Classroom Resource

The Wheat Bubble Burst

Subject Area

Social Studies

Grade(s)

9, 11

Overview

The stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, a day that would come to be known as "Black Tuesday." The crash punctured a speculative bubble that had been building throughout the 1920s, throwing one-and-a-half million Americans out of work. In three years, that number would triple. In response to the lower wheat prices, more wheat was planted.

Learning Objective:

Students will understand how the agricultural response to the Great Depression fueled the already dire ecological situation in the Great Plains, leading to the Dust Bowl. 

About the Author:

Eden McCauslin is a Social Studies and English teacher in Chicago Public Schools. Eden previously taught in the District of Columbia Public Schools

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 9 - World History

SS10.WH.13

Explain challenges of the post-World War I period.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.WH.13

Vocabulary

  • Great Depression

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The challenges faced around the world after WWI.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify and analyze social and political changes using historical data.
  • Evaluate the impact of social and political changes using primary resources including text, visual and auditory arts, and maps.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were many global challenges in the world after World War I.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 11 - United States History II

SS10.US2.6

Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 192[A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.US2.6

Vocabulary

  • assess
  • identify
  • analyze
  • Great Depression
  • stock market crash
  • overproduction
  • speculation
  • Smoot-Haley Tariff Act
  • John Steinbeck
  • William Faulkner
  • Zora Neale Hurston
  • Bonus Army
  • Hoovervilles
  • Dust Bowl
  • Dorothea Lange
  • Jim Crow
  • Japanese Internment
  • Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The social, political, and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression.
  • Social and political factors and policies that were influenced by and that contributed to the deepening crisis during the Great Depression.
  • Economic factors and policies that contributed to the beginning of the Great Depression and the deepening crisis as the Great Depression continued in the United States and globally, including the effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, restrictive monetary policies, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.
  • The ways authors' works during the Great Depression were influenced by and influenced the social, political, and economic realities of the time.
  • The impact of the Great Depression on class, region, race, and gender relations during the time period of the 1920s to the 1940s.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Analyze the social, political, and economic conditions of a specific historical period.
  • Determine and evaluate the factors that contributed to a specific historical period.
  • Evaluate works of art and literature from a specific time period in order to determine their impact.
  • Determine central ideas of primary and secondary sources.
  • Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There were various political, social and economic conditions that contributed to the Great Depression.
Link to Resource
https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/wheat-bubble-dust-bowl-video-9026/ke…

CR Resource Type

Audio/Video

Resource Provider

PBS
Accessibility

Accessibility

Video resources: includes closed captioning or subtitles
License

License Type

CUSTOM

Custom License Type (URL)

https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/help/terms-of-use/#.YGKPdlVKjIX

Comments or Notes

PBSLearningMedia is free for teachers. Teachers can create an account to access available resources. 

Approved Date

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