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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath": The Inner Chapters

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...
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Lesson Plan
Learning to Give

The Beginning of the Storm

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce readers to Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with a lesson that sets the context for the novel. Class members research the bigotry in Mississippi during the Great Depression and identify examples in the story of how...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty uses...
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Worksheet
Eastland FFA

Grapes of Wrath Movie Questions

For Students 9th - 12th
John Ford's 1940 film version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is the subject of a 23-question worksheet designed to accompany a viewing of the film. The questions not only focus viewers on events, but also ask them to make...
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Activity
Curated OER

A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching The Grapes of Wrath

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...
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PPT
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Curated OER

To Kill A Mockingbird: Historical Background

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" and other images set the stage for a PowerPoint about the Great Depression. Whether used as background for Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, or as part of a historical study, the presentation would...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To the North: A Black Family Leaves Arkansas to Find Work in Michigan

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Upper elementary and middle school scholars study the economic factors that caused so many Arkansans to migrate to different parts of the country looking for work. Use this history lesson plan to help your charges gain a better...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

To Kill a Mockingbird Historical Background Study Guide

For Students 8th - 9th
Truly understanding a story means understanding its setting and historical background. This guide, prepared for To Kill a Mockingbird, encourages your class to explore the Great Depression, Hoovervilles, and the Scottsboro trials....
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PPT
Curated OER

The Dust Bowl

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Use this presentation to discuss the causes and effects of The Dust Bowl, or to establish a historical context for the book, The Grapes of Wrath. Found here are images, eye-witness quotes, and some ideas as to the causes and effects of...
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PPT
Curated OER

Out of the Dust: Background notes about the novel, The Great Depression, and The Dust Bowl

For Teachers 5th - 7th
If your class is reading the historical fiction novel, Out of the Dust, then you are in luck. Here are a few slides that will help you provide historical context for the book, as well as define main characters, setting, symbolism, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rural Life During the Great Depression: A Year Down Yonder

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
“Anyone who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.” Mary Alice, the fifteen-year-old narrator of A Year Down Yonder, is forced to leave Chicago and spend a year with her Grandma Dowdel in a small rural...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression and Everyday Life

For Teachers 11th
Examine everyday life during the Great Depression, as well as the effects if the Depression on American population, society, and economy. Learners write who, what, where, when, and why summaries of a person who relocated to California...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interest Rates

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Use a KWL chart and discussion to explore the concept behind loans with interest based on percentage rates. Learners examine different types of interest, the history of interest loans and calculate the costs of a loan over a ten-year...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing a Nation

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the Dust Bowl in American History.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders read a transcript on the Dust Bowl.  Students analyze a video on the Dust Bowl. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Hard Times Come Again No More" : Letters From Arkansas Families in the Great Depression

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Through this series of terrific lesson plans, pupils learn about the extent of poverty in the state of Arkansas during the Great Depression. They read documents from the period which describe how hard times were, view an online photo...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sunburns and Sore Muscles: Working to Save the Farm During the Great Depression

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Fifth through eighth graders engage in a lesson plan in which they study working class people during the Great Depression. They work to develop an understanding of the economic developments in Arkansas during the 1930's. Learners access...
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PPT
Curated OER

Good Time and Bad: Roaring 20's, Great Depression, and WWII quiz

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Quiz your students on various topics related to the Roaring 20's, The Great Depression, and WWII. They'll ace any test after viewing this slide show. Tip: Turn this quiz into a game, see which side of the class is ready for the test.
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Interactive
Curated OER

The Great Depression (1920–1940)

For Students 7th - 12th
In this online interactive history activity, students respond to 7 short answer and essay questions about the Great Depression. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Off to Work We Go!

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students create a book about The Great Depression in West Virginia.  In this West Virginia history activity, students visit the West Virginia State Museum, answer questions about West Virginia history, and create a book entitled...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression in North Carolina: Experiences of the People

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore the Great Depression. For this research skills lesson, students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary sources. Middle schoolers write their own WPA interviews after they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hooverville Diorama

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore life during the Great Depression. In this  Great Depression lesson, 5th graders gain an understanding of what life was like during the Great Depression. Students draw conditions that families lived in and construct...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

The Crash, the Dust, and the New Deal

For Teachers 7th
Students explore the Great Depression. In this American history lesson, students examine primary sources in order to research the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the Dust Bowl, and the Neal Deal. Students study the impact on these events on...
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Lesson Plan
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National First Ladies' Library

Eleanor Roosevelt: Economics, Discovery and Daily Life

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Examine the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the role of Eleanor Roosevelt during the era. Pupils take an inventory of their home for wants and needs, and conduct online research on The Great Depression. They then convert...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Read More Than Words

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students, in groups, visually read photographs from the Farm Security Administration taken during the Great Depression. They analyze the photos and present their observations to the class.