Curated OER
Using Primary Sources in the Classroom:Slavery Unit: Point of View of Former Slaves
Students read slave narratives. In this Federal Writers' Project lesson plan, students explore slave narratives to discover details regarding legal status, roles of slaves, religion, family, and treatment of slaves.
Library of Congress
Loc: Born in Slavery
From the Library of Congress American Memory project, this extensive online archive contains first-person narratives of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves that were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal...
State Library-Florida
Florida Memory: Zora Neale Hurston and the Wpa in Florida
An account of the African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston and her experiences in Florida while working on the WPA. Includes a complete piece by Hurston entitled "Turpentine," photos and lesson plans.
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: April 8: Works Progress Administration
The Library of Congress' On This Day site gives an overview of the Works Progress Administration with links to information about various projects within the WPA available on the Library of Congress site.
Indiana University
Indiana University: More About the Wpa
This site from Indiana University describes the purpose the Works Progress Administration served during the Depression and summarizes the special programs of the W.P.A.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Slave Narratives: Analyzing Primary Sources
The main focus of this lesson plan is to help learners gain more knowledge about slavery and understand that no. There are links to sites with slave narratives that can be copied and analyzed in class.
Library of Congress
Loc: Born in Slavery
Transcripts of hundreds of oral histories and slave narratives from 1936-1938 collected during the Federal Writers' Project.
Other
Lincoln City Libraries: Nebraska's Federal Writers Project
Rudolph Umland's writing, correspondence, and scrapbooks offer revealing portraits of life in Depression era Nebraska, and a uniquely well-documented insider's view of the local literary community and the Nebraska Federal Writers' Project.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Putting Pople Back to Work
Read about the many programs that were part of Roosevelt's New Deal that targeted at getting the unemployed back to work.
Other
Bienes Center for the Literary Arts: A Brief Overview of the Wpa
Read descriptions of the various programs for unemployed artists that were part of the Works Progress Administration.
Black Past
Black Past: Wright, Richard
A brief article about the famous black author, Richard Wright.
Digital History
Digital History: Jobs Programs
The major aspect of the Great Depression was the rampant unemployment. Read about the many jobs programs that were part of the New Deal that provided employment for millions of needy Americans.
Library of Congress
Loc: Manuscripts From the Federal Writers' Project
The Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project used personal stories as the basis for anthologies which would form a portrait of various groups of people in America. Click link to manuscripts from the FWP, 1936-1940. You can listen...