That's a Wrap About the Great Depression!

The teacher will model how to write a GIST of an article in 20 words or less by using the article provided by ducksters.com. Before the students work independently on writing their GISTs, the teacher will review basic procedures. Here are some procedures for conducting a successful 20-word GIST:  Remind students that the purpose is to write the main idea or "GIST" of the article in 20 words or less. The 20 words should create sentences instead of just words and phrases. The teacher will model the process for the students by writing 20 empty blanks on the board. S(he) will read the opening paragraph and "Before the Crash" aloud. Next, s(he) should think aloud as information is added to the blanks. Pause for questions from the students. Next, partner students together to practice this strategy with the section "The Crash" and "After the Crash." If the students master writing GIST statements, they can work with a partner or group independently to complete a 20-word GIST for the rest of the article. If the teacher can tell more modeling is needed, s(he) will work with that particular group(s) before allowing them to work on their own. The summaries developed will be shared with the class and then posted around the room. Note:  An alternative is to challenge the class in a competition to see who can write a GIST in 20 words or less instead of exactly 20 words.

The students will be given dry-erase boards, dry-erase markers, and an eraser. The teacher will present the quiz from ducksters.com on the interactive whiteboard (Click the "quiz" link under Activities). The quiz is based on the information that was provided in the article. The students will answer the questions on the quiz by writing their answers on the dry-erase board and holding it up for the teacher to view. The teacher will choose the answer that is most written by the students. For example, if most students write the letter "A", then the teacher would choose "A" on the quiz. The students are allowed to stand up and move around the room as needed during the quiz to read the different gist summaries. If the students succeed with 90% accuracy on the quiz, the teacher may move on to the next activity. If the students score lower, the teacher needs to go back and reteach the areas of weakness.

The students will work individually to create a Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation explaining what they have learned about the Great Depression and its causes and effects. The slide show presentation is required to have at least five slides. The students should include a title slide that states their first and last name, at least three slides with information and a works cited slide. Students may use information from the article from ducksters.com, the ReadWorks article, videos, and the graphic organizer from the before activity to gather information for their presentation. The teacher can challenge students who finish early to include more than three informative slides. The presentations will be turned in to the teacher for review. If there is time, some students may present their work to the class.