Curated OER
Telegram from Senator Joseph McCarthy to President Harry S. Truman
Students research Senator Joseph McCarthy's February 9, 1950 speech, given at Wheeling, West Virginia, in which he claimed more than 200 State Department employees were members of the Communist Party.
Curated OER
Going to the Promised Land (Dust Bowl Migration)
Students examine Dust Bowl migration. In this Great Depression activity, students research primary sources regarding migration issues in the United States during the Great Depression. Students discuss their research findings and...
Curated OER
Desperation: The Great Depression
Students 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 budget...
Curated OER
Reconstruction
Students explain how the Civil War and Reconstruction both solved and created problems for our nation. They study how Reconstruction caused a further decline in relations between the North & South and how racism has been and is...
Curated OER
The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students research social-documentary photography using Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects. In this photography analysis instructional activity, students analyze examples of photographs by Dorothea Lange and research one or more of...
Curated OER
Gary's Changing Face
Students investigate the history of Gary, Indiana by looking at its history, demographics and points of interest. They create a timeline of important events in the city's history.
Curated OER
Hoover Responds to the Great Depression
Eleventh graders investigate the historical period of the Great Depression. The fall of the United States economy is defined by students and they describe the growing discontent by the year of 1931.
Curated OER
Introduction to a Unit on the 1930's Depression in America
Learners view and discuss photographic images of the Dust Bowl by Dorothea Lange. They discuss who Dorothea Lange was and why she took the pictures, the conservational factors that contributed to the Dust Bowl and migrant workers and the...
Curated OER
War and International Law:America’s Foreign Policy: A Brief History
Pupils discover the history of American foreign policy. In this foreign policy lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture that presents a brief history of American foreign policy. Pupils respond to discussion questions...
Curated OER
Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
Young scholars examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the...
Curated OER
Site and Situation: Right Place at the Right Time
Students put their geography skills to work. For this geography skills lesson, students research maps and other primary and secondary sources to simulate the site selection process for the Pennsylvania Railroad Shops post World War II....
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance
Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...
Curated OER
Film Interpretation of the Great Depression
Students examine major ideas, eras, themes, developments, turning points, chronology, and cause-effect relationships in United States, world, and Washington State history. They also analyze the chronology of the history.
Curated OER
The Great Depression and the Arts
Students 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.
Curated OER
Great Depression's Impact on Organized Labor
High schoolers investigate that labor unions recruited more workers to join their ranks during the Depression, and speculate as to why this growth occurred when it did. They research the impact of federal legislation of the New Deal...
Curated OER
Write a Song About American History
Students explore the historic background of the song, The Battle of New Orleans. Working in pairs, students research other historic events and write their own songs based on them.
Washoe County School District
Eyewitness to the Holocaust
Scholars investigate the Holocaust through the eyes of an Auschwitz survivor. They analyze and research a firsthand account of events inside the gas chambers moments before hundreds died. Using Holocaust Reading Passages and...
Captioned Media
Creating Dramatic Monologues from The Grapes of Wrath
Set in Oklahoma in the 1930s, The Grapes of Wrath presents a powerful view of life during the Great Depression. An insightful lesson plan takes a closer look at the characters in John Steinbeck's classic novel, combining the descriptions...
Curated OER
Patchtowns: Big Industry, Little Towns
Learners explore what it was like to live in a coal mining town. In this history lesson plan, students discuss specific details about the lives of coal company workers and their families.
Curated OER
The Great Depression: Eating on a Shoestring
Middle schoolers explore the realities of feeding a family on a very limited budget by comparing the cost of living in the 1930s to the cost of living today. Using primary documents and technology to make the comparison, they identify...
Curated OER
How History Changed the Way We Eat
Students participate in a lesson that is concerned with the history of the food pyramid and how it evolved and changed into its modern state. After being presented with the information they conduct classroom discussions about the research.
Curated OER
World War II Through Primary Sources
Seventh graders explore, analyze and study World War II through primary sources to assess the differences and impact of a "world war" vs. "a small war." They critique liberated prisoner letters, describe what they see in photographs and...
Curated OER
Constitutional Issues: The Separation of Powers
Students research and stage a debate on the question: RESOLVED that the Constitution should be amended to provide for a parliamentary system of government. They debate if a parliamentary system of government might be better.
Curated OER
Going to the Promised Land
Students analyze primary resources and map in order to draw conclusions regarding the migrant-worker experience during the Great Depression. They explain and explain the impact of economic and ecological events on individuals.