Unit Title: The Great Depression Name: Josue Pearson-Granados
Content Area: Social Science Grade Level: 11 CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s): 11.6 Students analyze the different explanations for the great depression and how the new deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government. 11.6.2 Understand the explanation of the principal causes of the Great Depression and the steps taken by the Federal Reserve, Congress, and Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat the economic crisis. 11.6.3 Discuss the human toll of the Depression, natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practices and their effects on the depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left and right, with particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees and their social and economic impacts in California. 11.6.4 Analyze the effects of and the controversies arising from New Deal economic policies and the expanded role of the federal government in society and the economy since the 1930s (e.g., Works Progress Administration, Social Security, National Labor Relations Board, farm programs, regional development policies, and energy development projects such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, California Central Valley Project, and Bonneville Dam). 11.6.5 Trace the advances and retreats of organized labor, from the creation of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations to current issues of postindustrial, multinational economy, including the United Farm Workers in California. Big Ideas:
What is the role of government in responding or reacting to a country's economy? To what degree should a government ensure that its citizens have jobs? How do people choose where to live? How do economies impact people's lives? How people were impoverished during the Depression How inflated stock prices, overproduction, high tariffs, uneven distribution of wealth, and mistakes by the Federal Reserve led to the Great Depression. How President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal help the economy, American Citizens, and the country as a whole.
Unit Goals and Objectives: In this unit, students will be asked to read like a detective and gain a clear understanding of the content of the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelts New Deal. First, after our first lecture: Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, students will evaluate how and why Americans responded to the Great Depression as they did by discussing the impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt's relationship between his political, social and economic views and his handling of the Great Depression. The goal here is to gather basic information about FDRs character and political views and how they influenced the way he approach the Great Depression. Second, the students will discuss the impact of the Great Depression on the American economic system and on farmers, industrial workers, marginal workers, and middle class workers and their families after the completion of the webercise, which will allow them to gain some important knowledge about how the Great Depression affected Americans. Third, by the end of the unit, student will be able to examine the power struggle between industrial unions during the New Deal era and assess the overall impact of the New Deal era on organized labor in the United States. Also, students will learn the extent to which the New Deal changed the relationship between the federal government and American citizens by looking at the various resources found on this unit such as the videos, graphics, interactive activities, and different stories. They will be able to discuss the legacy of the New Deal, such as the Social Security, national parks and the environment by critically analyzing the evidences presented to them on here. Unit Summary: In this unit, students will learn that the Great Depression plunged the American people into an economic crisis unlike any endured in this country before or since. The worst and longest downturn in our economic history threw millions of hardworking individuals into poverty Also, students will review how the Depression provided the impetus for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, which forever changed the relationship between the American people and their government, and which is usually considered to be one of the most significant periods of political reform in American history. Consequently, we will explore more in-depth (under teacher's lecture) what President Franklin Roosevelt accomplished through his New Deal. On this power point presentation, The Great Depression. Outcome: Franklin Roosevelt & The New Deal you'll find information such as FDR's political career, personal attitude toward the Great Depression, actions and policies, and more. We'll watch a very detailed video about FDR and The New Deal, and we'll learn to read statistics about unemployment during the Great Depression graphically displayed. To help you take good notes, I will provide you in class with a copy of guided notes so you can take helpful, specific notes during the power point presentation which will help you study for the exam. Also, on this unit plan, you'll be doing an exercise (under "webercise") which will require you to answer some questions after you watch videos, look at some primary sources about the Great Depression from the National Archives, as well as participating in interesting, interactive activities (which I think make learning more fun). And Finally, I just want to mention that I have uploaded some helpful links (under "unit resources") that I encourage you to explore whenever you have the time; the links have helpful information for homework that I will assign in class. Assessment Plan: Entry-Level: Discussion The Crash of 1929 (video) What is the Great Depression? And what were the factors that led the country to the Great Depression? Formative:
Guided Notes as students look at the power point presentation on Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, they will fill out the guided notes where I have included a few conceptual questions. After the presentation, students will write their answers on a piece of paper and submit them to me. Summative: Essay in groups, students will write a research paper to demonstrate their critical thinking skills, as well as their level of knowledge about the Great Depression, its causes, characteristics, impact on our society, FDR and the New Deal. The research will focus on how the Great Depression affected people from minority groups. Webercise students will do an online activity which includes videos clips, articles, and interactive exercises and answer the questions.
Unit exam students will take an unit exam to assess their gained knowledge about facts, concepts, important dates, names, etc. Constructive Response after the first two weeks, students will answer some constructive questions on SurveyMonkey, which are designed to make them think critically and not to simply provide facts. The questions are to be taken on line and submitted to me.
Quizlet flashcards this will allow the students to demonstrate knowledge about different, important relevant concepts of the Great Depression.
Lesson 1 Student Learning Objective: Explain and evaluate the Roosevelt administrations attempts to deal with the economic and human crises posed by the Great Depression. Acceptable Evidence: Completion of the guided notes. Students show full understanding about the principal concepts and aspects of the New Deal by participating in an in-class discussion and through their answers to the presentations questions. Instructional Strategies: Communication Collection Collaboration Presentation Organization Interaction Lesson Activities: During the power point presentation, students will fill in the guided notes; in a separate sheet of paper, students will answer key questions found throughout the presentation and submitted them to me. There will also be a video about FDR and the New Deal which is intended to be used as the basis for an in-class discussion. Lesson 2 Student Learning Objective: Learn about the impact of the Great Depression on the American economic system and on farmers, industrial workers, marginal workers, and middle class workers and their families. Examine how and why Americans Acceptable Evidence: Students demonstrate full understanding of the American economy crisis, how the lives of farmers, industrial workers and their families changed forever. Instructional Strategies: Communication Collection Collaboration Presentation Organization Interaction Lesson Activities: The webercise includes different interesting videos, articles, stories, pictures, etc. about American life during the Depression, followed by related questions which are designed to incentive critical thinking. Also, the webercise contains interactive activities where students look at the lives of young Americans and their families during the Great Depression. responded to the Great Depression as they did. Lesson 3 Student Learning Objective: Students will learn about some of the principal causes of the Great Depression. Students will learn that bank panics and a shrinking money supply were the primary causes of the Great Depression. Acceptable Evidence: Students have learned the necessary concepts of the principal causes of the Great Depression. They show this through the completion of the different interactive activities. Instructional Strategies: Communication Collection Collaboration Presentation Organization Interaction Lesson Activities: Teachers power point presentation and guided notes. In groups, students will watch a video about the principal causes of the Great Depression, read and analyze an article to then construct a graphic organizer where they will demonstrate what they have learned about the causes of the economic crisis. Unit Resources: - Edwards, G., Wattenberg, M., and Lineberry, R. (2009). Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy. United States: Pearson Education, Inc. - Hunt, M., H. (2004). The World Transformed: 1945 to the Present. Massachusetts: Bedford/St. Martins - Nash, Jeffrey, Howe, Frederick, Davis, Winkler, Mires, and Pestana. (2011). The American People: Creating a Nation and A Society. New Jersey: Person Education, Inc. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/fdr-inaugural/ http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/great-depression.cfm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/fdr/ http://www.loc.gov https://library.fullerton.edu
Useful Websites:
The Great Depression and the New Deal Pictures this site will take you through various events of the Depression in pictures.
Stories of the Great Depression are interviews of people who experienced the economic crisis growing up.
This video takes a look at how the U.S. government responded to this historic financial collapse.
Dust Bowl Migrations. This is an overview of residents of the Great Plaines and what they went through during the Great Depression. This set of primary resources from the Library of Congress includes images, music, and song lyrics that provide insight into the lives of the people that suffered through this horrific disaster.
The Civilian Conservation Corps The CCC was President Roosevelts answer to the environmental and economic challenges facing the country.
The Hoover Dam Produces Electricity During the Great Depression, many Americans did not have jobs. The construction of the dam created work for thousands of people who came from all over the country
The Stock Market Fell to Its Lowest Point During the Depression The Great Crash affected everyone, even those who had not bought stocks.
What Life Was Like During the Great Depression Learn about how young Americans survived the Great Depression.
The Human Toll of the Depression A study shows that during the Great Depression mortality rates actually fell.
Unwise Agricultural Practices and their effects during the Depression When the national economy went into decline in the late 1920s because of the Great Depression, agriculture was even more adversely affected.
The Presidents of the Great Depression Learn about the nation's leaders during the Depression: Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
How the Depression Changed the Role of the Federal Government The Great Depression is often called a defining moment in the twentieth-century history of the United States. Its most lasting effect was a transformation of the role of the federal government in the economy.