indicators that are thought to lead to depression.  The first day’s lesson will end after the discussion of one if not the determining event, the Stock Market Crash.  Here we will use political cartoons of the Stock Market Crash.
   

• The next lesson will include the immediate effects of the stock market crash on the public and economy.  When the students enter the room there will be the key points of the day listed on the overhead projector.  We also want to show the lack of effort by President Hoover to address the situation.  In turn, Hoover is ridiculed and criticized and from this comes some of the “Hooverisms”.  Some of these will be addressed such as Hoovervilles and Hoover Flags.  More photographs will be used to show the dire situation of the poor, and if possible the image of the many words connected with President Hoover.  After this day the students will have images in their head of the picture of America.  This will lead into the “Dust Bowl” era. 
  

• At the beginning of the third day we will have a quote on the board by Robert Geiger who gave the name to the dust bowl, “Three little words rule life in the dust bowl of the continent-if it rains.”  More images will be used of the deserted farmers and of families leaving their farms in search of jobs.  A couple of personal accounts of the dust bowl will be read together in the class. Some statistics will have to be used to show the effects on production and the economy of the United States.  The end of the lesson will come after the election of 1932 and the impacts it had on the morale of Americans, and the future programs that would come out of Roosevelt’s plan to pull the country out of the depression through the New Deal.
  

• The majority of this next day’s lesson will be coming familiar with many of the programs of the New Deal.  This will be accomplished through a worksheet that the students will complete as I explain the different programs to them.  The knowledge that the students will acquire is the many program names, what they did, and what specific people they were directed towards.  Following the discussion on the New Deal programs the effect of the United States entering into World War II will be discussed

Accommodations:

    In order to ensure that Manuel stays on task during class time and is able to figure out what information is important the following accommodations have been made…

• Manuel will sit in the front of the classroom (close to the teacher) to reduce distractions
  

• He will be given an outline for each individual lesson, as well as the skeleton lesson that the entire class receives.
  

• He will have a journal/notebook to help organize his notes and assignments.

Activity Description

• Day1- The students will be given a skeleton outline on the entire unit in which they can complete during the lessons of each day.  When important information arises, we will note to the students to write in on the outline.

Several political cartoons will be handed out to small groups of students.  The groups will complete the Cartoon Analysis worksheet that accompanies the cartoons. After they are finished, we will ask different students their personal views on the cartoon to hopefully entice a discussion.

*Manuel will receive an outline for that day’s lesson with major points that will be discussed.

*Each group member will be assigned a specific task in completing the worksheet that he/she will be responsible for (eg.  the writer, looking in book, looking at notes, ect.)

• Day2- At the beginning of this day’s lesson several photographs will be handed out to each student.  When the topic of lecture comes to these different photographs, they will be used to ask the students questions and to give them a better visual understanding of the lecture.

*Manuel will be given an outline for the lesson that contains all key points and a brief summary of the last lesson.

*Along with the picture will be a short description of the image.

• Day 3- The quote from Geiger will be on the board and we will ask the students what they think of the quote.  Two accounts will be read by the class out loud along with photographs.  In last part of the class, the students will put themselves in the time period of the dust bowl and depression.  They will then write a short letter pretending to be in the situation of one of the photographs.

*Manuel will be given an outline for the day’s lesson which will include important information and a summary of yesterday’s lesson.

• Day 4-  A tree diagram will be handed out for the students to fill in the New Deal programs.  The students will finish these as I lecture about them.  I will have the students note any of the buildings or works that were constructed by any of these programs.  

Assessment:  

    The students will be assessed through the use of a crossword puzzle.  This will be enjoyable for the students, while at the same time will allow the teacher to assess the student’s knowledge of the material.

English:

Accommodations

• Special Education teacher will accompany Manuel during the instruction of this unit.  He and the teacher will sit in the back of the room to reduce the amount of distractions caused to others.  SED teacher will proofread all writing assignments before handing in the final copy.

Unit Description:  The goal of this unit is to bring the students down from the grand historical scale of the Great Depression to a level that deals with human emotions and experiences.  The students will create a project that generates empathy for the individuals who lived during the said time period.

• Day 1- First, the students will be asked to write in their journals to this prompt, “What does the “Great Depression mean to you.”  The students will be told to write an honest response, connecting the events of the depression to themselves as well as to family members who may have been living during that time (i.e. Grandparents/Great Grandparents).  (10 minutes) 

            After the journal entry the students will be given the first six chapters from the novel A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk by Robert J. Hastings.  Then the students will then be asked to silently read the first two chapters (8-pages) of the text.  (20 minutes)  Any students that finish the text before the time has expired will be encouraged to read more of the text before them.  During this time students will be allowed to move to different parts of the classroom in order to get more comfortable for their silent reading. 

            After the silent reading session the students will be asked to take out their journals once again.  This time the students will be asked, based on their reading of the text, how their lives are similar to that of the narrator, and how their lives are different.  (10 minutes) 

            Following the final journal entry the students will be share with the rest of their class the similarities and differences that their lives hold in relation to that of the narrator’s in the text.  (9 minutes)

*SED teacher and Manuel will have a brief private conversation about what the “Great Depression means…” and use that as a springboard for writing.

*The chapters will be assigned the day before, so that Manuel can reread and refresh his memory and get a better handle on what was read.

*SED teacher and Manuel will once again have private conversation and use it as springboard for journal entry.

• Day 2- At the beginning of class the students will be given construction paper and drawing utensils.  The students will then be told that a song will be played, a song that is inspired by the “Great Depression”.  The song is “The Dance of Eternity” by DreamTheater.  The students are to listen to the song first, which lasts around 4 minutes.  Then the song will be played a second time, during which the students will be asked to draw a picture representing the “Great Depression” using the song as an inspirational tool.  The students will be told that the picture can be a direct representation, or a metaphorical one, drawing upon ideas that they have about the time period, as well as a feeling that they get from hearing the music.  The goal of the activity is to create a visual representation of an idea about the “Great Depression”, and the students will be told this.  The students will be allowed to use ideas from what they wrote yesterday in their journals.  After the second time the song is played the students will be given time to draw the picture.  The students will also be told that they will be sharing their pictures. (20 minutes) 

            After the students are finished drawing they will be asked to place the picture on their desk.  Then they will be told to get up from their desks and move to another student’s place three spaces from their starting position.  When then end up in their new seat they are to look at the picture and write a short response that interprets the picture, describing the action or symbolism contain therein, and the idea that it communicates about the “Great Depression”.  (10 minutes)

            When the writing is finished the students will return to their original desks.  They will read the responses to their drawings and then they will note how their individual drawings were interpreted from a different perspective.  The students will then decide if they want to change or alter their drawings in order to make its meaning more clear. (5 minutes)

            After the students make their changes they will be asked to form a discussion circle.  In this circle they will share their drawings and the response of their “audience”.  The teacher will then lead a discussion on how there are many different interpretations and viewpoints in relation to the great depression.  The students will be told to keep their drawings.  (14 minutes)

*Manuel will be inspired to write on the feelings that the music provoked.

*SED teacher will encourage Manuel to pay attention to emotions, colors, representations, ect., while analyzing his peers’ drawings.

• Day 3- At the start of class the students will be asked to read three more chapters from A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk.  The chapters they will be asked to read are “Sour Grapefruit and WPA”, “Dad’s Lettuce Bed”, and “Mom’s Fried Chicken”.  This portion is about 12 pages long.  (25 minutes)

            After the students read the teacher will lead a discussion on the nature of poverty.  Discussion questions will include:  Is the narrator’s life terrible?  Is the narrator’s family poor?  How do the hardships affect the narrator?  The discussion will begin with the teacher getting a basic student response to the text, asking whether they liked it or disliked it and why.  From their response various discussion questions will be injected into their points of interest. (15 minutes)

            Near the end of class the students will be assigned a short homework assignment.  This is assignment is to start some sort of project that relates to the issues of the “Great Depression”.  The students will be given several prompts to write to and they are as follows:

1. Create a dialogue between a laid off worker of the “Great Depression” and his boss.  

2.Write a short story set in the depression that deals with important issues.  

3. Create a dramatic scene set in the great depression, to be acted out in front of the class at a later time. (This can be done in groups of no more than 4 people).  

4. Write a letter to a family member from the point of view of a person living in the great depression.  

5. Add a chapter to A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk.

6. Create a musical soundtrack for the chapters of A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk, choosing a song for each chapter given, and write a rational justifying the choices of each song for each particular chapter. 

7.  Some form of student devised creative project that must be first approved by the teacher.

These activities have only one odd restriction.  They must in some way include the

drawings that the students created yesterday in class.  This inclusion can range for using the drawing as an illustration in a story, or it can be enlarged and used as a backdrop for a dramatic scene.  All that matters is that the pictures and their contained ideas must be used in the pieces that the students create. (9 minutes) 

*Chapters will be given to Manuel on Day 2- reading time will be used to reread or refresh this time focusing on discussion questions.

*SED teacher and Manuel will discuss and choose a writing topic and formulate ideas to write about.

• Day 4- First, the students will get into groups of 4 (If students are doing a group scene then the student group will act as a single entity in these discussion circles) which will be prescribed to them by the teacher.  In these groups the students will tell what project they have decided to work on.  They will tell their reasoning for this choice and what ideas they have so far.  The groups will give feedback to the student(s), giving any further ideas and reactions.  (12 minutes).             For the rest of the period the students are to continue working on their projects, either writing, practicing, or brainstorming.  The teacher will be available to help with any discrepancies.  (37 minutes)

            The students will be told to work on the project after school.

*Manuel must have completed at least one paragraph of writing and six concerning the topic he chose.

*Manuel will be encouraged to give feedback to his peers about their projects.

• Day 5- Today will be a peer workshop day.  Again, the students will share their works in progress with their “Peer Reviewing” groups from the day before.  Each will read or review each other’s work, and provide more helpful feedback in the form of editing marks and suggestions.  (20 minutes) 

            After the second phase of peer editing the students will be given more time to write.  The students will be told that a complete first draft of their projects are due Monday at the end of class.  (29 minutes)

*Manuel must have at least a page and a half of working material to discuss with his peers.        

References:

History References:

Rawls, J., & Weeks, P.  (1985).  Land of Liberty: A United States History. 

New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, Publishers.

Jordan, W., Greenblatt, M., & Bowes, J.  (1985).  The Americans: The History of a People and a Nation.  Evanston, IL: McDougal, Littell & Company.

English References:

Hastings, Robert J.  (1972).  A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk.  Carbondale: University Graphics and Publications of Southern Illinois University. 

Dunn, Patricia.  (2001).  Talking, Sketching, Moving: Teaching Literature Through Multiple Literacies.  Portsmouth: Boynton, Cook Publishers Inc. 

Used a altered version of a pedagogy from this book.

Elbow, Peter.  (1993).  “Ranking, Evaluating, and Liking:  Sorting Out Three Forms of Judgement”.  College English.  Volume 55, Number 2, February.

 Will use a version of a grading rubric in this essay to evaluate student writings.