PBS
Myth of the West: Lonely But Free I’ll Be Found
Tumbling tumbleweeds! Scholars work with video clips, primary and secondary documents, and song lyrics to uncover life in the Old West. They examine song's lyrics to uncover myths told in the 1930s about life in the Wild West.
Curated OER
Hard Times, Soft Sell
High schoolers analyze art to determine themes for the Great Depression Era. In this Great Depression lesson, students identify themes for the era and research evidence for the themes to present to the class. High schoolers interview...
Curated OER
Jews in America at the Time of Growth and Change: Forging New Frontiers
Tenth graders examine the role of Jewish Americans in the 1900s. They examing the changes in industry and inventions. They also identify how Jewish Americans changed society and religious organization.
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 2
Young scholars explore jazz's primary elements. They identify the basic definitions of terms associated with jazz. In addition, they listen to Song for My Father.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Great Depression - Hard Times Hit America
To gain an understanding of how the Great Depression affected everyday citizens, class members examine letters written either to the president or to the governor of Alabama asking for assistance.
Curated OER
Witch Hunt or Red Menace? Anticommunism in Postwar America, 1945-1954
Learners investigate the goals and methods of the House Un-American Activities Committee and offer an opinion regarding whether their investigation of Hollywood was justifiable.
Curated OER
The Roar of the Twenties; The Crash of the Thirties
Eighth graders, after assuming identities of prominent figures from the 1920's and looking at slides and data from the era, relate, in diary form, the cultural, economic and political changes that happened in America between 1920 and 1939.
Curated OER
Streamlines and Breadlines
Students explore the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students research selected websites and analyze primary sources to conduct inquiries regarding the depression, northern migration, and urbanization. Students author...
Curated OER
Unemployment During the Great Depression
Students examine unemployment during the Great Depression. In this Great Depression instructional activity, students watch "The Great Depression: A Job at Ford." Students then discuss how unemployment was described in the video and write...
Curated OER
Family Life During the Great Depression
Students practice the skill of photo analysis. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze photographs from the era and write fictitious diary entries based on the images.
Curated OER
The Great Depression
Eighth graders examine the relief, recovery, and reform legislation to combat the Great Depression. In this New Deal lesson plan, 8th graders investigate New Deal programs as well as images from the depression era. Students then present...
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students explore the Swing Era and its implications. They answer questions and listen to music from the era.
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students learn vocabulary associated with the Swing Era. They also listen to music from the time period.
Curated OER
Letters From Rifka
Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page lesson culminates with each group getting together to meet...
Curated OER
America and the Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1933-1939
Students examine the U.S. stance regarding the Sino-Japanese conflict. For this diplomacy lesson, students analyze the sanctions employed by United States on Japan when they took over Manchuria. Students determine how actions by the...
Curated OER
Jacob Have I Loved
Students examine visual images about the novel, Jacob Have I Loved. They compare pictures from "America from the Great Depression to World War II" that are described in the book and other studies of the Chesapeake Bay. They present their...
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
The dry Oklahoma landscape in America's Dust Bowl sent many farmers in search of the promised land. A teacher's guide to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath discusses the characters' desire for a better home along with other themes and...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust
Students examine 1930's America through literature. For this Dust Bowl lesson, students read Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust and set up vocabulary journals and question bookmarks to log their thoughts and impressions as they read the novel.
Curated OER
The Roaring Twenties
Let's take a look back at America during the 1920s and 1930s. Information regarding the economics in the 1920s that led to some of the issues during the 1930s are covered using text and images. Learners will consider economic booms,...
Curated OER
"Hard Times Come Again No More" : Letters From Arkansas Families in the Great Depression
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...
K12 Reader
The Great Depression
Try out this reading passage when teaching your class about the 1920s and 1930s. After reading the text, which provides an overview of some major events in these years, learners respond to five related questions.
Curated OER
War and International Law:America’s Foreign Policy: A Brief History
Students discover the history of American foreign policy. For this foreign policy lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture that presents a brief history of American foreign policy. Students respond to discussion...
Curated OER
America in Film and Fiction
Students begin the lesson by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the ideas and...
Curated OER
"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation
Students explore development of jazz music in the 1930s by forming imaginary jazz bands which tour several cities in Depression-era America. Jazz band members create imaginary identities for themselves, develop publicity for their tour,...