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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Enduring Legacies of the New Deal

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students investigate U.S. history by listening to an economics lecture. In this U.S. government activity, students research the "New Deal" which happened after the Great Depression. Students identify movies, books and music from the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meet Kit: An American Girl

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Students explore economics by participating in a role-play activity. In this consumerism instructional activity, students identify the Great Depression, the cause of the financial collapse and the devastation it caused people their own...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students view examples of Depression era images and relate them to chapters from Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this Maya Angelou lesson, students discuss chapters 8 and 9 from the text and define setting. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding the Depression Through Projects

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the Depression Era, and create a project based on their research.
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Unit Plan
Virginia Tech

Digital History Reader: The End of Optimism? The Great Depression in Europe

For Students 9th - 10th
Questions about democratic institutions arose in Europe as the watched the economic crisis in the United States. The conditions in Europe during the Depression era, several photos, animations, and reports, suggested assignments, and...
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Bound for Glory

For Students 9th - 10th
A fascinating look at American life from 1939 to 1943 through photographs. The buildings, cars, clothing, and stores are very different from today. This is an excellent way to get a feel for the turn of the decade -- from the Depression...
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song

For Students 9th - 10th
An archive Woody Guthrie's correspondence from 1940-50. Could provide insight into Woody's music. Contains a great biographical sketch and timeline. Also, a search aid for additional materials at the Library of Congress about him.
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Activity
Ibis Communications

Eye Witness to History: Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger

For Students 9th - 10th
Quick introduction to one of the more famous American criminals of the Great Depression. Vivid descriptions of his meteoric rise to fame paint the picture of a man who lived life dangerously.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Southern Mosaic

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, from the Library of Congress, provides a recording project by the WPA during the Depression Era of folk music collected throughout the southern states of the U.S. Supplemented by photos and other material to document life...
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: California Folk Music From 1930s

For Students 9th - 10th
The Library of Congress provides a collection of 35 hours of folk music recorded during the Depression. The project is unique in that it recorded Slavic, Middle Eastern, European, Spanish and English speaking peoples who lived in...