ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

This video is a short biography of John Steinbeck, an influential 20th-century author best known for works such as Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. He is one of the most famous writers of the "Lost Generation," people who came of age during or shortly after the first World War and became disillusioned by the senseless death and destruction.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 5 :

5 ) Explain causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the United States.

Examples: economic failure, loss of farms, rising unemployment, building of Hoovervilles

•  Identifying patterns of migration during the Great Depression

•  Locating on a map the area of the United States known as the Dust Bowl

•  Describing the importance of the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States, including the New Deal alphabet agencies

•  Locating on a map the river systems utilized by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Alabama)

[SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

In this lesson, students investigate a series of primary documents to address the question: What caused the Dust Bowl? The teacher will use a PowerPoint to establish background information and to introduce the Central Historical Question. Then, students will read and analyze five other primary documents about the Dust Bowl to answer the essential question. 

The website includes lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, primary source documents, and student graphic organizers. Teachers will need to create a free account to access the materials. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] WH9 (9) 13 :

13 ) Explain challenges of the post-World War I period.

Examples: 1920s cultural disillusionment, colonial rebellion and turmoil in Ireland and India, attempts to achieve political stability in Europe

•  Identifying causes of the Great Depression

•  Characterizing the global impact of the Great Depression

[SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

Throughout 1929 daily papers reported that the future looked bright for investors -- even after the devastating market crash in October. Learn more with these primary sources, from American Experience: "The Crash of 1929."

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 2 :

2 ) Evaluate social and political origins, accomplishments, and limitations of Progressivism. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.e., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.k.]

•  Explaining the impact of the Populist Movement on the role of the federal government in American society

•  Assessing the impact of muckrakers on public opinion during the Progressive movement, including Upton Sinclair, Jacob A. Riis, and Ida M. Tarbell

Examples: women's suffrage, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, temperance movement

•  Explaining national legislation affecting the Progressive movement, including the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act

•  Determining the influence of the Niagara Movement, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Carter G. Woodson on the Progressive Era

•  Assessing the significance of the public education movement initiated by Horace Mann

•  Comparing the presidential leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson in obtaining passage of measures regarding trust-busting, the Hepburn Act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve Act, and conservation

[SS2010] US11 (11) 5 :

5 ) Evaluate the impact of social changes and the influence of key figures in the United States from World War I through the 1920s, including Prohibition, the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, the Scopes Trial, limits on immigration, Ku Klux Klan activities, the Red Scare, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Jazz Age, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, W. C. Handy, and Zelda Fitzgerald. (Alabama) [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Analyzing radio, cinema, and print media for their impact on the creation of mass culture

•  Analyzing works of major American artists and writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, and H. L. Mencken, to characterize the era of the 1920s

•  Determining the relationship between technological innovations and the creation of increased leisure time

[SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

[SS2010] CWI (9-12) 6 :

6 ) Compare information presented through various media, including television, newspapers, magazines, journals, and the Internet.

•  Explaining the reliability of news stories and their sources

•  Describing the use, misuse, and meaning of different media materials, including photographs, artwork, and film clips

•  Critiquing viewpoints presented in editorial writing and political cartoons, including the use of symbols that represent viewpoints

•  Describing the role of intentional and unintentional bias and flawed samplings

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] WH9 (9) 13 :

13 ) Explain challenges of the post-World War I period.

Examples: 1920s cultural disillusionment, colonial rebellion and turmoil in Ireland and India, attempts to achieve political stability in Europe

•  Identifying causes of the Great Depression

•  Characterizing the global impact of the Great Depression

[SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

The stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, a day that would come to be known as "Black Tuesday." The crash punctured a speculative bubble that had been building throughout the 1920s, throwing one-and-a-half million Americans out of work. In three years, that number would triple. In response to the lower wheat prices, more wheat was planted.

Learning Objective:

Students will understand how the agricultural response to the Great Depression fueled the already dire ecological situation in the Great Plains, leading to the Dust Bowl. 

About the Author:

Eden McCauslin is a Social Studies and English teacher in Chicago Public Schools. Eden previously taught in the District of Columbia Public Schools

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the Great Depression. So, everybody knows that the Great Depression started with the stock market crash in 1929, right? Not exactly. The Depression happened after the stock market crash but wasn't caused by the crash. John will teach you about how the Depression started, what Herbert Hoover tried to do to fix it, and why those efforts failed.

**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

In this interactive game from WNET Thirteen, “Up from the Dust,” players take on the roles of twins Frank and Ginny Dunn, whose family wheat farm is devastated by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. As they experience the hardships of the 1930s, players learn about Americans’ strategies for survival – as individuals, communities, and a nation. “Up from the Dust” is available online and as free iPad and Windows 10 apps. Teachers need to register for a free account. This game can be played in a whole group or individually. Teachers can download an educator's guide.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS6 (6) 5 :

5 ) Explain causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people of the United States.

Examples: economic failure, loss of farms, rising unemployment, building of Hoovervilles

•  Identifying patterns of migration during the Great Depression

•  Locating on a map the area of the United States known as the Dust Bowl

•  Describing the importance of the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States, including the New Deal alphabet agencies

•  Locating on a map the river systems utilized by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Alabama)

[SS2010] US11 (11) 6 :

6 ) Describe social and economic conditions from the 1920s through the Great Depression regarding factors leading to a deepening crisis, including the collapse of the farming economy and the stock market crash of 1929. [A.1.a., A.1.b., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

•  Assessing effects of overproduction, stock market speculation, and restrictive monetary policies on the pending economic crisis

•  Describing the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on the global economy and the resulting worldwide depression

•  Identifying notable authors of the 1920s, including John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston (Alabama)

•  Analyzing the Great Depression for its impact on the American family

Examples: Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, Dust Bowl, Dorothea Lange

This is a lesson plan that uses the book Of Mice and Men when teaching about the Great Depression. The collection includes photos and articles detailing the causes and effects of the Great Depression.