Chapter 9 The Great Depression

February 5th - March 5th, 2014

During the month of February we will be examining the Great Depression which occurred from 1929-1942.

February 5th - Digital Learning Day

We analyzed the song "Brother Can you Spare a Dime?" and how it related to the Great Depression.

Lesson 1

In lesson one we examined the causes of the Great Depression, focusing on how the stock market crash created a ripple effect that was felt around the world. People lost their money in the stock market, which in turn caused banks to fail, businesses to close, people lost their houses, and many suffered from hunger.

Lesson 2
In lesson two we discussed how the causes of the Great Depression affected Americans. From the formation of shantytowns ("Hoovervilles") to the Dust Bowl, Americans suffered through some of the worst times in our country. Many of the farmers on the Great Plains headed west due to the "Black Blizzards" only to find it just as hard once they reached California. Others were homeless and forced to work any job just to get by. Many of them waited in long soup lines just for a meal.

Letters to Mrs. Roosevelt
In these letters students will be analyzing what it was like for children during the Great Depression. Many children wrote Mrs. Roosevelt asking for help with a need their family had or they had in particular. These letters will give an extra insight into the struggles these young people faced.

"Kit Kittredge, An American Girl"
This movie will be shown in class to aide in the understanding of the Depression. This movie depicts how the Great Depression affected not only the lower class but also the diminishing middle class. During the movie, students will answer guided questions that will aide them in writing a movie review (using this template) at the end of the lesson. See the movie trailer below.

Lesson 3
The final lesson will cover the efforts made by FDR to bring the country out of the Great Depression. We will examine a few of the New Deal programs set up by the government and how effective they really were through the New Deal Alphabet Soup worksheet. At the end they will also sketch the events of this time period through their sketch notes worksheets.

As always, the worksheets and notes are in the link above or you can click on the link below:

Chapter 9

Review Games are here!!