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The Federal Theatre Project: Analyzing Conflict Among Relief, Art, and Politics in 1930s America Lesson PlanThe Federal Theatre Project: Analyzing Conflict Among Relief, Art, and Politics in 1930s America Lesson Plan
Publisher
Center for History Education
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
6th - 12th
Subjects
Social Studies & History
2 more...
Resource Type
Lesson Plans
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
1 hr 30 mins
Instructional Strategies
Case Study
3 more...
Usage Permissions
Fine Print: Educational Use
Lesson Plan

The Federal Theatre Project: Analyzing Conflict Among Relief, Art, and Politics in 1930s America

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This The Federal Theatre Project: Analyzing Conflict Among Relief, Art, and Politics in 1930s America lesson plan also includes:
  • The Federal Theatre Project: Analyzing Conflict Among Relief, Art, and Politics in 1930s America (.html)
  • Resource Sheet #1: Relief Programs of the New Deal: A Comparison (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2A: Is This the Time and Place? (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2B: Mr. Rice's Resignation (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2C: Negro Version of Macbeth (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2D: African Theater Group: "Bassa Moona" (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2E: Demise of the Federal Arts Project (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2F: Federal Theater Players on the Air (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2G: Puppet Artists at Work (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2H: View of a Tent (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2I: Young Tramps (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2J: Theater as Social Action (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2K: Halle Flanagan Before The Special Committee on Un-American Activities (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2L: Milton Meltzer Interview (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2M: Wallace Stark Before The Special Committe on Un-American Activities (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #2N: Halle Flanagan Before Hearings. Special Committee on Un-American Activities #2 (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #3: The Achievements and Problems of the Federal Theater Project (.pdf)
  • Resource Sheet #4: Assessment (.pdf)
  • Activity
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In the effort to soothe the suffering of the Great Depression, New Deal programs funded a variety of approaches - including a theater project that proved controversial! Using documents such as oral histories, as well as photographs of the project's productions, pupils examine the potential government-funded art has to both heal problems and create dissension. The resource includes primary sources, as well as worksheets, to guide learning.

5 Views 2 Downloads
CCSS: Adaptable

Concepts

primary source images, primary source analysis, primary sources, the new deal, musical theater, reader's theater, the great depression, censorship

Instructional Ideas

  • Discuss whether the government should fund the arts using the primary sources

Classroom Considerations

  • Learners need access to a history text book 
  • Some language in the documents is racist

Pros

  • Resource highlights a lesser-known project of the New Deal
  • Questions prompt class members to connect learning of history to contemporary policy

Cons

  • None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.3 RH.6-8.4 RH.6-8.5 RH.6-8.6 RH.6-8.7 RH.6-8.8 RH.6-8.9 RH.6-8.10 RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.3 RH.9-10.4 RH.9-10.5 RH.9-10.6 RH.9-10.7 RH.9-10.8 RH.9-10.9 RH.9-10.10 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.3 RH.11-12.4 RH.11-12.5 RH.11-12.6 RH.11-12.7 RH.11-12.8 RH.11-12.9 RH.11-12.10

View 93,175 other resources for 6th - 12th Grade Social Studies & History

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