Curated OER
Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Historic Site
Students examine some early activities and circumstances of Franklin Roosevelt's life and demonstrate how those activities may have influenced his policies and decisions in public life. Structures in their own community created by the...
Curated OER
The Great Depression
Students examine the time period of the Great Depression. In groups, they discover how the Works Progress Administration helped many workers during this time. Using the internet, they research how the government focused on the arts and...
Curated OER
The Great Hunter Storytelling Lesson
Young scholars listen to and use resources to translate an old Oneida story told in the Oneida language by an elder in the community. They then develop an illustrated slideshow of the story.
Curated OER
Massachusetts Oral History Project on the Great Depression
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...
Curated OER
Public Works in the Great Depression in Arkansas
Students examine different public works that were initiated during the Great Depression and still exist in Arkansas today. Students discover the impact of the Depression period on their community and the effect it still has on people's...
Curated OER
Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God
Students read Zora Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and explore her life history as well as novel analysis activities. In this novel analysis lesson, students identify elements in the novel and its overall literary impact. Students...
Curated OER
From Mud to Masterpiece: Individual Clay Mosaic Relief Murals Inspired by Rudy Autio's Public Murals
Students create clay mosaic relief murals as analysis of Abstract Expressionism. In this clay art lesson, students analyze the abstract expressionist art of Rudy Autio and create their own clay mural using fire clay and glazes. Students...
![Mnhs: The Wpa Federal Art Projects in Minnesota, 1935 1943 [Pdf] Article](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Mnhs: The Wpa Federal Art Projects in Minnesota, 1935 1943 [Pdf] Article")
Other
Mnhs: The Wpa Federal Art Projects in Minnesota, 1935 1943 [Pdf]
An exhaustive look at the arts projects funded by the WPA Federal Arts program in Minnesota. These included music, writing, and pictorial projects throughout the state. This PDF file includes pictures and extensive footnotes.
Other
Employment and Training Institute: Wpa Milwaukee Handicraft Project
Article on a WPA program in Milwaukee which provided work for unskilled women laborers. Great resource for students of all ages.
State Library-Florida
Florida Memory: Zora Neale Hurston and the Wpa in Florida
An account of the African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston and her experiences in Florida while working on the WPA. Includes a complete piece by Hurston entitled "Turpentine," photos and lesson plans.
Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: Posters From the Wpa
Primary documents to use in your study of the Works Progress Administration. Find posters and narrative that will give you insights into the WPA era. Be sure to click on Collection Connections for more information and learning activities.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Mosaic: Wpa
A short description with primary source examples of the aid African American artists received from the WPA.
Other
Broward County Library: The Wpa and Its Sub Agency, the Museum Extension Project
A description of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and some of its projects.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: The Wpa: Antidote to the Great Depression?
[Free Registration/Login Required] A good assessment of the Works Progress Administration and its contribution not only of providing jobs for the unemployed during the Great Depression, but for the lasting improvements it made in the...
Indiana University
Wpa Exhibit Project: The Works Projects Administration in Indiana
Although this site concerns itself with the WPA in Indiana, the information provides a good overall look at the Works Progress Administration in the rest of country during the New Deal era.
Columbia University
Columbia University: Harlem Hospital Wpa Murals
Painted during the Great Depression and funded under the Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project these murals carry with them a history worth noting.
Library of Congress
Loc: Prints and Photographs: Wpa Posters
Showcased is an exhibition of 926 posters (1936 -1943) from the Federal Art Project poster division at the Federal Art Gallery. The posters were designed to publicize a variety of events, from community activities to education in...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Works Progress Administration (Wpa)
A great summary of the Works Progress Administration, its goals, and the support it gave ordinary workers as well as artists, writers, and musicians.
Indiana University
Indiana University: More About the Wpa
This site from Indiana University describes the purpose the Works Progress Administration served during the Depression and summarizes the special programs of the W.P.A.
New Deal Network
New Deal Network: Works Progress Administration: The Lasting Values of the Wpa
The original text of a 1935 article defending the value and importance of the Works Progress Administration to women.
Digital History
Digital History: President Roosevelt and the Wpa [Pdf]
Franklin Roosevelt had to deal with the Great Depression quickly when he became president in 1932. Read about the early New Deal legislation, how the money was spent, and who administered the programs. Find out about the Works Progress...
Other
Bienes Center for the Literary Arts: A Brief Overview of the Wpa
Read descriptions of the various programs for unemployed artists that were part of the Works Progress Administration.
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: April 8: Works Progress Administration
The Library of Congress' On This Day site gives an overview of the Works Progress Administration with links to information about various projects within the WPA available on the Library of Congress site.
Curated OER
History Matters: Deaf and Unemployed in Dubuque
Read this poignant interview, transcribed by a WPA worker, in which a deaf couple describes the hardships they encountered during the Great Depression, compounded because of their disability.