Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in the American south during the depression era as they read Harper Lee's To Kill a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration and Identity

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Learners will analyze four historical events: The Annexation of U.S. Southwest, The Mexican Revolution, The Great Depression, and World War II. They determine how each event affected immigration to the U.S. from Mexico and Central...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Migration

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular instructional activity, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roll With the Punches: What Do You Know?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students activate prior knowledge about life in the South during the Great Depression in preparation for reading the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Massachusetts Oral History Project on the Great Depression

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders conduct interviews with a relative or a family friend who lived in Massachusetts during the Depression. They write an essay based on the interview that shows an intimate portrayal of how the lives of the individuals who...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studying the Great Depression Through Novels

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders view pictures of life in a small town during the Great Depression in Illinois to gain an understanding of living conditions during the era. They read novels based on life of this era.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression Group Activity

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders work in groups filling in worksheets learning about and appreciating conditions during the Great Depression. They analyze the difference in the cost of living today versus the Depression years.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Childhood View of the Great Depression in Arkansas

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the causes for the Great Depression of 1929 and see the effects of the depression, the Great Flood, and the drought in Arkansas through the eyes of a child.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Found Poetry with Primary Sources: The Great Depression

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. In this Great Depression instructional activity, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Students select one...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out of the Dust

For Teachers 7th
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...
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Daily Lives of Slaves - What Really Happened?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The stories of enslaved people are preserved forever thanks to the Great Depression. Budding historians explore slave narratives gathered by a federal government initiative to discover what life was actually like for enslaved people....
Worksheet
Warren County Public Schools

Small Group Discussion Questions

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...
Lesson Plan
Digital Public Library of America

Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Handout
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

My Life My Plan

For Students 6th - 8th
Being a teenager is harder today than it's ever been. Guide high schoolers through the last few years before adulthood with a resource that encourages them to reflect on their lives and passions, and to make a healthy plan going forward.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners 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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Surviving the Depression- 1930-1939 Lesson 1: Life During the Depression- Picture

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine and analyze primary source documents and pictures from the Great Depression Era. They consider ways in which the suffering of the Era could have been alleviated.
Lesson Plan
Washoe County School District

Eyewitness to the Holocaust

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Scholars investigate the Holocaust through the eyes of an Auschwitz survivor. They analyze and research a firsthand account of events inside the gas chambers moments before hundreds died. Using Holocaust Reading Passages and...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Migration During the Great Depression: Living History

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students interview immigrants of Central Florida and photograph them to learn their oral history and life stories. For this immigration lesson plan, students discover where people come from, and write about the life story of this person.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New Deal Programs: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research New Deal programs. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the effects of the depression and how WPA programs and other New Deal programs impacted people's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Have a Story to Tell

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use research information to create a story reflective of an individual of the Great Depression. Students use the RAFT (role, audience, format, topic) learning strategy to identify their role as the author, their audience, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brother, Can you Spare a Dime?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students through song analysis and group discussion, identify the qualities representing the Great Depression. They study the Great Depression and how it affected people all over U.S. They analysis the lyrics to the song "Brother Can you...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Photographs of Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Emerging Democracies in Eastern Europe and Russia: How Are They Doing?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consider the success of democracies in Eastern Europe. In this government systems lesson, students research the implementation of democratic practices and rule in the countries of Eastern Europe following the Cold War....