Curated OER
Out of the Dust -- Part II
Eighth graders discover that literature can be a great way to gather information about the past. Using various types of text, they research its historical data and determine if it is correct. They write two papers to respond to the...
The Big Read
The Grapes of Wrath - Discussion & Writing Activities
Add a great resource to your collection of The Grapes of Wrath curriculum materials. A thorough packet contains loads of useful suggestions, whether you use the novel as an anchor text, as a reading circle option, or as independent reading.
Curated OER
Bud, Not Buddy: List-Group-Label Vocabulary Strategy
Readers of Bud, Not Buddy demonstrate their knowledge of the Great Depression with a list, group, label vocabulary strategy. Included are complete directions for the activity that will also introduce class members to the new vocabulary...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Growing a Nation (1930-1949): From Defeat to Victory, Lesson 2
Using primary source materials including radio broadcasts, films, and interview transcripts, history students gain a better understanding of the Dust Bowl, relief efforts for farmers, and the nation's agricultural past. It includes...
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home
High schoolers examine the music of Woody Guthrie and how the political and economic climate influenced his work. They read and discuss online articles, define key vocabulary words, take a Political Orientation Survey, and write a...
Curated OER
Desperation: The Great Depression
Young scholars examined the feelings of hopelessness that can result from losing
their income, much like one-third of Americans experienced during the Depression in a small group lesson of a mock household. Students create a household...
Curated OER
Dorothea Lange
Students explain that a person's experiences influence their life, write a time line of their life, and analyze Dorothea's photographs and list descriptive words.
Curated OER
The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students research social-documentary photography using Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze examples of photographs by Dorothea Lange and research one or more of Dorothea Lange’s...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 2 - A History of the United States: Modern Times—Late 1800s to the 2000s
The second volume of the Core Knowledge History of the United States ebook begins by asking young scholars to consider the impact immigration, industrialization, and urbanization had on the United States in the late 1800s. The text ends...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and the Arts
High schoolers engage in a dialogue about the Depression, the impact of the New
Deal, the role of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the survival of Democracy, and the
resiliency of the American spirit.
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust (High School)
Fourth graders read Hesse's "Out of the Dust". They respond to questions about the novel and write a free-verse poem modeled after the author's.
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students use art to analyze a period in history. In this lesson about the effect of art on history, students study many different pieces of photography by Dorothea Lange. Students will observe photographs from certain time periods and...
Curated OER
Read All About It! Events and People of the 1930s and 1940s That Shaped California and the Nation.
Young scholars look carefully at four photographs by Dorothea Lange and discuss them in terms of what is depicted and what she may have wanted to communicate. They review what they learned about the Dust Bowl, the Depression, the war...
Curated OER
California-Becoming an Agricultural and Insustrial Power
Fourth graders explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power. They trace the transformation of the California economy in its political and cultural development since the 1850's.
Curated OER
Jackie Steals Home
Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...
Curated OER
Remembering World War II
Young scholars read about America's participation in World War II. They study images, timelines, and other primary source documents.
Curated OER
Social Security
Students investigate the inception of Social Security benefits provided by the Government. In this Social Security lesson, students debate whether or not people should be entitled to receive money from the government. Students view...
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: Great Depression: Dust Bowl Migration
Primary source photos showing the devastation of the Dust Bowl and refugee migration to California.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Dust Bowl Days
Seven-instructional activity collection of lessons and suggested activities for instructing early learners about the Dust Bowl using a variety of primary sources (songs, letters, photos, etc.).
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Great Depression 1929 1932: The Depths of the Great Depression
Examines the challenges faced by the average American, by African Americans, and by farmers on the Great Plains during the Great Depression, and the government's response or lack thereof.
The History Cat
The History Cat: The Great American Dust Bowl
Describes the causes and the events of the Great American Dust Bowl, when farmland was destroyed through misguided practices, famine set in, and dust storms drove people to desperation.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: The Great Depression
This is a collection of 12 Grade-Leveled texts (3-11) on the topic The Great Depression. On October 29, 1929, the Roaring Twenties ended with the crash of the American stock market, initiating The Great Depression. The world struggled to...
University of Washington
University of Washington in Seattle: The Great Depression in Washington State
This website provides a large collection of resources, many of them primary resources, for studying about the impact of the Great Depression on Washington State.