National Endowment for the Humanities
John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath": The Inner Chapters
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...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust
Seventh graders read a book of poems called "Out of the Dust". In groups, they research the Dust Bowl and how it affected people living through the Great Depression. Using the text, they identify the theme and key turning points and...
Curated OER
Migrant Workers Through the Lens of Dorothea Lange
Students explore the lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students examine photographs and song lyrics to gain an understanding of the conditions for people living in the era. Students...
Curated OER
Going to the Promised Land
Students analyze primary resources and map in order to draw conclusions regarding the migrant-worker experience during the Great Depression. They explain and explain the impact of economic and ecological events on individuals.
Curated OER
The Reality of Life in the 1930s
Students examine the life style of the 1930's using art, music, the Internet and interviews as resources. They complete worksheets including a Venn diagram comparing two pieces of artwork. They determine what life during the Great...
Curated OER
WWI and Twenties & Thirties
Students study economics and timelines of events to understand changes in America. For this Twenties and Thirties lesson, students navigate Internet sites to research famous reformers. Students recognize the economic changes through...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust
Students examine 1930's America through literature. In this Dust Bowl instructional activity, 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...
Curated OER
Arkansas and the Dust Bowl
Students access and use the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information, American Memory collection and Todd and Sonkin collection for research. They develop research skills and strategies, such as key word searches to...
Curated OER
The Impact of the Dust Bowl as Shown Through Photography
Seventh graders examine and discuss photographs and paintings of the Dust Bowl era. They write a journal entry describing what it would be like if they stepped into one of the photographs, and create a Powerpoint presentation on the Dust...
Curated OER
The Impact of the Great Depression on Texas
Seventh graders examine and discuss photographs taken during the Great Depression and the impact of the Great Depression on the U.S. They write research reports and create a mural depicting the lives of rural and urban families in the...
Curated OER
Figurin Somepin 'Bout the Great Depression
Students create a scrapbook based on their research of the lives of migrants in California during the Great Depression.
Stanford University
Migrant Mother Photograph
A picture often has hidden stories to tell. Looking at the iconic Migrant Mother photography by Dorothy Lange, individuals examine the human toll of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression at large. Other documents, including a statement...
Curated OER
A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching The Grapes of Wrath
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...
Curated OER
Grapes of Wrath as a Primary Source
Eighth graders consider the plight of migrant farmers during the Great Depression. In this historical perspectives lesson plan, 8th graders watch the film based on Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and then discuss the conditions the...
Curated OER
Introduction to a Unit on the 1930's Depression in America
Students view and discuss photographic images of the Dust Bowl by Dorothea Lange. They discuss who Dorothea Lange was and why she took the pictures, the conservational factors that contributed to the Dust Bowl and migrant workers and the...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust -- Part II
Eighth graders discover that literature can be a great way to gather information about the past. Using various types of text, they research its historical data and determine if it is correct. They write two papers to respond to the...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Growing a Nation (1930-1949): From Defeat to Victory, Lesson 2
Using primary source materials including radio broadcasts, films, and interview transcripts, history students gain a better understanding of the Dust Bowl, relief efforts for farmers, and the nation's agricultural past. It includes...
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home
Students examine the music of Woody Guthrie and how the political and economic climate influenced his work. They read and discuss online articles, define key vocabulary words, take a Political Orientation Survey, and write a position...
Curated OER
Desperation: The Great Depression
Students examined the feelings of hopelessness that can result from losing
their income, much like one-third of Americans experienced during the Depression in a small group lesson of a mock household. Students create a household budget...
Curated OER
Dorothea Lange
Young scholars explain that a person's experiences influence their life, write a time line of their life, and analyze Dorothea's photographs and list descriptive words.
Curated OER
The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Young scholars research social-documentary photography using Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze examples of photographs by Dorothea Lange and research one or more of Dorothea...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and the Arts
Students engage in a dialogue about the Depression, the impact of the New
Deal, the role of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the survival of Democracy, and the
resiliency of the American spirit.
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 2 - A History of the United States: Modern Times—Late 1800s to the 2000s
The second volume of the Core Knowledge History of the United States ebook begins by asking young scholars to consider the impact immigration, industrialization, and urbanization had on the United States in the late 1800s. The text ends...