Learning Activity

The Scoop on the 1930's

Subject Area

Social Studies

Grade(s)

6

Overview

The students will read an article explaining the Great Depression. Next, they will perform a skit about a family experiencing the effects of the Great Depression. Finally, they will examine pictures from this time period to learn more about Hoovervilles and how different they were from these families' original neighborhoods.  

This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 6

SS10.6.5

Explain causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the United States.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.6.5

Vocabulary

  • depression
  • economic failure
  • Hoovervilles
  • migration
  • Dust Bowl
  • New Deal
  • Tennessee Valley Authority
  • river systems

Knowledge

Students know:
  • What caused the Great Depression and the effect it had on the people of the United States.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Examine cause and effect to see relationships between people, places, ideas, and events.
  • Use map skills to locate places of historical significance.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were many causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the U.S.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

The students will gather information from appropriate resources to be able to effectively explain the effects of the Great Depression, the Stock Market Crash, and the Dust Bowl.

The students will relate their lives to the lives of children in the 1930s by providing various examples of differences.

Activity Details

The teacher will assign the ReadWorks article to the students digitally (see the Advanced Preparation Section for additional details). The teacher should allow students to partner read the article and then answer the comprehension questions individually. After they have submitted their answers, the teacher will review the questions whole group with the students. The students will share the answers they chose. The teacher can discuss any questions or misconceptions.  

The teacher will tell the students they are going to act out a play. Tell the students to pay attention to how the conversation changes between the characters from the beginning to the end of the play.  Students will read and act out the play about the Great Depression.  This play can be acted out multiple times so that everyone who wants a part can have a turn. Once the play is over, have a class discussion about the mood shift from the beginning to the end. What caused this change? What are some of the characters clinging to for hope?

The teacher will say the following, "I want you to brainstorm different characteristics of your house. For example, you have your own room; you have a television in your room; you have multiple bathrooms. You will be given two minutes to list as many characteristics as possible."  Allow the students to write down as many things as they can within the time limit. While they are doing this, the teacher will perform an internet search "Images of Hoovervilles."  When the two minutes are up, go around the room and let each student share one thing he/she wrote down. Display the images found on the interactive whiteboard. Have the students compare what they described with their homes to what they are viewing. Remind them that many of the children during this time period began in nice homes and ended up in these types of living conditions. Compare and contrast their homes with Hoovervilles using a Venn diagram or T-chart on the interactive whiteboard.

The students will complete an exit slip as their assessment. They will write three things they learned from today's lesson; two effects of the Great Depression; one unanswered question about this time period.

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The teacher will assess the students' learning through observation during discussions.

The teacher will use the ReadWorks comprehension questions to assess how well the students understood the given information from the text. 

The exit slip will provide the teacher with knowledge of the students' understanding of the lesson as well as future topics that should be discussed.

Acceleration

Advanced students could write their own readers' theater based on what they have learned. They could provide the original script to the teacher to make copies for the class for them to perform it.

Intervention

The ReadWorks article provided is a 5th-grade level so all students should be able to read it with ease. If there are still some students who struggle with reading, there is an option for Readworks to read it aloud to them. They could wear a pair of headphones and follow along as Readworks reads the article for them. There is also an option to print the article. A printed copy would be beneficial for students as they look for their answers in the text.

Variation Tips

The Great Depression word search could be handed out to the students to work on if they finish their work early.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

16 to 30 Minutes

Related Learning Activities

Learning Activity (Before)

Challenged Children of the 1930s

Learning Activity (During)

The Scoop on the 1930's

Learning Activity (After)

That's a Wrap About the Great Depression!

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

ReadWorks is a website that provides K-12 teachers with free literacy resources (About ReadWorks). ReadWorks has literary and informational texts on a variety of subjects and reading skills. You may narrow your search using grade level or Lexile level, making this website a wonderful tool for differentiation. Students will complete their work digitally, and you will provide their scores and feedback digitally. This makes it easy to go paperless for this activity.

Prior to implementing this activity, you will need to sign up for an Educator Account on ReadWorks. After setting up an account, create a class from the Class Admin tab, this will provide you with a Class Code to give to students. Next, use the Find Content tab to search for the informational article that will be used during this activity, "World War I and the Great Depression." After navigating to the article, click on the blue Assign button to assign it to your class.

Each student will need access to a digital device, such as a tablet or laptop. The first time students enter the website they will need to enter the Class Code that is listed on your Class Admin page, or you can import them into your Google Classroom. Alternatively, you can print the article and corresponding questions for students, if digital devices are not available. The teacher could also complete this activity by projecting the article and questions for the whole class to view.

The teacher will also need to create a TeachersPayTeachers account ahead of time to be able to access the materials.  

The teacher will need to complete a web search for images for Hoovervilles.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Readworks Article on World War I and the Great Depression (students can use digital devices to access the article, or the article can be printed and copied for each student)

Play (printed and copied for each student)

Paper and pencil for each student

Interactive whiteboard or computer and projector with internet access

Great Depression word search (for variation)

 

Digital Tools / Resources

Readworks Article on World War I and the Great Depression
https://www.readworks.org/article/World-War-I-The-Great-Depression---The-Great-…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

hharden5684
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