Lesson Plan

The Great Depression

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Social Studies

Grade(s)

4

Overview

During this lesson, students will research the social, political, and economic impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians. Students will collaborate to create a presentation from the project-based learning activity and present it to the class.

This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 4

SS10.4.12

Explain the impact the 1920s and Great Depression had on different socioeconomic groups in Alabama.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.4.12

Vocabulary

  • analyze
  • supply and demand
  • overproduction
  • overcropping
  • TVA
  • unemployment
  • poverty
  • wages
  • consumption
  • stock market
  • Great Depression
  • migrant
  • foreclosure
  • soup kitchen
  • relief
  • discrimination
  • segregation
  • consumer goods

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The increase in availability of electricity, employment opportunities, wages, products, consumption of goods and services, the overproduction of goods, and the stock market crash each had an impact on Alabama in the 1920's.
  • The overcropping of land, unemployment, poverty, establishment of new federal programs impacted Alabama during the Great Depression.
  • Supply and demand had an impact on the economies of Alabama and the United States during the 1920s and the Great Depression.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Explain the impact the 1920s had on different socioeconomic groups in Alabama including increase in availability of electricity, employment opportunities, wages, products, consumption of goods and services; overproduction of goods; stock market crash.
  • Explain the impact the Great Depression had on different socioeconomic groups in Alabama including overcropping of land, unemployment, poverty, establishment of new federal programs.
  • Interpret data linked to supply and demand and understand how this impacted economies of Alabama and the United States during the 1920s and the Great Depression. Analyze the human impact of New Deal programs on the people of Alabama.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Events and consumer habits in the 1920's impacted the lives of Alabamians and how they lived during the Great Depression.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.R3

Use digital and electronic tools appropriately, safely, and ethically when researching and writing, both individually and collaboratively.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.R3

Vocabulary

  • Digital tools
  • Electronic tools
  • Appropriately
  • Safely
  • Ethically
  • Research
  • Individually
  • Collaboratively

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Digital and electronic tools must be used appropriately, safely, and ethically.
  • Digital and electronic tools can be used for research or for writing tasks.
  • Digital and electronic tools can be independently or with others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Engage in safe and ethical behavior when using digital and electronic tools individually and collaboratively.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Safe behaviors, interactions that keep you out of harm's way, are necessary when using digital and electronic tools.
  • Ethical behavior, interactions that align to one's moral code, are necessary when using digital and electronic tools.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.14

Demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.14

Vocabulary

  • Comprehension
  • Literary text
  • Informational text
  • Discussing
  • Writing
  • Response

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Comprehension of text can be demonstrated by referring to the text in discussions or written responses.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of literary and informational text by referring to the text in discussions.
  • Demonstrate understanding of literary and informational text by referring to the text in written responses.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can show that they understood literary and informational text by discussing or writing about specific content from the text.

Primary Learning Objectives

  • Students will analyze and interpret research information to determine the social, political, and economical impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians.
  • Students will analyze and interpret information to determine the chronological order of events from two or more sources of information including causes and effects.
  • Students will analyze the organizational structure of two sources of non-fiction text, through group collaboration, to determine how the major sections of the passage will be included in the group presentation.
  • Students will present the information to the class using appropriate voice levels, speed, and articulation.

Additional Learning Objective(s)

Learning Targets:

1. I can interpret the overall structure of ideas, concepts, events, or information in a text or a part of a text.

2. I can integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to speak or write about the subject knowledgeably.

3. I can engage effectively in collaborative discussion with diverse partners on fourth grade topics and texts, building on other's ideas and expressing their own clearly.

4. I can paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats.

5. I can report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner.

6.  I can explain the impact that the 1920s and Great Depression had on different socioeconomic groups in Alabama.

Procedures/Activities

Before Strategy/Engage: 30 minutes

1. Students should write their names at the top of their 3-column chart graphic organizer. List the following questions at the top of each column: "What is the social impact of the Great Depression on Alabama?", "What is the political impact of the Great Depression on Alabama?", and "What is the economical impact of the Great Depression on Alabama?". Each student should list, in bullet form, what they know about each aspect of the historical event.  

2.  Each student should give their paper to a partner (the teacher can explain how to do this). The students should read their partner's response to each question, then write at least one sentence expanding on one idea from their partner. The teacher should remind students that their answers should respond to and expand upon their partner's response, not be an exact copy.  (For example, if your partner wrote, "It made people poor." You could expand on that by saying, "Loss of jobs caused families to lose money.")  Once this is complete, the charts should go back to the original owner.  Each student will need to keep their chart until the end of the lesson.

During the Lesson: 60 minutes

1.  Students need to copy the following questions on a piece of notebook paper.

The Great Depression

  • What caused the Great Depression?
  • What was life like for Americans during the 1920s?
  • What happened on October 29, 1929?
  • Who was the president who pulled America out of the Depression?
  • What were the New Deal programs? What did these programs do?

2.  Students will work with a partner to read and discuss the online article provided by the teacher.  Students should carefully read the following article to gather needed information about the social, political, and economic impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians.

Great Depression in Alabama http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3608

 3.  After students read through the article, they need to record the answers to the above questions on notebook paper.

4.  Students will need to use the following websites to answer any questions that weren't found in the online article.

The Great Depression Timeline
http://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/timeline_of_the_great_depression.php

Alabama wasn't a part of the Dust Bowl, but that doesn't mean the state didn't feel similar effects -http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/11/alabama_wasnt_a_part_of_the_du.html

5.  Students will use all of the information gathered in the online article and the websites to create a timeline.  They can create their timeline on notebook paper, in Google Docs, or in Microsoft Word.

After the Lesson: 60 minutes

1.  Students will divide into their collaborative groups assigned by the teacher.  Students will be allowed to explain the information that they gathered to one another and discuss the most important aspects of each category.

2.  Groups will choose their final product from the list of possible presentation options.

Group Presentation Options:

  • Google Slide/PowerPoint
  • Lapbook
  • Scrapbook
  • Foldable

3.  Presentations must include the answers to the following questions: 

  • What are the social impacts of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians?
  • What are the political impacts of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians?
  • What are the economic impacts of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians?

4.  Students will collaborate and decide how they will use their graphic organizer, research, and timeline to create their group presentation.

5.  Students will decide which member will be responsible for which part of the presentation.

6.  Students will complete their portion of the presentation, and then present it to the group for review.  

7.  Once all group reviews have been made, the teacher will assign each group a day to share their presentation with the class.

8.  Give the students a copy of the Great Depression Project Checklist so they will know the requirements expected of them.

Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment:

The teacher should informally assess students in the Before Strategy, as students work with their classmates to research each area of the Great Depression.  The teacher should review each student's graphic organizer to ensure the student grasped the pertinent information.

The students will be informally assessed as they work with their group members creating a timeline of the Great Depression including what led up to and what happened after the event.

Summative Assessment:

The teacher will assess the groups' presentations and ensure that each student achieved the stated objectives of the lesson.

The teacher will determine if the students were able to answer the following 3 important questions of the lesson sufficiently in their presentations: 

  • What are the social impacts of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians?
  • What are the political impacts of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians?
  • What are the economic impacts of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians?

The teacher will use the Great Depression Project Checklist to determine the students' level of mastery.

Acceleration

Students can expand upon their understanding of the ideas introduced in this lesson by researching famous people of the 1930s.  This information can be added to their group presentations.

The following presentation provides information on famous people of the 1930s: Famous/Important People of the 1930s - https://prezi.com/5xawiqdcxyis/famous-people-of-the-1930s/.

Intervention

Students who require additional preparation before the lesson can view the following video clip, which shows the causes and effects of the Great Depression.  This will give students who need extra support a visual tutorial to help guide their thinking.

The GREAT DEPRESSION in 4 Minutes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAZ-RpAO1z4. 

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

Greater than 120 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Background/Preparation

Student Background Information:

Prior to the lesson, students should have some basic background knowledge of The Great Depression. If students do not possess this background knowledge, the teacher can show the following video clip as an engaging introduction to the topic: Childhood Lost: An Overview of the Great Depression - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_58es-hvK1o

During this lesson, students will be required to read and understand the online information provided by the teacher. Students will be required to navigate websites using a technological device. Students will also be required to work in collaborative groups of six students.

Teacher Background Information: 

The Great Depression had a significant impact on the lives of Alabamians. The events leading up to the Great Depression included the "Roaring 20s", the overproduction of supplies, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929. These events, which also included mass unemployment and poverty, had a negative effect on the social, political, and economical lives of Alabamians. 

This lesson can be followed by Five Paragraph Expository Essay: What was the Social, Political, and Economic Impact of the Great Depression on the Lives of Alabamians?

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Website for before strategy - teacher presentation:

Childhood Lost: An Overview of the Great Depression -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_58es-hvK1o

Website for during the lesson

The Great Depression Timeline
http://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/timeline_of_the_great_depression.php

Great Depression in Alabama http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3608

Alabama wasn't a part of the Dust Bowl, but that doesn't mean the state didn't feel similar effects -  http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/11/alabama_wasnt_a_part_of_the_du.html

Websites for Students Acceleration Activities:

The Great Depression Timeline
http://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/timeline_of_the_great_depression.php

Alabama wasn't a part of the Dust Bowl, but that doesn't mean the state didn't feel similar effects -http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/11/alabama_wasnt_a_part_of_the_du.html

Technology Resources Needed

Teacher/Student Technology Resources

Internet-capable technology devices (iPads, computers, Chromebooks, etc.)

Approved Date

2017-06-15

Owner2

ashleybenham

Owner3

sholyoak
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